THE “LAST OF THE SUMMER BEER” HASH
Run Number: 379
Date: Mon 23 Oct 06
Time: 50 minutes
Distance: About 4 miles
Run Location: Blandford
The Pub: The Greyhound
Pub Links:Weather: Cloudy
HARE(S): Terry (Walt) Disney
HOUNDS- Martin (Madness) Lawson
- Andy (Warthog) Goodman
- Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones
- Jason (Kinky Bugger) Wareham
- Mark (Jibber) Humphries
- Terry (Walt) Disney
- Ed (Birdseye) Sadd
- Tim (Silent Running) Bryning
Not In Photograph:- Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle
Social Hounds/Hash Puppies:Real Hounds:- Monty (Alamein)
- Benjy (Trip Hazard)
THE WORDS
The last Monday “Hash” of the year and a 6.00pm start was called for to ensure we were not benighted in the middle of Blandford’s not so salubrious neighbourhoods with the glimmer of a few nearly defunct torches to guide us home.
In spite of the earlier starting time or was it because of, Birdseye managed to not be the last hound to arrive. Is this the turning over of a new leaf or just the result of sleep deprivation affecting the fine-tuning of his normal almost too late arrival times?
Although Day Glo was not with us on this occasion there were a number of look-alikes all disporting various highly luminous garbs designed to 1) frighten off the locals and 2) allow Blandford’s hot rod drivers the chance to aim directly at us from a distance to ensure no near misses. In the event we all returned unscathed, but no doubt more of that later.
The usual briefing was brief as all hounds present reckoned they knew the signs! There were to be two whip-ins, no smiley faces and as is now becoming the norm, no checks were marked. All of this in around 4 miles of urban sprawl. It has to be said that there are merits to having the checks unmarked. For sure, if you are setting the run it takes far less time and therefore effort. Less use of dust and therefore less weight to carry around is a bonus. However, it should be remembered there is no shortage of this particular commodity (dust) and Birdseye is keen to have the Hash use as much as possible. It’s all a form of recycling! No marked checks also means you have to check every possible alternative route, but if the pack leader hits the trail straight off there is very little time lost and those wishing for a quick breather can be left gasping. This form of trail laying is particularly suited to town running where checks are frequent and it certainly gives all the hounds a chance of glory at the front of the pack, even if only for a short space of time.
By this time everyone that was going to turn up had arrived and the obligatory photo was taken by BrEW with a somewhat inauspicious backdrop. In fact so inauspicious I cannot even remember what it was:- could be sleep deprivation catching up with me again. (On Words Note – it was the map in the carpark…)
Finally we were off or at least we thought we were, but it took a few false trails and a bit of searching to find the correct trail over the bridge and behind the Crown Hotel with Warthog leading the way and Silent Running without Alamein (on his hols with Tinkerbell) bringing up the rear (was this significant I wonder?). After the first few checks most of us only had a vague idea of exactly where we were so it was very much a case of checking out every check and calling the on after sighting the next blob. Madness had his moments of glory before Jibber took over the running and then it was Warthog again with Birdseye heading in the wrong direction more often than not. There did not seem to b a straight road in the whole of Blandford and what is more, many of them seemed to be uphill. After one rash moment and a fit of enthusiasm Kinky Bugger sprung into the lead only to be thwarted at the next check. With the number of checks and deviousness of the Hare it was hardly necessary to have a whip in when it did finally arrive, but it was an opportunity to catch your breath and have a quick head count to ensure no one had gone AWOL or been abducted by the locals.
As the tour through Blandford progressed it was clear that it would 1) be a race against time to get back before dark and 2) be a challenge to stay out front for more than a check or two. Second guessing the Hare was a major component for avoiding too many false trails and getting detached from the main pack. Walt carefully checked our numbers and diligently made sure no one went astray, especially when the trail became more convoluted and on a couple of occasions more obscure.
