THE “NORTON WOOD HASH” HASH
THE WORDS ‘Twas a very chilly Sunday morning as members of BH3 assembled for Run 320. The bright, cloudless sky complemented firm ground, though thankfully little in the way of ice. With Strider and Silent Running (Monty in tow, or was he doing the towing?) organising the jolly jape across the inevitable hills in the distance (quote of the day: ‘the only way is up’ – and he wasn’t kidding), the rest of the motley crew (x4) waited anxiously for the ‘Off’. A few minutes were added to the start time in the hope of seeing some of the ‘diehards’ turn up. Alas, a mixture of injury, other ‘races’ and social commitments meant that this fine band of brothers (and one sister) were indeed going to be left to their own devices. Ronlet was the first with the ‘On On’; with the pace that she was going, the rest were all wishing to have some of whatever tonic she had been on the night before. Forget Me Not caught up after 100m, with Birdseye and John Noraika (temporary handle Nokia) not far behind. Heading West towards the River Stour the Team meandered gently down into the valley and towards the picturesque ‘des res’ water mill flats, complete with a curious angler wondering what an earth was going on. Forget Me Not caught a tadge of Buggalugs’ luck, with dangling shoelaces after the 400m (bad prep, 20 press ups awarded). Strider overtook Ronlet and forged the way. Up to Whip 1 (the first of a few; and boy, we needed them), and across the A357, heading towards Norton Wood (which looked steep!). With Birdseye and Nokia playing ‘run silent, run steady, run intelligently’, Ronlet and Forget Me Not could be heard drawing deep breaths to make the attempt to stride out. With a couple of ‘Cheeky Checkings’ thrown in for good measure, the Norton 6 were able to keep more or less together until Whip 2 at the top of a rise; a timely and Heavenly stop. A couple of grateful minutes of rest and another ‘Checking’ guaranteed that by the end of the morning’s run, the 4 hounds had all had the chance to ‘recce’ at least one dummy leg each. But we weren’t to know that snippet of information as we launched into a circle within Norton Wood itself. With Strider and Silent Running keeping the Crew on the straight and narrow, the pace quickened with a mix of paths and tracks on level ground. With some more ‘Checks’ and the lead changing among all the Hounds, the (what seemed like 10 minutes) run through the wood ended in a gentle, though fast, run down a 400m lane to what looked like the beginning of the end – heading East back towards A357. Another ‘Check’ in the lane thrown in for good measure ensured that Birdseye, Ronlet and Nokia overtook Forget Me Not who had slipped off on another dummy leg into the adjoining field. Whipping at the road, the Crew turned South briefly. Silent Running and Strider pointed the Hounds in the right direction, with Strider, once again, setting a rapid pace towards the largest ‘BH3’ sawdust ground pointer seen for a while. (Its meaning must have kept the ‘locals’ wondering for a few days – Dorset’s answer to the Wheat Rings?) The Hounds were now spread over a 50m length and turning East back to the ‘des res’ mill and the valley bottom, Ronlet, Birdseye and Forget Me Not followed an ever quicker Strider, with Nokia, Silent Running and Monty close behind. With the last 500m back towards the pub being flat and interrupted only by a stile and the traverse of a narrow bridge at the mill (bemused angler still there), a split in the course appeared - Birdseye forked right, the rest left…no advantage gained by either side, and we’re still not sure why it happened (change of scenery?). It made no difference to the final results, with Strider leading the way home, followed by Forget Me Not, Ronlet, Birdseye and Nokia. Silent Running brought up the rear in the unlikely event of stragglers needing help. With just the 6 in the group, this was a good session and probably one of the fastest runs of the season. Not even the ‘Checks’ and ‘Whips’ slowed the pace that much. Thanks go to Silent Running and Strider for a well-laid, ‘just right’ course. (??*) - Denotes attendance by those not Mug Rated (social hounds). GOLD T-SHIRT AWARD (50 AND OVER) Andy (Warthog) Goodman (156); Terry (Buggalugs) Canham (97); Bronwen (Ronlet) Jones (84); Ed (Birdseye) Sadd (59); Mark (Jibber) Humphries (53); Brian (BrEW) Errington-Weddle (53) MUG AWARD AND CAN WEAR BLUE T-SHIRT (25 - 49) Terry (Walt) Disney (48); David (Medal Man) Raleigh (46); John (Semaphore) Carr (41); Tom (Jock) Moncur (37); Duncan (Day Glo) Ray (35); Ian (LoDisH) Walton (34); Frances (Stop Watch) Canham (33*); Ruth (Typhoon) Canham (32*); Cathy Moncur (26*); Helen (Elle) Goodman (25*) NEED MORE HASHES OR POSTING ORDER (10 - 24) Sue (Hot Lips) Raleigh (19); Gordon (F Med) Rafferty (18); Tom (Two Shoes) Gillard (15); Elizabeth (Walter) Raleigh (15); Margaret (Up Front) Laurie (14); Tim (Silent Running) Bryning (16); J-F (Entente) Lechanoine (14); Sylvie (Ça Va) Lechanoine (13) NEED MORE HASHES (5 - 9) Ian (Abdul) Condie (8); Lucie Raleigh (8*); Nick (Tri-Harder) Bateson (7); Ben Sadd (6); Gail Sadd (6); J-C (Moose Milk) Boisvert (6); Jim (Forget Me Not) Forrest (6); Harry (Hot Dog) Ross (5); Emma Sadd (5); Roland (Pet Rescue) Stibbards (5) KEEP HASHING (1 - 4) Clare Sadd (4); Jayne (Blackberry) Boisvert (4*); John (Strider) Bryning (6); Lesley (Tinkerbell) Bryning (5*); Terry (Falsies) Crosby (3); Sarah Bryning (2); Bob (Bobalong) Long (2); Tarquin (Dangerous Davis) Shipley (2); Rod (Dyno) Thomas (2); John (Nokia) Noraika (2); John Cowley (1); Buzz (Easy Lay) Powell (1); Neil Donaldson (1); Scottie Scott (1); Kate Forrest (1*) PUB DETAILS The White Horse is located on the main road through Stourpaine. More details to follow. Draught Beers Price: Strider/SRun # 039 |
[ Hash Words ] [ Search ] [ Contact Us ] [ Home ]
 |
On Line email: bj.ew88@gmail.com |