After a long hot summer, it was a bit of a shock to circle up outside Meppershall Sugarloaf Pub in the cold and wet. Despite the hares fears that they'd be running alone with Double Entry, there was a substantial turnout.

Usually, runs from Meppershall have gone northwards giving the runners a steep climb back to the pub for their beverages. On this occasion, the trail led down the High Street towards Shefford, before turning off onto Hoo Road. Turning left into the Old Road Meadow through the orchard and meadow planted with many native trees. From there, the runners turned left onto Fyldyke road and to the junction with Chapel Rd. An early short-cut was offered here, but all were determined to complete the longish run.

The trail led across the road on down footpath 3 towards Stondon. Along the path were lots of wet blackberries and sloes. The Langford's wind-turbines could be seen in the misty distance. After 1.5 Km,we joined footpath 4. Jelly baby stop. This path deposited us onto Hillside road. Climbing only slightly, the pack followed the trail along the road past Stondon Manor's forbidding gates and the church to come within sight of the landmark, the Meppershall water tower (and mobile-phone antennae). At the second sharp bend in the road, the trail branched left through a hedge with more berries. The trail went across a muddy field, followed by a grassy field which cleaned the muddy boots very well. Following footpath 10, towards Chapel Farm you could hear the birds in the substantial aviary. 'On Inn' and back to the pub via Fildyke Rd.

The FRBs were greeted by aprés Submissive and Peacher's Tit. The hares had warned that the run was a long one; an hour to run and 1:20 to walk, so initially there was little concern about late returnees. Slow at getting changed? It soon became clear that some Hashers had not returned and two search parties were dispatched to recover them.

In the circle that followed, the RA was joined by a secret RA (Knobber) who were hard pressed to find miscreants to punish, as the most serious offenders (the ankle biters) had skipped home early. Faced finding somebody to get a downdown for the ankle biter's bickering about dog poo Atomic was somehow blamed. Catch It was awarded a down down for forgetting her Hare shirt – camel humps did not count. Edwina was told that umbrellas are a no-no. Very efficient in keeping him dry, he claimed. RA's finally fell back on custom and awarded drinks to themselves in order to reduce the wastage.

Remedial Hashing Lesson – The hares go to great trouble to find a circular trail through varied countryside that begins and ends at a pub. In advance of the run, they mark the trail with dobs of flour at regular intervals to indicate a route. On wet mornings they get up early and check that the marks at e.g. changes of direction etc. have survived, renewing them where necessary. During the run, runners (and walkers) are challenged to find and follow the trail that the hares have set (remembering always that it leads back to the pub!). Although the hares are known to be wily, indulging in tricks such as false trails and run-backs, there will always be flour marks every 50 paces or so along the route. Runners who don't see flour should consider whether they are still on the trail and whether it would be better to retrace their steps to the last dob, wait for the back Hare rather than staying on the road "because they always lead somewhere".

C-I & CT