Run #2053 Monday 9th December Circle up 7:15 pm from the Smugglers Inn, 27 Teignmouth Rd, Dawlish EX7 0LA with U Bend.
Saturday, 7 December 2024
"Brrrrrrr"
TVH3 The Words for 2nd December 2024
The King William IV, Totnes
Run No. 2052
HARE: Wet-Johnny
Who
wuz there: Wet-Johnny, Man-Pig, Hotlips, Zoot, Beefy, Pisswell, Pocket
Rocket, Piltdown Man, Georgy Porgy, Smellie, Beeflicker, Ernie, Ted,
Melon Picker, Soapy, Ablesemen, Judgemental, Smash, Miss Mash, Satnav,
Slip-on-Me, Rise'n'Shine, Mateus Rose, Twiggy, U-Bend and returnee
Total Recoil
Circle
On
the drive over the outside temperature dropped to 4 degrees. Brrrrrr.
It was going to be a cold one. In the absence of Shitfaced, U-Bend
assumed the role of GM. Are there any announcements?
There
was a reminder from Piltdown about this weekend's TVH3 Christmas party
at Teignmouth Rugby Club. "Meet at Weterspoons, Teignmouth from 6pm
onwards....in fancy dress".
Man-Pig
had a brief announcement regarding Broken Man. The Pig had attended
South Hams Hash pre-Christmas Bash at Grenville House, Brixham, but only
to do the Saturday afternoon run. He was pleased to report that Broken
Man was there and was helping out at the refreshment stops. Broken Man
told the Pig how much he'd enjoyed his road trip down to Spain during
the summer. Additionally, how he was so much looking forward to having
his grandchildren come down for Christmas. Basically, as good as could
be expected, and we all wish Broken Man and family a lovely Christmas.
Finally, the Hare imparted some misinformation/fake news.
"The Walkers' trail is about 2.5 miles; the Shorts' about 4 and the Longs' about 5 to 5.5. There are two Long/Short splits."
Trail
The
whole pack started by running down Fore Street and across Albert
Bridge. The Walkers were directed down and onto the banks of the Dart
where they would follow the riverside footpath upstream to Weirfields.
The Longs and the Shorts carried straight on and to an arrow that took
them right and onto Pathfields. Overtaking Soapy and Judgemental before
another arrow, had us bear right and along Steamer Quay Road; "The
marshes" I thought.
Another
arrow and another bear right across Steamer Quay car park and onto the
footpath next to the river - heading downstream. I pass Pisswell but
there is torchlight ahead as another arrow has us divert inland and
across a smaller car park and back onto a tarmac footpath. Up until this
point the marks were excellent but now there were none. Was I wrong to
commit to the marshes? Yes.
Backtracking,
Total Recoil was the first to find marks near the bottom of Sparkhays
Drive. We commenced the steep zigzag climb up the newish (10 years old)
footpath that lead us up to Home Reach Avenue. Looking behind us, we
could see the parade of torches zigzagging and following us up from the
Dart. At the junction of Home Reach Avenue and Weston Lane, Man-Pig,
Total Recoil and Judgemental arrived at the first Long/Short split. We
all went Long.
For
the Shorts, it was a left turn and a descent down Weston Lane and
Seymour Place and then back onto Bridgetown Road near the Albert Inn.
Unsurprisingly,
Beefy and Beeflcker were ahead of us and Pocket Rocker wasn't far
behind us. The trail now climbed past Weston House and up to the highest
part of Bridgetown where a check had been kicked out along Blackpost
Lane. It was getting decidedly windy and a tad chilly up here.
Fortunately, we soon came to another check kicked out towards Dukes
Road.
At
the first junction, the trail took us down Courtfields but Beefy and
Beeflicker had to be called back as they had embarked on an excursion to
the lower reaches of Dukes Road. This allowed Pocket Rocket to catch
up.
We were in a housing estate now and out of the wind. Courtfield is a cul-de-sac...well it is for cars but not for Hashers.
