Run 1094

Monday 7 May 2012

The Crown, Aston End

Hares: The Count & Lady P

HASHERS: 20  NEWBEE: 1  MUTTS: 3

How cool is this?
1094 TRAIL MAP LINK
Is this not a cool way of describing a Run?
(Reference in this map to the River Rib appears to be a Google error - see below)
Near St Evenage we may have been but we didn't expect this.
A sneaky mugger set about robbing a defenceless Senior Harriette.
Not only that, but the heartless bandit got away with her hard-earned cake money, collected for charerdy.
But he didn't bargain on the presence of mind of an off-duty representative of Mr Plod. Thanks to her quick thinking we now have a pen portrait of the villan.
Anyone seeing him should approach with caution, but never fear he will be in pretty poor shape once Lady P sorts him out.
CRIME UPDATE: The dastardly fiend has added extortion to his list of foul deeds, texting anonymously " .. I insist Lady P bakes more cakes so the pot can be filled more".
Back to The Wurdz
We eased our way into Monday runs with a 4pm start sandwiched in between the bouts of rain that have distinguished Spring 2012. To continue the weather report it was clear from the gloves, long coats and woolly hats on show the pack did not think it warm.
The circle noted the welcome return of Bell End & Stallion, as well as Newbee Susie and the birthdays of Spotted Dick and Lady P before venturing off into the first of a few shiggified fields. But it was the newly watered rapeseed field that gave the otherwise hardy pack the most distress.
Next a fall for Kisses Anytime who hit the deck to the amusement of many and sympathy of few. Perhaps the pack were hard rather than hardy.
The trail followed the River Beane for a while and it was clear it had recently been full and flowing fast. But now it was incredibly dry and the pooh-sticks contest had to be cancelled. Lack of rain stopped play. (BUT SEE BELOW FOR THE REAL REASON)
Back at Aston End Lady P's subtly placed and pretty ON INN caught out the FRBs who missed it and obeyed the bar: all part of the game.

In the circle, Pongo was kind enough to suggest the hares were worthy of a beer and there were also down-downs for: Kisses (as Murdoch would say "I do not recall), Spotted Dick (no ...), Thongo (I remember that, lost hat) and Depth Charge (lack of hash gear).

ON ON to WOBURN

THE COUNT for Lady P

This from Fat Controller:
I was quite disturbed by the lack of water in the river we ran close to on Monday, especially at the dried up ford.
So I got out the OS map and found that it is called the River Beane, and that it is a tributary to the River Lea [which I have known since childhood as my mother is from Tottenham] which has its source at Leagrave, just on 4 miles away from where I now live with Kisses Anytime. The loss of water from this river is a true tale of woe, as it has not just been affected (as we all thought) by the recent lack of rain. In fact it goes back further! The text below is from Wikipedia.
'The River Beane rises to the south-west of Sandon, in the hills northeast of Stevenage in Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire's population increased substantially in the second half of the twentieth century, and a licence was given to abstract water near Aston [a pumping station is shown next to the ford on the map] for Stevenage's water supply. The river has been adversely affected by over-exploitation of the chalk aquifer in its upper reaches. Since the 1990s there has been only seasonal flow at Walkern. The river was once big enough to power a watermill at Walkern and support watercress beds.
The lower Beane is more robust and there is regular flow through Watton-at-Stone, Stapleford and Waterford until the confluence with the River Lea at Hartham Common in Hertford.
Consideration has been given to find a way of replacing the water currently abstracted near Aston with water from a less environmentally damaging source. However, the River Lea's catchment area as a whole is under pressure, and it is difficult to find another source of fresh water.'
Coming from Kent, I have seen the same thing happen many times to the chalk streams there, but never thought I would see the same effect elsewhere!
ON - ON! F.C.
YOUR SCRIBE IS MUCH OBLIGED FC. OUR PICTURE SHOWS FLATTENED UNDERGROWTH ON THE DRIED UP BED OF THE BEANE AFTER WEEKS OF RAIN