Man graduates 41 years after being denied ceremony by parrot problem

A man who was denied his graduation for 41 years because of an unpaid bill of £64.80 relating to a parrot has finally donned his cap and gown on the same day as his son.

Jonny Clothier studied architecture at the University of Bristol and was meant to graduate with his peers in 1983. But his old flatmate had a parrot which, after being left unsupervised, had free run of their university accommodation and was said to have wrecked the place.

The students found alternative housing but still had to settle the final term’s rent of £64.80, which Clothier refused to pay.

A long-since abolished rule meant that students with unpaid accommodation bills were awarded degrees but were not allowed to graduate.

After 41 years, the university decided to waive the bill, which allowed Clothier to graduate alongside his youngest son, Carter, 21, who completed a biology degree.

Clothier, 62, who lives in Petersfield, Hampshire, said he viewed the unpaid bill as an “ultra-long-term, interest-free loan”.

“They haven’t mentioned the money, so I’m keeping quiet,” he said.

It means Clothier, his wife Helen Hill, 60, and their three children have all graduated from the University of Bristol.

He added: “I loved my time doing architecture at Bristol – we worked really hard but we also played hard. We danced, we partied and then we went back to work.

“It was amazing but also really good training for real life. It’s sort of what I’ve been doing ever since.

“It’s been really nice watching the kids go through the same things 40 years on and it’s been amazing to all be together for these graduations.

“My old studio desk was right beneath my seat for the graduation ceremony, albeit one floor below. It kind of felt like coming home.”

Clothier said his graduation day last Thursday had been “enormous fun”. He added: “It’s not really about me, it’s about them, and signing off on the 20-year project to get the kids through the whole cycle of education.

“We are so proud of them because they’ve all done so well – I literally take my strange, new, flat hat off to them.”

Hill, whom Clothier met at Bristol, graduated in Russian and French in 1985 and was approached to work for MI6. She worked extensively in Russia and went on to make TV documentaries.

Clothier left architecture and also went to work in TV, as a director and executive producer, but has since returned to his former subject and is building a contemporary net-zero treehouse in the Forest of Dean.

Their eldest son, Quito, graduated with a degree in music in 2020. He is an operatic tenor in London and works as an art dealer specialising in the work of Banksy.

The couple’s daughter, Tiger, graduated in law in 2023 and was a ski instructor in Japan before embarking on a career in marketing.

Carter, who is looking for a career in sustainability having recently represented England at lacrosse in Portugal, said: “It’s definitely a unique experience graduating with your dad, but it was an amazing day and a beautiful ceremony.”