THE “TAXI TO THE FINISH” LIVE HASH
Run Number: 427
Date: Monday 7 Apr 08
Time: 1 Hour 22 minutes
Distance: About 9 kms
Run Location: Shaftesbury
The Pub: The King’s Arms
Pub Links: To follow
Weather: Overcast and very cold
Hares, Hounds and Hash Stats
THE WORDS
The pack gathered in the public car park in the centre of Shaftesbury just opposite the Ship Inn. Hidden Depths and Crazy Fool were the first to arrive, jumped out of their cars and changed into shorts and hash shirts, locked everything else in the car and gave the keys to Silent Running for safe keeping. It then started to snow, what novices. Warthog duly arrived on foot, running with a pack on his back; we thought the hash must have already started. The cold weather was playing havoc with people’s water works and numerous people trotted off to the public toilets only to find them locked, thank goodness for the pub’s toilets. We nearly gained a new recruit as a chap in running kit asked us for accommodation details in Shaftesbury; he was actually running to London to take part in the marathon.
Kinky Bugger and Jibber gave the briefing: Live hares, checks marked with just one blob, 2 smiley faces and numerous whip-ins. Ronlet shamed me into doing the words (sorry so late) due to not having attended a hash for so long. BrEW took the photo and the hares vanished down the hill going North down Tout Hill, having been assured that we would give them 5 minutes start.
It was so cold we gave them 3 minutes, it seemed like 5. Down the hill we charged, at a fairly good pace, just to keep warm, only to be greeted by a smiley face, groan, we should have known, back up we went. At the top we turned right, through the town and uphill into the woods and through a housing estate (why is Shaftesbury so hilly?). We had to follow a footpath with a handrail, which zig zagged, following 2 locals. Warthog to their dismay vaulted the handrail shouting “On On”, and careered straight down, followed by a less than enthusiastic pack, slippery under foot, the locals could not understand why you would not use a perfectly good concrete footpath.
This led to a field with a path running across it adjacent to the river. Very straight and flat. A good head of steam was raised by the pack, we should have smelt a rat as after about half a kilometer we not only found a smiley face but also the 2 former locals who we’d met before (both smirking) as we about turned and headed back to the check.
Thank goodness for Warthog, Crazy Fool, Silent Running and Ronlet, lots of trails to check with very little dust to be seen. Walt and Hidden Depths were wisely biding their time at checks and harbouring their energy. Walt and Warthog both seemed to possess encyclopaedic knowledge of the surrounding area, which would prove invaluable later when the dust dried up.
When we exited the woods, we lost the trail, the pack spread out far and wide to check for dust. Crazy Fool went careering downhill for what seemed like miles. The crises of “On On” were heard at the top of the field, but still no sign of Crazy Fool. Ronlet never gave up hope of finding him and eventually he re-appeared to rejoin the pack. Still with enough energy to keep up with the leaders (the swine). We ran a long way up a lane and emerged at the A350 to a whip in (the only one we stopped at, and only because we had lost the trail). Warthog as ever keen to get going found the trail but kept its location secret for a while to enjoy the headless running of the rest of the pack – first time I have found him stuck for words – oh he wasn’t he was just miming “On On”.
We crossed the A350 and made our way to the roundabout by the hotel and started to check the trails. It was getting late, the light was diminishing and the dust was no where to be seen. Alan and Hidden Depths checked the road back into town, when they realised it was a false trail and returned to the roundabout the pack had gone. Cries of “where are you” were met with a deafening silence, in fact the pack (based on local knowledge) followed a trail behind the hotel. Alan and Hidden Depths made the strategic decision to head for the pub, ‘hoorah’ for Alan he knew our location and how to get back to the pub. What we had not realized was that the rest of the pack had lost the trail and were floundering too. We got back to the pub to be met by Kinky Bugger and Jibber who decided to act as a search party with their car. What a sight it was to see the pack arriving in different vehicles and at different times, almost one start and six finishes.
After changing in the public car park, we moved into the pub for beers and food. The beer tasted good (free samples) and the food was excellent. A very enjoyable hash and our thanks go to Kinky Bugger and Jibber for laying such a cunning live trail at such short notice.
HARES, HOUNDS AND HASH STATS
Hare(s): Hare(s): Kinky Bugger, Jibber and their car
Hounds: Crazy Fool, Hidden Depths, Madness (injured but still ran. On Words - he keeps asking why he got his handle!), Ronlet, Silent Running, Walt, Warthog and Alan Kerridge
Social Hounds/Puppy Hashers: BrEW (nursing a knee injury from skiing)
Real Hounds: Not this time.
Back to The Words
MUG & T-SHIRT RATINGS
(??*) - Denotes attendance by those not Mug Rated (social hounds).
RED T-SHIRT AWARD (100 AND OVER) ….And we’ve got them – for £10!
Andy (Warthog) Goodman (216); Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones (188); Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle (150 + 3*); Ed (Birdseye) Sadd (136); Terry (Walt) Disney (130); Tim (Silent Running) Bryning (124 + 1*); Mark (Jibber) Humphries (124)
GOLD T-SHIRT AWARD (50 AND OVER)
Jason (Kinky Bugger) Wareham (97); Martin (Madness) Lawson (87 + 5*); Duncan (Day Glo) Ray (69+ 2*); Tim (Classic) King (69)
MUG AWARD AND CAN WEAR BLUE T-SHIRT (25 - 49)
John (Strider) Bryning (33); Helen (Elle) Goodman (30*); Gail (Tour Guide) Sadd (8 + 20*); Mark (Shady) Vincent (27); Tom (Two Shoes) Gillard (26); Rowland (Pet Rescue) Stibbards (26)
NEED MORE HASHES OR POSTING ORDER (10 - 24)
Peter (Emptier) Fuller (17); Graham (Hidden Depths) Plaice (18); Lesley (Tinkerbell) Bryning (15*); Pierre (Quelque Chose) Leroy (16); Ben (The Slobby Uno ♂) Sadd (13); Edward (The Wanderer) Vincent (12); Patrick (Sloe) Ginn (11); Sarah (..) Bryning (1 + 9*); Emma (…) Sadd (8 + 2*)
NEED MORE HASHES (5 - 9)
Wendy (…) Stibbards (8*); Jenny (…)Fuller (3 + 4*); James (i-Plod) Vincent (7); Clare (The Slobby Uno ♀) Sadd (4 + 2*); Paul (Crazy Fool) Kadoch (6); Alan Kerridge (5); Manuela (…)Leroy (5*)
KEEP HASHING (1 - 4)
Nikki (Xtra Miles) Brooks (4); Andy (Muddy) Cheney (4); Steve Thornton (4); Pierre Leroy Jnr (3); Rebecca Leroy (3*); Fiona (…) Ray (1+2*); Paul Allen (2); David Orriss (2); Elsie May Ray (2*); Alf Sadd (2*); Janice Vincent (2*); Chantelle Wareham (2); Jane Allen (1); Sandie Disney (1*); Renee Ginn (1*); Ben King (1+1*); Alice King (1*); George King (1*); Sarah King (1); Mike Lock (1); Colin McGrory (1); Hilary Naylor (1); Emma Rae (1); Jon (Circus Boy) Smallwood (1); Fiona Vincent (1*)
Back to The Words
Price: Jibber & Kinky # 427 |
