Having been forewarned to avoid both Dingo (unfortunately missing that day) ) and Pope,( who proved not to be the Hare), I felt safe..until I stood in in the pre-run Circle and was given the task of Hash Scribe; the excuse that I might not complete the trail was ignored. Always write the run up immediately, is the maxim but I forgot…and already that Thursday evening is vague. Luckily Jani and PF elected to walk, she because of a stressed leg and PF because he was tired; he had cycled from Holborn. “What goes around, comes around” and it was justice that these two athletes then walked the whole trail, found no short cuts (Hare! Please note for the Hallow E’en run) and turned up at the lengthy drink stop just as the last of the drinkers were leaving). Samuel Johnson wrote “No,Sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived. by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern” Certainly the atmosphere in the grange was excellent and the pack were in fine form both before and after the run. Later Pope checked his GPS and declared the distance as 18.9 miles and the time 1hr14mins; no wonder the front runners were bathed in sweat (in late October) when the halted at the drink stop. The pack got off to a quick start with a yell of “Yosh, Yosh” though more correctly it should have been “Yoshi Ikuso” as the Japanese add an i to the Yosh. , though some hashers changing in the upstairs room, did not even know that the hounds had left. The trail lead past the Moscow Circus and over the Iron Duke Bridge with its fine placard of the famous Iron Duke railway engine …at this point Jane Thunder ( who has found her train whistle) overtook us and soon she volunteered that she knew the way to the Drink Stop so we two turned back and went to chez More On and Martian Matron’s palace where Optomist had set up a drink stop. Many thanks to the hosts for such an excellent venue. No beer drinker, I really enjoyed my Dugin (Dubonnet and Gin). The runners generally declared it a good runners run and it was notable that so many came in all about the same time. Skylark was not too impressed whilst Ryde and Tablewhine remarked that it was like their recent run…with a plethora of pathways and road-crossings, especially the North Circular The tavern was busy and it was good to see so many hashers, including visitors from all over…after all, 24 October was United Nations day and the UN General Assembly in 1971 resolved that all member States should declare it a Public Holiday ( and to think that the English Parliament often expresses the wish for an October holiday. The down-downs were held in the Pub, a sensible practice in view of increasingly intolerant residents nearby). There were generous downdowns and I was so pleased to get a good English-style warm ale (the Oz practice of serving beer icecold is so painful where downing in one is concerned)…though the customary cider would have been even better. It was Katie’s birthday so she was given the hashy birthday song ( I believe it was she wearing an Ordu hash shirt as I recognised the name of the port in Turkey (or thought I did as I realised later that the “Ordu” I had visited is in Inner Mongolia ); this reminds me that the Hash-)-Neck in West Chester NY serves great Turkish food and that Rainbow Warrior (from the New York (Westchester) Hash was discussing Ian Cumming, still hashing there, who founded the Singapore Hash in 1962 and celebrated his 80th birthday in February 2001, . Tinkerbell (newly come to live in London) has hashed for ages (after all, she started at age three ) , her father being Barrel . Nutcracker had interesting tales of man-hunting? on a US Hash whilst I forget why Love Deuce and New Balls are on my notes. Small Talk (with a Q) , turning up after a year as he usually “Bashes”, took his bell on the run, broke it and was there outside the pub when I left, fixing his torch to the handle-bars whilst another hasher was changing a wheel.
On on Drainoil