Sunday, 22 September 2013

Mr Finleyson sat down behind the wheel. He once again turned round in his seat and said to Gilbert, "What did you think of what just happened? Old Bertie deserved that punch on the nose. Rounding on Colin and verbally abusing him was not a very smart move on Bertie's part. You don't mess with Colin Brown if you want to remain standing"! Gilbert replied, "You're right Oliver, but the irony is that Colin did not touch Bertie's lousy jumper. He is innocent in all of this. We know who the culprit is". He leaned forward to look in Martha's direction. "Don't worry Oliver, your secret is safe with me"! The two men just stared at Martha, who stared back with her cocked to one side, looking as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Mr Finleyson turned to Gilbert and said, "I'm starving. We've missed lunch. How about us going back into the show grounds and making our way to where the food stalls are"? Gilbert replied, "Good idea Oliver, what about Martha and the other hens"? "The hens in the cages", said Mr Finleyson, "will be fine, for all the time we will be gone. I'll just bring Martha with us. I'll just pop on the carrier I made for her. Let's get organised to go"! They both got out of the Land Rover. Mr Finleyson went round to the back and opened the tailgate and took what looked like an old flannel shirt. It was some sort of sling he had made using three old flannel shirts that had seen better days. He had cut the sleeves off and sewn, by hand, the body of the shirts together, making a large pouch. He had then made a long strap from the sleeves and attached it to the pouch. It didn't look pretty but it did the job! Mr Finleyson had always recycled for longer than he cared to remember. He recycled before it became popular. He saw no point in wasting anything or spending money when he didn't have to. He put the contraption on and reached in and picked up Martha from her cushion. He put her on the ground for a few minutes to stretch her little stick legs and do her business. She walked around, pecking the ground along the way. After ten minutes, he picked her up and popped her into the flannel pouch. You could just see her beak and little black, beady eyes peering out at the world. This way his hands were free to eat and have a cup of coffee. The three of them set off towards the turnstile to re-enter the show grounds. Mr Finleyson was wondering why there had been no announcement over the tannoy, informing the competitors,the judging was about to start. He found that strange as it was after 12:00 p.m. The competition was easily behind schedule. As soon as they went through the turnstile, they heard an almighty uproar. While they had been away for around twenty minutes, all hell had broken loose! After Colin Brown had punched old Bertie in the face, sending him crashing to the ground, via the registration table, which he took with him to the ground, a couple of men in the next queue had helped old Bertie to his feet, while another two men behind Colin each grabbed one of his arms, pinning them behind his back. Bertie, now standing after being helped to his feet by the two men in the next queue. With Colin's arms pinned behind his back, Bertie flew at him, knocking him to the ground along with the two men restraining Colin! They all fell backwards, landing on the dirt floor, which was covered in sawdust. One of Colin's mates standing three queues away, saw what had happened and ran over to help Colin. He picked up one of the folding chairs at the long table and smashed it over the heads of the two men who had restrained Colin! Colin jumped up and grabbed old Bertie and lifted him above his head and threw him as far as he could through the air. Old Bertie landed in the pig pen on the other side of the long table! Working on the rigs had made Colin stronger than most men. Even at his advancing years, he could outrun, outfight and was fitter then a man half his age! Colin was afraid of nobody! The years of brawling in pubs left him with a fierce reputation throughout Scotland. He never ran from a fight but was always the first to jump right in! He was now in his element! Old Bertie was now covered in foul smelling pig shit as he lay on his back, unable to move, as one of the pigs was sitting on him! His clothes were ripped and caked in pig shit! His back was aching from landing on it. He reckoned Colin had broken his back. He lay there calling for help. No one came to his rescue!

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