In these very difficult times of viruses and collapsing Stock Markets there are events which 

have more world shattering implications, such as this in the UK

Woman, 81, ‘weaponised’ opera‑singing parrot to torment neighbours

In the hands of the experts, opera is the most sublime of art forms. In the hands of an angry pensioner with an axe to grind — and a parrot to sing along — it can become a weapon in a long-running dispute between neighbours.

A court has heard how Catherine Searle, 81, used her parrot in a campaign of harassment against the couple next door, encouraging the bird to torment them with its singing as they sat in their garden. Paul and Lydia Appleton described the operatic repertoire as “akin to Chinese torture”.

Searle, of Seal in Kent, was also caught on CCTV 38 times as she smeared grease over the bonnets of a van and car belonging to the couple. In addition she