Vandals poke fun at The Pheasant pub in Highclere, which has been closed since early 2022, with Monty Python reference

A witty vandal has poked fun at the sad demise of a village pub by making reference to a famous comedy sketch on its sign.

The Pheasant, located just south of Highclere on the Andover Road, has been closed for just over two years.

In response to the lengthy closure, someone has pasted the phrase “pining for the fjords” on a sign outside the pub, a reference to comedy troupe Monty Python’s famous ‘dead parrot’ sketch.

In the sketch, a man returns to a pet shop to complain that the parrot he purchased from the shop a few hours earlier is dead and that it had been nailed to its perch.

The pet shop owner replies that the parrot, a Norwegian blue, isn’t dead but it is in fact sleeping on its back and “pining for the fjords”.

The pub’s sign now reads that “The Pheasant is pining for the fjords”, a comedic and pessimistic take on the once-popular pub’s plight.

The pub has been vacant since its former management team took up business at The George & Dragon in Hurstbourne Tarrant in March 2022.

It is not known whether the building’s owners have any plans to re-open the pub in the future.