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THE “LET THE TRAIN TAKE THE STRAIN” HASH Run Number: 444 Date: Monday 18 Aug 08 Time: 72 minutes Distance: About 6 miles Run Location: Corfe Castle/Norden The Pub: The Halfway Inn Pub Links: To follow Weather: Overcast Hares, Hounds and Hash Stats THE WORDS Knowing that the number 444 has great mystical significance, the shadowy figures who control the vast, sprawling BH3 empire decreed that this hash should be special. Money would be no object. Ancient relics would be taken from their vaults and put on display. An entire transport system from a bygone age would be resurrected for our amazement and delight. And so on. The last time we’d used the Swanage Railway was back in 1996 when Warthog ran in BH3’s hundredth hash, and he was wearing the tee-shirt to prove it as we gathered in the car park at Norden Station. We’d travelled through heavy rain showers to get there, and been further stung by the £2 parking charge, but as we prepared for the next part of our journey the sun peeped shyly from the clouds to wish us well. While those with limited bladder-confidence made a dash for the station toilets, the rest of us strolled along the path to the platform. There was time for BrEW to take several photos as our steam engine was moved from one end of the train to the other. Madness was unimpressed by the carriage labelled Microbuffet, although that didn’t stop him choosing to board at that point. Once on the move, Silent Running paid our fares from his official BH3 plastic bag. Children and senior citizens get cheaper fares, so we saved a few bob there. Walt, who admits to having been a bit of a train-spotter in his youth, told us many interesting things about the engines and rolling stock. After our on-board hash briefing we had a short wait before reaching the station at Harman’s Cross, so we sang a few words of “The Runaway Train”. Fortunately we soon got moving again and after more photos on the platform, we found our first blob and were off. The path from the station led to a road going north-south, and Warthog took us south up a hill to a check. Our cars were northwest of us, so we were reassured when Kinky Bugger picked up the dust taking us gently down across the fields in that very direction. A stile led us into a campsite, and we spent a little time looking before taking the obvious (with hindsight) route towards the entrance. Here we had a three-way choice, and while Ronlet explored northwards, with Kinky Bugger in tow, Birdseye led the pack in the other direction, to make sure we found the first of the promised three smiley faces. On the way back, Warthog admitted that he thought he’d heard Ronlet call the on, but as he hadn’t been sure, he’d carried on following the hare. This wasn’t to be the only time that Birdseye tried to encourage us to go the wrong way by sprinting off along an unpromising path. Our other hare, Walt, took the role of sweeper, making sure nobody got left behind. We caught up with Ronlet at the main Corfe to Swanage road and Silent Running led us north down a field and up the other side in the direction of the long ridge to the east of Corfe. Just past a group of farm buildings, he took on the challenge of a steep uphill false trail and returned just in time for Ronlet to lead us all on to the second check-back, where she waited round a corner by the smiley face and used her sweet voice to entice us towards her in the manner of the Lorelei. What jolly fun! Warthog found the true trail over a slippery little bridge along a path lined with holly. This eventually led to a road, and while Kinky Bugger explored downhill one way and the rest of us caught our breath at the top, Silent Running bravely ran down the other side of the hill to find the third smiley face. Our correct path from the top of the hill took us north to a gate and choice of four routes, three of them uphill. The right way was a gentle downhill run for about a third of a mile to the west, with the ruins of Corfe castle in our sights. Another check gave Madness the chance to make a fool of himself by checking downhill while everyone else went up to a check at the big pylon that we’d seen on top of the ridge more or less from the start of the run. From here it was a downhill run to the road past Rollington Farm. Once over the road, Madness led the pack north to the fourth smiley face. This was a surprise as we’d been told there were only three. Silent Running soon got us back on track across a field to a road and the good old BH3 On In arrow. It was then a half mile sprint down the road to a foot path on the left that led to the back of the station car park. The rain had held off and we had got back ages before the car park closed at nine o’clock. We changed and drove the few miles to the Halfway Inn where we drank beer and ate food and told stories. It was a good end to a good run. HARES, HOUNDS AND HASH STATS Hare(s): Birdseye and Walt (with trail-laying assistance from The Slobby Uno ♂ and Tour Guide) Hounds: BrEW, Kinky Bugger, Madness, Ronlet, Silent Running and Warthog Social Hounds/Puppy Hashers: Not this time 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 (232); Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones (205); Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle (166 + 4*); Ed (Birdseye) Sadd (148); Terry (Walt) Disney (147); Tim (Silent Running) Bryning (142 + 1*); Mark (Jibber) Humphries (140); Jason (Kinky Bugger) Wareham (115); Martin (Madness) Lawson (102 + 6*) GOLD T-SHIRT AWARD (50 AND OVER) Duncan (Day Glo) Ray (72+ 2*); Tim (Classic) King (69) MUG AWARD AND CAN WEAR BLUE T-SHIRT (25 - 49) John (Strider) Bryning (40); Tom (Two Shoes) Gillard (38); Helen (Elle) Goodman (30*); Gail (Tour Guide) Sadd (9 + 21*); Rowland (Pet Rescue) Stibbards (27); Mark (Shady) Vincent (27); Graham (Hidden Depths) Plaice (26); Pierre (Quelque Chose) Leroy (25) NEED MORE HASHES OR POSTING ORDER (10 - 24) Peter (Emptier) Fuller (21); Lesley (Tinkerbell) Bryning (17*); Ben (The Slobby Uno ♂) Sadd (14); Alan (Orson) Kerridge (12+1*); Patrick (Sloe) Ginn (12); Edward (The Wanderer) Vincent (12); Sarah (...) Bryning (1 + 10*); Paul (Crazy Fool) Kadoch (11); Emma (…) Sadd (8 + 2*) NEED MORE HASHES (5 - 9) Wendy (…) Stibbards (9*); Craig (Drama Queen) White (9); Jenny (…) Fuller (3 + 4*); James (i-Plod) Vincent (7); Manuela (…) Leroy (7*); Pierre (…) Leroy Jnr (6); Clare (The Slobby Uno ♀) Sadd (4 + 2*); Andy (Muddy) Cheney (5); Ian (House Hunter) Seraph (5) KEEP HASHING (1 - 4) Nikki (Xtra Miles) Brooks (4); Hilary Naylor (4); Steve Thornton (4); Rebecca Leroy (3*); Mike (…) Lock (3); Fiona (…) Ray (1+2*); Paul Allen (2); Sarah King (2); David Orriss (2); Elsie May Ray (2*); Alf Sadd (2*); Janice Vincent (2*); Chantelle Wareham (2); Jane Allen (1); Sandie Disney (1*); Laurence Fowkes (1); Renee Ginn (1*); Ben King (1+1*); Alice King (1*); George King (1*); Colin McGrory (1); Emma Rae (1); Frank Riley (1); Jon (Circus Boy) Smallwood (1); Fiona Vincent (1*) Back to The Words Price: Walt & Birdsey # 444 |
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