THE “HOPSCOTCH” HASH
Run Number: 406
Date: Mon 6 Aug 07
Time: 80 mins
Distance: About 5.75 miles
Run Location: Dewlish
The Pub: The Oak Inn
Pub Links: To Follow
Weather: Warm, broken cloud
Hares, Hounds and Hash Stats
THE WORDS
A commendably large (for August) group of hounds assembled at the Oak Inn for Hidden Depths and Two Shoes to confuse us with our second hash of the season at Dewlish. We welcomed Pierre Junior, son of Quelque Chose to his first hash. The Dumb Blonde also returned for her first hash after a month of Vet directed light duties, and was straining at the leash to return to the fray. Ronlet, who as far as we know had not been to the vet, selected a fresh victim for the Words with her scary, gimlet-eyed look.
Before the brief, Warthog led some muttering about whether there would be more dust than last time, and whether it would be of the right consistency.
To prove him wrong, Two Shoes launched into a comprehensive briefing, which included demo dabs, of the purest and finest sawdust, about the size of Mount Vesuvius. We were assured of a Smiley face, some water and about 5¾ miles. Quelque Chose translated the briefing for the benefit of Pierre Junior, and with all suitably ‘genned up’ we paused for the team photo by BrEW and were off.
At the first check at the Village crossroads, confusion ensued as all trails were declared false, but with some appropriate prodding from the hares, we found the correct lay and headed down hill to the stream bottom and a steady pull up a lane. The usual suspects lead the field, which then took a sudden and unexpected excursion through a private garden. Some hares narrowly avoided running through the back porch of the adjoining house, and as we apprehensively continued out through an orchard and over the stream for the first time, Two Shoes confirmed we had the owners’ permission.
Madness, Kinky Bugger, Jibber and Warthog adopted their usual role as front runners as we ran up the other side of the valley and along School Lane, before entering a series of fields. At a number of checks that followed, the hares had difficulty finding the elusive third dab. With appropriate attention to the Hares’ body language and position in the field, Ronlet proved best at finding the well camouflaged ones, lurking in the long, dry, grass, and led us through a field of skittish cows, and back to the road.
The trail then led us back to the stream and our first bridgeless crossing. Most hares resigned them selves to damp feet, but Pierre Junior, in a display worthy of Jonathan Edwards, cleared the water in one bound. Two Shoes’ Machiavellian intentions then became clear as we zigzagged backwards and forwards, playing hopscotch over the stream, in the next few hundred yards. By the end of this section all had sodden feet, particularly Dumb Blonde – the only hound who seemed to really enjoy the water - who ran the whole way along the stream bed.
Having finished the trial by water, we climbed steeply up to the wood line and into the forest. The trail left the established path and we spend half a mile (but it seemed longer) weaving through the gloomy pine trees, dodging roots and spiky branches, and finishing up on the main road. Having disposed of a Smiley Face, we followed the trail back down towards the village on ground familiar from our previous visit. The hounds scented the finish and with more spring in their step headed through a field of cows and one big (but luckily docile) bull. The prospect of food and beer was too alluring for most hounds, who ignored the remaining trail completely and went route direct to the pub. Shady guided by Hidden Depths, who had laid this part of the trail and did not want to see it wasted, completed the extra detour and arrived home last, but with satisfaction that they had done it properly(*).
Most of the pack then, after suitable ablutions, repaired to the Oak for beer and food where they were joined by Pierre’s family. Our second outing to Dewlish was declared a success and Hidden Depths and Two Shoes congratulated for their second imaginative and enjoyable (as it always is in the Pub afterwards) hash.
Note from On Words
“(*)they had done it properly” – according to Hash custom, as soon as you have passed the On In, it’s first back to the pub regardless of trail, or rather disregarding trail!
HARES, HOUNDS, AND HASH STATS
Hare(s): Hidden Depths & Two Shoes
Hounds: BrEW, Emptier, Jibber, Kinky Bugger, Madness, Muddy, Quelque Chose, Ronlet, Shady, Warthog, Jenny Fuller, Steve Thornton, Pierre Leroy (Jnr)
Social Hounds/Puppy Hashers: Manuela and Rebecca Leroy
Real Hounds: Dumb Blonde
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MUG & T-SHIRT RATINGS
(??*) - Denotes attendance by those not Mug Rated (social hounds).
Andy (Warthog) Goodman (204); Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones (167); Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle (130 + 2*); Ed (Birdseye) Sadd (121); Terry (Walt) Disney (113); Terry (Buggalugs) Canham (108 + 1*); Tim (Silent Running) Bryning (101 + 1*); Mark (Jibber) Humphries (102)
GOLD T-SHIRT AWARD (50 AND OVER)
J-F (Entente) Lechanoine (79); Jason (Kinky Bugger) Wareham (72); Tim (Classic) King (69); Martin (Madness) Lawson (70); Duncan (Day Glo) Ray (64 + 2*)
MUG AWARD AND CAN WEAR BLUE T-SHIRT (25 - 49)
Sylvie (Ça Va) Lechanoine (44 + 2*); John (Semaphore) Carr (42); Tom (Jock) Moncur (38); Frances (Stop Watch) Canham (35*); Ruth (Typhoon) Canham (35*); Jim (Forget Me Not) Forrest (25 + 6*); Helen (Elle) Goodman (27*); Tom (Two Shoes) Gillard (26); John (Strider) Bryning (25)
NEED MORE HASHES OR POSTING ORDER (10 - 24)
Gail (Tour Guide) Sadd (8 + 16*); Mark (Shady) Vincent (23); Steve (Bob the Builder) Pritchard (20); Gordon (F Med) Rafferty (18); Rowland (Pet Rescue) Stibbards (17); Lesley (Tinkerbell) Bryning (14*); Edward
(The Wanderer) Vincent (12); Graham (Hidden Depths) Plaice (11); Ben (The Slobby Uno ♂) Sadd (11); Sarah Bryning (1 + 9*)
NEED MORE HASHES (5 - 9)
Emma Sadd (8 + 1*); Peter (Emptier) Fuller (7); James (i-Plod) Vincent (7); Patrick (Sloe) Ginn (6);Clare (The Slobby Uno ♀) Sadd (4 + 2*); Ombeline Lechanoine (5*); John (Nokia) Noraika (5); Wendy Stibbards (5*)
KEEP HASHING (1 - 4)
Jean-Baptiste (Pierre) Blandenet (4); Steve Thornton (4); Nikki (Xtra Miles) Brooks (3); Jenny Fuller (3); Pierre (Quelque Chose) Leroy (3); Heather Terrington (2 + 1*); Andy (Muddy) Cheney (2); Paul (Crazy Fool) Kadoch (2); Steve (Cloth Ears) Lomas (2); David Orriss (2); Rod (Dyno) Thomas (2); Janice Vincent (2*); Chantelle Wareham (2); Mary Burden (1); William Burden (1); James Carr (1); Julie Carr (1); William Carr (1); Ben King (1); Manuela Leroy (2*); Rebecca Leroy (2*); Pierre Leroy Jnr (1); Gabbi Lomas (1); Colin McGrory (1); Hilary Naylor (1); Fiona Ray (1); Robert Carr (1*); Sandie Disney (1*); Kate Forrest (1*); Renee Ginn (1*); Alf Sadd (1*); Fiona Vincent (1*)
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Price: 2 Shoes/HDept # 406 |
