Pork Pie, Pimms & Pickled Onions. What can you say about it other than aren't we lucky to be British. Iconic and Tasty.

Laying the trail the day before was a treat. Sunny and calm. I particularly enjoyed it when an ice cream van pulled up alongside. I couldn't help it, I had to indulge in the largest 99 on offer. It was simply humungous and totally delicious.

As for the hash. They came in their droves (is 20+ hashers a drove?) In any case, it was a good turnout. I am not gonna dwell on the run, other than to say it was shortish for one of my runs (circa 55 mins). The weather was great. There were plenty of dogs, ankle biters, FRBs, plus a few walkers (not crisps). The pack stayed pretty much together and due to the recent building expansion in Shefford, I even managed to root out some previously untrodden bits.

Now for some history. Pork Pies and Pimms are quintessentially British. They have also been around for quite a time, as the following texts demonstrate. The first is from Roman Britain and shows that pies have been part of our cultural heritage for a long, long time. As for Pimms, its clearly an elixir of life, totally medicinal and hence should be imbibed at every opportunity.

Pies (an ancient text)
"Pernam, ubi eam cum caricis plurimis elixa veris et tribus lauri foliis, detracta cute tessellatim indicis et melle complebis. Deinde farinam oleo subactam contexes et ei corium reddis et cum farina cocta fuerit, eximas furno ut est et inferes." Translation: Boil the ham with a large number of dried figs and 3 bay leaves. Remove the skin and make diagonal incisions into the meat. Pour in honey. Then make a dough of oil and flour and wrap the ham in it. Take it out of the oven when the dough is cooked and serve.

Pimms (a brief history lesson)
Pimm, a farmer's son from Kent, became the owner of an oyster bar in the City of London, near the Bank of England. He offered the tonic (a gin-based drink containing a secret mixture of herbs and liqueurs) as an aid to digestion, serving it in a small tankard known as a "No. 1 Cup", hence its subsequent name. In 1851, Pimm's No. 2 Cup and Pimm's No. 3 Cup were introduced. Pimm's began large-scale production in 1851 to keep up with sales to other bars. The distillery began selling it commercially in 1859 using hawkers on bicycles. In 1865, Pimm sold the business and the right to use his name to Frederick Sawyer. In 1880, the business was acquired by future Lord Mayor of London Horatio Davies, and a chain of Pimm's Oyster Houses was franchised in 1887

Apologies for the late delivery of the words, and the lack of references to actual hashing or hashers. I have had a tough week and simply haven't had any spare time. I also have lost any memory of the event (an age issue methinks). I know there were plenty of down-downs, and I simply cannot recall what they were for. My security CCTV footage has not helped with my recollection, but there is video footage of the whole event, if anyone is at all interested.

Looking forward to this week's run in a few hours' time (which is an indication of just how late these words actually are). I promise to endeavour to do better with the words next time.

On-On!

Love y'all lots. el Capitain