Mr Finleyson and Martha went into the kitchen. Martha stared up at him with a quizzical look in her little black beady eyes. He looked at her and said, "What's wrong girl? Confused about the chaos around you"?

The sight that met him when he walked into the kitchen made him reel backwards. The kitchen was completely turned upside down, with food thrown everywhere.
There was also broken crockery on the counters and the wooden floor. The cupboard doors were hanging off their hinges.
The contents were scattered all over the kitchen floor. The pots and pans were lying amongst the debris, dented and twisted.
A tray of the morning's egg collection was lying on the floor. Broken and smashed eggs mingled with the food that had been in the cupboards.
There were cornflakes, branflakes, porridge oats, pasta, flour, soup mix and tins of assorted food products lying dented on the floor amongst the cereals and dry goods.
The fresh loaf of bread he had left on the kitchen table on the breadboard had been pulled apart with crust and crumbs everywhere.
It looked as if half of it had been eaten then thrown onto the floor.
The contents of the fruit bowl on the counter was strewn across the floor, dented and bruised.
The grapes were scattered everywhere!
His newspaper which he had left neatly folded on the kitchen table, as he hadn't finished reading it, was was ripped to shreds and thrown around the kitchen.
The butter dish lay broken amongst the mess with the butter smeared all over the floor and table. Only the contents of the fridge remained intact as it hadn't been ransacked for some strange reason.
The bottle of washing liquid had been knocked over and had spilled over the counter top then onto the floor.
Every item in the kitchen, food and non food products were scattered everywhere or lying broken, smashed or damaged on the floor. You couldn't see the wooden floor anymore!
The people responsible must have had a food fight before fleeing!

Even the unopened post he had left on the table was lying ripped to shreds amongst the food. He would never know what was in the post. Maybe it had been important!

The curtains were hanging out the open window in tatters.

His mother's china cabinet was face down. The glass front smashed to smithereens, with his mother's best china smashed to bits around the dining room floor.

The old mahogany bookcase was on its side broken, shelves broken and books lying around the room with their pages ripped out and scattered everywhere.
Mr Finleyson walked around the room shaking his head in disbelief. "Depraved animals" he kept muttering.
He was still clutching Martha, who was unusually quiet and seemed in a sombre mood. She was obviously sensing there was something wrong, by Mr Finleyson's reactions as he went from room to room.

He decided to leave the lounge for last, as it seemed the worst hit. The brief time he had stood there looking around was too much for him to take in as it was the largest room in the house.
He was about to head to the kitchen when the two policemen came down the stairs and said to him, " There's no one up there but it's as bad as it is down here! Do you have home insurance because you're going to need it! Do yiu have any idea what they could have been looking for? Let us know if there's anything missing".

Mr Finleyson replied, " I have house insurance which I have never had to use. I don't really have anything of value around the house, so I can't imagine what they were looking for".

PC Crighton replied, " How do you think they got in"?

Mr Finleyson replied, "I never lock my doors as I have never needed to. Because it was so warm this morning I left the windows open to cool down the rooms as there was a breeze blowing. So they could have walked through the front or back doors or got in through the open windows. Take your pick! I know what you must think of me. That I was an irresponsible fool to have left the house unsecured. I won't be doing that again!

PC Crighton, "We will bring you a copy of our report, as you'll need it for your insurance company. Here is your crime reference number in the meantime. My name and number are on it if you have any questions.
I will notify the fingerprint officer who will be here shortly to go over the house for any fingerprints thst aren't yours, to eliminate you. Don't touch or move anything until he's finished. This is officially a crime scene"!
Mr Finleyson, "Can I look around the house at the damage"?

PC Crighton, "If you want but it will be distressing for you. Is there anyone you can call for some moral support? You'll need help to clean up the mess".

Mr Finleyson, "I can call the young lad who helps me around the farm and his father who lives down the road at the next farm".

PC Crighton, "That's good that you have someone to help you. Do you want me to call them and explain what's happened here and ask them to come right away"?

