The Datchworth trail was laid by Pongo and Deadmeat (aka Marathon Man) early in the week, due to the hares not being able to turn up at their own run. After a couple of days of hurricanes and floods the map of their route arrived at Bell End's house. After a couple more days of hurricanes and floods Bell End went to check out the route on the Saturday afternoon, to find he couldn't find most of it which had been comprehensively washed and scattered. Luckily he was well equipped and able to lay the hash again.

On the Sunday morning, thanks to the assistant R.A., the weather dawned sunny and calm. After a quick huddle and a strategic prod, in the absence of the GM who is hashing in Hong Kong and Thailand, the Hash Mistress called the circle. This was disrupted by latecomers Paintball, Pecker and Pooper - who had had to drive past the hash site three times in order to ensure they were late. (Suitable punishment was duly dished out after the hash). In the absence of the hares, Bell End presented as the hare for the day. Then, in the absence of the Hash Horn, Bell End duly stood in and handed out the horns for the day.

The hash set off - to be caught later by Florence and F'K'A Duck who had arrived even later! (But not as late as Giblet's friends who Bell End met in the pub after the run. Nobody had missed them because no one was expecting them...except Giblets who had kept this vital information to himself. It has been noted!)

The hash ran through shiggy, past shiggy, over shiggy (or in the case of Giblets and Ringkisser, in it), through more shiggy - where My Little Pony lost one of his brand new shoes (which looked remarkably like slippers). Paintball almost got run down by a cyclist when he insisted on running across the road in front of him. More shiggy was endured. A children's playground was passed and Giblets felt the need to go on the slide - and immediately got stuck. (Fat thighs!). After much mud the On Inn was spotted and the hash headed back down the hill to the pub.

In the absence of the GM, Bell End called the circle awarding a birthday down down to Nik Nak and a down down to the hares - who were absent, and so Bell End stood in for them again. In the absence of the R.A., Bell End, as assistant R.A., duly awarded the punishments for various misdemeanours. Amongst these My Little Pony got to drink out of his shiggy covered new shoes and Pooper was awarded the hashit (dress) for failing to wear the hashit (negligee) he was awarded on the last run. He now has to wear one for the next two runs. Bearing in mind tomorrow is the Gispert run in Stevenage it seems unlikely he will survive the first dress wearing to manage the second run.

The circle was closed, social drinking called and we headed back to the pub.

Bell End, in the absence of the hares, then wrote the words - and hopes the hares and committee members come back soon because he is getting sick of the sight of his own name in the words! (Yer, yer - Ghengis Khan, Adolf Hitler and Arthur Scargill, along with other notorious Megalomaniacs were heard to say the same! ED)