The second whip-in duly came and went and darkness was by now fast approaching. Those well-prepared hashers like Ronlet were able to show off not just their dayglo features, but also their various forms of nightlight and were able to guide us over rough ground and spot the blobs as they started to merge into the darkness. Before long we were heading back across the river and across various car parks with BrEW nursing his recurring hamstring twinges and Ronlet saying “silly bugger should know better at his age”. Then it was all over and we were once again back at the cars and able to change into more normal street attire having wiped the worst of the sweat off our glowing brows.
So what do you think the local thought of all these shenanigans? It must seem very strange to the uninitiated to see a crowd of weirdly dressed runners shouting various incomprehensible words seemingly into thin air and then, as though someone was pulling their strings, they suddenly change direction, quite often going back the way they came then milling around like headless chickens before once again disappearing in all directions. And what about all these blobs of sawdust dotted around at intervals hidden behind gate posts, lamp posts, sign posts and any other sort of post that makes them difficult to see. These same blobs elicit all sorts of different reactions depending from which direction these luminescently garbed runners come from. Mention the Hash and they all look mystified and think you are on drugs, look the other way or pretend they have never spoken to you at all.
Having changed we all retired to the pub for a bevy or two before those that were not suffering from sleep deprivation (have I mentioned this before?) and were feeling suitably hungry got their food orders in and settled down for a pleasant evening.
So another notable Hash drew to a close and for the next few months we are onto alternate Sunday runs before the days once again get longer and warmer.
MUG & T-SHIRT RATINGS
(??*) - Denotes attendance by those not Mug Rated (social hounds).
GOLD T-SHIRT AWARD (50 AND OVER)
Andy (Warthog) Goodman (187); Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones (140); Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle (110); Terry (Buggalugs) Canham (108+1*); Ed (Birdseye) Sadd (100); Terry (Walt) Disney (93); Mark (Jibber) Humphries (78); Tim (Silent Running) Bryning (74); Tim (Classic) King (69); Duncan (Day Glo) Ray (60 + 2*); J-F (Entente) Lechanoine (57)
MUG AWARD AND CAN WEAR BLUE T-SHIRT (25 - 49)
Jason (Kinky Bugger) Wareham (47); Martin (Madness) Lawson (45); John (Semaphore) Carr (42); Tom (Jock) Moncur (38); Sylvie (Ça Va) Lechanoine (37+1*); Frances (Stop Watch) Canham (35*); Ruth (Typhoon) Canham (35*); Helen (Elle) Goodman (26*); Jim (Forget Me Not) Forrest (25 + 6*)
NEED MORE HASHES OR POSTING ORDER (10 - 24)
Steve (Bob the Builder) Pritchard (20); Nick (Tri Harder) Bateson (20); Gordon (F Med) Rafferty (18); John (Strider) Bryning (17); Tom (Two Shoes) Gillard (15); Mark (Shady) Vincent (12); Ian (Abdul) Condie (11 + 1*); Lesley (Tinkerbell) Bryning (12*); Edward (The Wanderer) Vincent (11); Rowland (Pet Rescue) Stibbards (10)
NEED MORE HASHES (5 - 9)
Gail (Tour Guide) Sadd (8 + 7*); J-C (Moose Milk) Boisvert (7 + 1*); Sarah Bryning (1+7*); Ben Sadd (6); Emma Sadd (6+1*); James (i-Plod) Vincent (6); John (Nokia) Noraika (5); Nick (The Gnome) Laffan (5); Jayne (Blackberry) Boisvert (5*)
KEEP HASHING (1 - 4)
Clare Sadd (4); Ombeline Lechanoine (4*); Heather Terrington (2 + 1*); Steve (Cloth Ears) Lomas (2); Rod (Dyno) Thomas (2); James Carr (1); Julie Carr (1); William Carr (1); Patrick Ginn (1); Gabbi Lomas (1); Colin (tbc) McGrory (1); Fiona Ray (1); Robert Carr (1*); Sandie Disney (1*); Kate Forrest (1*); Fiona Vincent (1*); Janice Vincent (1*)
Price: Walt # 379 |