Mr Finleyson, "If you want to. I would really appreciate that officer".

PC Crighton, "No bother. Do you have their number"?

Mr Finleyson gave them Tom's phone number. PC Crighton went outside to the police 4x4 to make the call.

The older of the two policemen took out his little black book and began to write down what Mr Finleyson was telling them about what he had found when he came home. The policeman then wrote down all the details of the incident.
The policemen and Mr Finleyson went inside his house. The older policeman, PC Crighton, told him to stay downstairs while they went upstairs to make sure there was no one still up there. He told Mr Finleyson this was for his own safety.
The younger of the two policemen, PC Dunning, went up the stairs first with PC Crighton right behind him.

As Mr Finleyson stood in the middle of his ransacked lounge surveying the damage, a feeling of sadness and despair washed over him.
He tried to access the that was all around him but gave up after a minute as he was too upset and couldn't concentrate.
He just shook his head and thought, "Who would do something like this? What were they looking for"?
He didn't understand why they targeted him. Maybe they were crazed drug addicts looking for money!

As he looked around the room littered with his damaged possessions, he noticed that his brand new digital camera was lying on its side amongst the debris, smashed to bits. The memory card had even popped out when it hit the floor.
He went over and picked it up and put it in his pocket.
He had just bought the camera two weeks ago and had yet to use it. He was still reading the instruction book which had come with it.
He had treated after his camera of thirty years had packed up and couldn't be fixed.

He had always enjoyed photography since he was a boy. He loved nothing more than going for long rambling walks taking photographs of nature along the way. It had always been a hobby of his.
With all the new technology on the market, he bought a camera that was the least complicated to work, but even that camera was proving difficult for him to understand!
He was learning by reading the instructions and by trial and error.

He had been looking forward to using it but now it was lying on the floor, broken and useless to him.
It had been a dear camera to buy!

He would have to make a claim on his house insurance for all the damage done to his house.
That would put his premiums sky high. What else could he do?
He walked into the dining room and could not believe the mess in there! The wallpaper was actually hanging off the walls in strips. What kind of depraved people would tear the wallpaper off the walls? What did they hope to find?

All the dining room chairs were lying on their backs with the padded seats tattered and in shreds with the stuffing hanging out everywhere, ruined beyond repair.
The curtains were in tatters as if slashed with a knife. All the pictures that had hung on the walls were off the walls lying on the floor with the glass smashed to pieces and the frames broken to bits!

Mr Finleyson became so concerned about Blanche's incessant bathing, he took her to the vet.
The vet diagnosed Blanche with obsessive compulsive disorder or better known as OCD. Poor Blanche!

The more Martha chased Blanche through the muddy pot holes, the worst her OCD got.
He took Martha aside and sternly told her to leave Blanche alone.
He didn't know if she understood what he was saying but she looked him squarely in the eyes and hissed at him in the face!

His thoughts returned to the present and Martha and Blanche still locked in battle, with Blanche getting balder by the minute!

He chuckled to himself as he recalled an incident which took place last summer.

He had been up bright and early to do his work round the farm. He needed to drive into the village that day to buy supplies for his household and the farm.
He also had to post some letters.
He went to the Post Office first, where he stood behind Robbie McShane.
When they were both finished posting their letters, they walked outside together where they stood on the pavement and had a blether.
They parted company and he went on to the feed shop for hen food, the bakery, butchers and the greengrocers. He had a few errands to run before getting into his Land Rover for the drive back to his farm.
He had spent around two hours in the village.

He arrived home around twentyfive minutes later. He drove to the barn and parked.
He got out and went round back to the 4x4 and opened the tailgate. He began to unload the sacks of hen feed. Then he carried them one by one into the barn.
He noticed Martha and Blanche in the far corner sitting on a bale of hay preening each other.
They seemed to be merrily clucking away to each other.
He could see Blanche had a bald patch on top of her head.
He didn't remember seeing the bald patch when he left for the village.
He was glad they were not sitting in front of Blanche's mirror for her to see the bald patch. That would not go down well with her!

