RUN OF THE MILL

So the pack missed the whole point of the run and punished the Hares for laying too little dust. The run passed three mills, stopping at the derelict, but still tranquil and soporific Bowmans Mill, twice. Its decayed wheel had long since stopped turning but the mill stream still trickled along up to the weir, where it accelerated throughout its descent into the fresh effervescent cauldron below, once driving the wheels of rural industry, but now in a state of benign aggravation.

Before milling was taken away from our local heritage, the whole gamut of nature's powers were harnessed; wheat from the ground, water from the stream, and the hard graft of man and beast all combined to produce flour for laying hashes, and baking. Dr Beeching ended all that in 1959, by outlawing rural operations and relocating all flour production to large strategic plants like Ickleford. From here, big lorries clog up the A1 and sit in traffic jams on the M25, on their way to the Sunblest factory.

Our run last Sunday was a simple statement that we should rue the decline of our rural industries that provided a living for our fathers and their four fathers before them. The limited amount of flour was a statement that without the mills, there would be no flour, and without flour, we would have to use sawdust. It was nothing to do with Knobber not getting enough at the Co-op and running a bit short by the time he got to Stotfold Green.

A non-exhaustive list of down-downs not necessarily in the right order follows:

Hasher(s) - What for

Knobber, Hairy G, Tightwad & Bedpan - Wedding Anniversaries
Knobber & Hairy G - Hares
Newies [Jonty, Philipa & Sheila - Archive Ed] - Being Newies
Ringkisser, Newies - lost property
Various - Lost property
White Rabbit - Lost memory (& the Hashit)
Giblets - Training on the Hash*
Nik-Nak - Lost fingernail
Major Cripplecock - Christening
G-String - Immoral Earnings
Knobber & Hairy G - Low flour content
Ringkisser - Received mobile call (& the Hashit)

On On, Knobber & Hairy G