Run 1428

Monday 2 July 2018

Three Tuns, Ashwell


Hares: Catch-it & Ringer

HASHERS: 18  NEWBEES: 2  VISITORS: 1  MUTTS: 0  APRES: 2


Hare Ringer: soixante-neuf ans


Newbees Claire and Bridie trying to shift the blame


Welcome to our Visitor from Oz, Pythagorarse


The famous Ashwell stepping stones


Underlay, now dry, emerges from the woodland trail


No crop busting on this Hash


Down-downs for newbees and Visitor from Oz


Nik-Nak arrived just too... well you know the rest

The Visitor from Oz's Tale

Take 18 Hashers, two newbees: Claire and Bridie (introduced by returnees Lush BK and Zebedee respectively), Visitor from Oz: Pythagorarse, two pre-près: Shagpile and Mekon, a warm sunny evening, a welcoming pub in a beautiful Hertfordshire village, and what have you got? Why a perfect setting for a Hash of course.

Contacting us via the website, Visitor from Oz Pythagorarse asking if anyone in the vicinity of Biggleswade could give him a lift to and from the hash? Of course we can. Up stepped Depth Charge in his trusty chariot and so we met the man from Cairns H3, Australia. He's over here for a short while with his wife, staying with her relations.

It being the back-end of a very warm day, a trail of no excessive length was conjured up by Catch-it, assisted by birthday boy Ringer. Somebody must have told Bridie that it was a Red Dress Run as she was very suitably attired for one.

If you hash in Ashwell, you just HAVE to cross the little stream that is believed to be the source of the River Cam, and so we did. The idea is to use the stepping stones and not put your feet in the water. Easy eh? Ask Underlay. A back double behind the pub soon led us to a check opposite the local museum – well worth a visit incidentally next time you're in the area. Past the Bushel and Strike pub we went, which we were led to believe was not open on a Monday, but open it was.

Soon out of the village and into open countryside we followed footpaths, meandered along dabble-shaded woodland trails and crossed open crop fields, emerging eventually onto the quiet, far from common, Common Lane. A shortcut was offered but certainly the FRBs ran the full loop. And speaking of FRBs, could Bridie please put Zebedee on a tight lead – this Hare had no chance of keeping anywhere near up with him!

Back at the pub spot on the hour we found Nik-Nak. She had arrived fashionably late (just) and ran as much of the trail as she could find, sometimes forwards, sometimes in the reverse direction, but enjoyed it none the less.

Delicious cake was on offer, courtesy of Lady P – thank you [an earlier version of these Words wrongly attributed the cake to Catch-it, so I apologise to the real cake baker profusely: Dep Ed]. HM Capt F called the Circle and Pongo thought it the best Hertfordshire trail he'd been round today or even this week. A new dance craze – The Ringer – was unveiled; it'll catch on everywhere you wait and see. Down-downs were awarded to our newbees and the Visitor from Oz, and to the birthday hat-wearing Ringer, before handing over to the RA leaving him to reward the Hares.

The RA, as we know, misses nothing – it was all recorded in his little Book of Sins for later recall and prosecution in the Court of Common Hashing.

Finally it was time for Hashers to head home to their beds, to dream of next week's run from The Rose and Crown in Ridgmont. Pythagorarse hopes to return to us before leaving the UK, and said he might well bring his wife having seen that we are a family-safe Hash. You'll be very welcome mate.

On-On
Catch-it and Ringer