When he had finished carrying all the sacks into the barn, he drove round to his house and parked in front.
He got out of the 4x4 and walked up the path to the front steps to his front door, opened and stepped into the large hall. He hung his hat on the coat rack then opened the door into his lounge and stepped inside.
The sight he was met with made him take a step back and gasp. His house had been ransacked!
There was destruction and debris wherever he looked. It was very quiet but he wondered if the person or persons who did this were hiding upstairs.
He scolded himself for never locking his doors. He thought better of going upstairs in case they appeared and attacked him!

The lounge looked as if a bomb had gone off! He hurried back outside and took out his mobile phone from his pocket and dialled 999. His first thought was of relief that he had seen Martha in the barn with Blanche, which meant she was safe.

The emergency operator answered and asked him which emergency service he wanted. He told her he needed the police. The operator took down his details then told him the police were on their way.
He was also told to stay outside for his own safety until the police arrived.
He paced up and down the front of his house. He was a bag of nerves as he waited. Each minute seemed like an hour!
In the distance he saw Martha running towards him, minus Blanche.
What a sight for sore eyes, he thought. As she neared where he stood, he saw a police car turn into his drive and head towards him.
They stopped their police 4x4 right next to where his Land Rover was parked. Martha arrived and he bent down to pick her up.

Two policemen got out of the 4x4 and walked towards him. He introduced himself.
They each told him who they were.
Mr Finleyson briefly told the officers what he had found when he stepped inside his lounge to find it ransacked! And how he did not go upstairs in case the person or persons responsible were hiding upstairs!

Martha then managed to lift her bum off the floor and propel her legs straight up in the air and then forward, where she kicked Blanche in the bum with both feet as hard as she could.
The kick sent Blanche flying forward ten feet, doing somersaults along the way, where she was stopped by the wall of the cell.
She stood up and shook herself off as Martha was already on her feet, legs kicking in all directions as she went towards Blanche with fire in her little black beady eyes.
Martha jumped up in the air and did a spinning side kick which landed on Blanche's left side, below her wing, knocking her to the ground.
As Blanche got to her feet again for the second time, Martha crouched down, knees bent, then she thrust her right leg forward, spun round on her left leg close to the ground and caught Blanche on the back of her legs, sweeping her legs out from under her.
It was Martha's best karate move.
She had learned all her moves from watching "Bruce Lee" movies, her favourite. She never missed his movies when they were on the telly!

She held karate classes in the barn to teach the hens and chicks how to protect themselves from fox attacks.

Blanche fell backwards onto her back, her legs kicked wildly in the air. Martha's feet shuffled back and forth, wings held up in victory as she watched her try to get up.
Blanche managed to roll onto her side and push herself into a sitting position with her wings.
Martha then flew at her, knocking her onto her back. She jumped on top of her chest, then began to bounce up and down, hissing and blowing raspberries in Blanche's face!

Blanche squirmed and twisted from side to side to throw Martha off her. Martha then smacked Blanche across her face over and over with both her wings.

At that point Gilbert turned to Mr Finleyson and said, "Don't you think you should break up the fight before one of them gets hurt"?

Mr Finleyson chuckled and replied, "They're just letting off steam. I've seen them fighting like this hundreds of times since they were chicks. Being cooped up in this cell hasn't helped their temperaments any.
They are actually very fond of each other but they both have strong personalities which clash at times.
If they wanted to hurt each other they could.
Notice they haven't used their claws which would cause serious damage to one another.
They are angry at each other but are not fighting to wound or hurt each other. It's a power struggle between them that has gone on from day one!
Martha is the queen of the farmyard and Blanche wants her crown! None of my other hens fight and neither Martha or Blanche ever fight with the other hens!
Martha usually wins these altercations, the only thing that gets hurt is their egos! You should see them fighting in the farmyard.
They have room to move around and all the other hens always form a large circle around them as they cheer them on. I've seen them rolling around the yard and somehow end up in the barn, ,swinging from the rafters at each other! The other hens perched atop every bale of hay in the barn, jumping up and down cheering them on.
I never interfere. I just let them get on with it. When it's over the two of them are "thick as thieves"!

