The Margin is indebted to the Los Angeles Times for the following tale which puts the Irish consumer boom here into perspective. A Los Angeles couple recently bought $20,000 (#17,326) worth of Stickley furniture for a room belonging to their parrot. The purchase included two loveseats (upholstered to match the bird's tailfeathers), a credenza, a desk, two chairs and a cocktail table - apparently in case the bird wants a martini. "He does drink, but not to excess," says owner Marissa, who asked that her last name not be published.

The object of her largesse is a 20-year-old blueheaded parrot named Marlowe who laughs at Eddie Murphy movies, says "Whoa scary" when watching violent TV shows and sniffs wine before sipping it. "He won't drink bad wine," explains Marissa. And he's only been soused once - at a New Year's Eve party where he "literally swung from the chandelier by one leg".