Gilbert replied, "You know your hens better than I do Oliver. Come to think of it, my hens have had a few squabbles with each other over the years. I always thought they had a pecking order and one of them ruffled a few feathers.
After the fracas was over they were all the best of friends. You're right not to interfere Oliver"!

Mr Finleyson looked over at Martha and Blanche rolling around the floor of the cell, knocking "seven bells" out of each other.
He noticed that Blanche was now covered in bald patches. He shook his head in despair. What had Martha done to her? When Blanche saw all the bald patches, and she would, there would be hell to pay! She would make the whole farm suffer, including him!

He had never met or owned a hen as vain as Blanche. She would sit in front of the old mirror that had been his parent's. It had hung in the dining room and had seen better days! He had taken it down and put it in the barn, propped up against a bale of hay at the far corner of the barn.
He had put it there until he decided what to do with it.

Blanche would spend hours in front of the mirror preening herself, oblivious to her surroundings or the passing of time.
He decided to leave it there for her. When she wasn't in front of the mirror or rolling around the farmyard fighting with Martha, she could be found in his house, upstairs, in the bathroom, either sitting in the sink, the bath or standing in the shower cubicle.
She loved being in water so she could carry out her daily ablutions.
He would either fill the sink, fill the bathtub or turn on the shower for her to run around in.
She would spend hours paddling around the filled sink or filled bathtub, where she had room to do the backstroke, kicking her little stick legs as she propelled herself around the bathtub with her eyes blissfully closed!

He had tried on many occasions to keep her from sneaking into his house and taking up residence in his bathroom. But she always managed to get in through an open window or door.
He had to bolt the bathroom door when he was bathing or showering, as she had once sneaked in while he was soaking in the bath which was full of bath salts. He was lying back, head against the back of the bath, eyes closed, deep in thought, when Blanche got into the bath and paddled around at his feet. He opened his eyes, raised his head and looked down the bath towards the taps.
What a fright he got when he saw two little black, beady eyes staring down the bath at him! He thought for a moment he was dreaming. He shook himself awake and realised it was Blanche. She had somehow sneaked in without him knowing about it. It was after that he bolted the door behind him.

Martha hated it when Blanche was in the house. She was the only hen allowed in! Blanche had no business in her and Finney's house, especially Blanche. The cheek of her!

Mr Finleyson noticed that when Blanche was in the bathroom bathing, Martha became very abusive and belligerent towards the other hens and also himself.

She would lay in wait for Blanche, under the porch steps. Little black, beady eyes peering out. When Blanche emerged from the house, all spick and span from her hours of bathing, Martha would pounce on the unsuspecting Blanche, knocking her to the ground into the nearest pothole of mud.
Poor Blanche would be covered in slimy mud from head to toe! Just her little black, beady eyes poking out of her muddy little face!
Martha would then chase Blanche round the farm, imitating a potoroo in the pursuit and make sure poor Blanche went through every muddy pothole on the farm!

When Martha got bored, the chase was over and she would wander off leaving Blanche standing in the farmyard caked in slimy mud!
Blanche would then have to sneak back into Mr Finleyson's house, up the stairs and into the bathroom, leaving a muddy trail in her wake.
She would then clamber into the bath and wait for Mr Finleyson to come along and fill the bath so she could wash the mud off!

Blanche went over to where Martha was sitting and squared up to her. She told Martha, "If you do not stop that incessant racket I'm going to knock you into the next millennium! Do you understand"? Martha looked up at Blanche and loudly hissed at her then drew her right wing up and poked Blanche in the eye! Mr Finleyson watched the two of them, not understanding what was going on between them, until he saw Martha poke Blanche in the eye with her wing. "Oh no"! He thought. He said sternly to both of them, "Now now girls, let's all calm down and go back to sleep. I'm sorry Martha I spilled water on you and woke you up. Don't take it out on Blanche. Come down here and sit beside me Martha and go back to sleep". He saw that Martha and Blanche were not listening to him as they faced each other with narrowed eyes. Before he could say another word, Blanche and Martha flew at each other, loudly screeching, wings flapping, beaks snapping, feathers flying as they rolled around the long wooden bench, up and down the length of it, bouncing off the wall along the way! The other hens gathered round them the best they could as they seemed to cheer them on. There wasn't enough room in the cell for fighting! As Martha and Blanche continued to roll around and bounce off the walls, Gilbert looked on with amusement. The other hens continued to cheer and stamp their little feet. They hopped from side to side on their little stick legs. The noise from the screeching Martha and Blanche coupled with the loud clucking of the other hens, was deafening in the small confined cell. Mr Finleyson expected the cell door to burst open at any second, as police officers waded in to break up the two brawling hens. But no one appeared! Gilbert got up off the floor to give the hens more room, as Martha and Blanche fell off the bench as they went "hammer and tongs" at each other. Rolling around the cell floor, causing Mr Finleyson to scramble out of the way towards the door. Martha was so angry at Blanche, she jumped on top of her and put her wings tightly round Blanche's neck in a head lock! They began to wrestle. Blanche managed to put her wings up and under Martha's and broke Martha's headlock and then spun round and grabbed Martha and flung her over her shoulder onto the ground, where Blanche then jumped on top of Martha, pinning her to the floor as Martha's little stick legs kicked wildly in the air at Blanche's bum. She managed to wriggle down a bit as Blanche sat on top of her chest!

Mr Finleyson replied, "Good idea Gilbert. I'll go once you get back. Ask the sergeant if they could freshen up the hen's water while you're passing the desk." Gilbert got up from his mat opened the cell door and stepped out. He could hear the hushed tones of the staff. There were still a few shouts here and there from the prisoners. All in all it was a lot calmer and quieter than it had been earlier on! He tiptoed down the hall towards the bathroom. He didn't see anyone going or returning. The desk sergeant was not at his desk. He noticed the clock on the wall behind the desk read 12:10 am. Maybe all the officers were at a meeting, including the desk sergeant. He tiptoed back to the cell and opened the door. Mr Finleyson then got up to go to the bathroom Gilbert said to him, "On you go Oliver. There is no one on duty out there. Empty. Didn't see a living soul. Even the desk sergeant is not behind his desk. No one to ask for clean water for your hens. Why don't you take the bowl with you and you can get fresh water from the bathroom sink". Mr Finleyson said, "Good idea, I'll do that" He picked up the bowl off the bench and tiptoed out of the cell so not to disturb his hens. Out he went and he headed down the long hall to the bathroom. He re-filled the hen's bowl in the sink and headed back to the cell, carefully carrying the bowl of water. He also noticed there was no one about. Where was everyone he thought? Maybe it was their shift change. He went past the desk to the cell. No desk sergeant. Oh well, he thought. He opened the cell door and went carefully over to the bench with the bowl of clean water. He managed to spill some of the water onto Martha's head as he leaned over her to put the bowl down. Her eyes flew open and she hissed at him then started blowing raspberries at him, which disturbed the other hens. Before he knew it, the other hens were clucking loudly at Martha as if to tell her to stop the loud raspberry blowing, so they could get back to sleep. Martha continued her loud hissing and raspberry blowing, ignoring her sister's pleas for her to stop. She had been in a deep sleep until Finney had spilled water on top of her head, startling her awake! Blanche had enough of Martha's belligerent attitude and noises that had woken them all up. How could she and the rest of them get back to sleep again with Martha carrying on the way she was? You would think Finney had completely drenched her in water!