Marks
now had us on a footpath that was a mixture of flat and steps that
followed a brook all the way down to Weston Lane where we rejoined the
Shorts' trail.
We
now headed up to the bottom of Bridgetown Hill and followed marks
around and over Brutus Bridge where we rejoined the Walkers' trail on
the banks of the Dart.
Beefy,
Beeflicker, Judgmental, Total Recoil and Pocket Rocket had stolen a
lead but were still within earshot as we left the banks of the Dart and
headed up Weirfields next to the Kevics playing fields. Pocket Rocket
had slowed down and I eventually catch up with Total Recoil and
Judgmental as we cross the A385 and start heading up the Western Bypass.
About
100 yards distant, we see a loiterer in a hi-vi jacket. Could it be a
Hasher? Yes. It is wet-Johnny who is now the one-man-sweetie-stop. It
is also the second Long/Short split. A couple of fizzy-chewy things
later we are presented with a choice.
"Shorts
straight across and onto Malt Mill and Castle Street. Alternatively,
Longs is On up the hill", all said with a glint in his eye.
I
am getting thirsty and the Short is tempting but Wet-Johnny is bound
to have us turn left at Cistern Street or, possibly, carry on up to
Kingsbridge Hill before turning left. Total Recoil is left to run up the
Western Bypass whilst Man-Pig and Judgemental adopt a slothful walk.
We see Total Recoil's torchlit shadow pass Cistern Street. Bugger. It's
left at Kingsbridge Hill. Total Recoil is far distant now but we are
sure that he's pushed on past Kingsbridge Hill turning. Double bugger.
He's not going up to the toll house....is he?
Oh yes he is.
Bugger, Bugger. Bugger. It's going to be Fishchowter's Lane. Wait till I get my hands on Wet-Johnny.
And
so it transpires that Judgemental and I catch up with Total Recoil on
Fishchowter's Lane which, by day, is a beautiful track. We follow the
track back down and onto Maudlin Road, Leechwell Street and cross The
Lamb for the final descent down High street and back to the pub.
Total
Recoil elects not to come to the pub as he has two jacket potatoes in
the oven. Judgmental starts doing some warming-down exercises outside
the pub as he now has to wait for Pocket Rocket. I go back to the car
park where the first person that I see is Pocket Rocket.
"Judgmental is waiting for you outside the pub".
"Oh. I am waiting for Judgmental by his car"....and so you are. I wonder who is waiting on whom here.
Down-Downs
Back
in the pub most Hashers have finished their Hash scoff so it is not
long before we commence the Down-Downs. Man-Pig is the only RA present.
We will all be glad when Forrest finishes his pantomime rehearsals for a
change of RA.
Anyway,
Rob the landlord has come up trumps again and put on a Hash menu in
addition to providing the Down-Downs so we start by giving a big
"Thankyou to the pub".
Are there any awards? The Pig is looking directly at U-Bend.
"Hashshit shirt?"
"Oh. It may be in the van".
Too
late to get it so the only award present is the Jester's Hat. By
rights it should be in Wetfart's hands but he couldn't make it so the
Pig must find a worthy recipient - guilty or not.
The
Pig describes the mix up in meeting points between Pocket Rocket and
Judgmental. Pocket Rocket is at Judgmental's car but with no car keys.
Judgemental has the keys but he has no passenger present with him
outside the pub....as agreed. Accordingly, Pocket Rocket gets the Hat
and a round of, "Hold it in you hand Mrs Murphy".
No awards left so onto stories; possibly true but often probably not.
Melonpicker
has a story about a would be alcoholic but who is, in fact, a coke
addict. He feeds his habit by stealing. Most recently under the guise of
pretending to eat. Whilst sitting nicely he chomps through his chips
and chilli. He looks straight ahead, continues munching, and deftly
moves his right had towards a glass. His skill is in not switching his
gaze. He locks his claw around the glass and brings it upto his lips.
"Ah. That rush of coke. Coke? I bought a beer!" Meanwhile, Melonpicker
is scouring the table looking for where he'd left his pint of coke, 50%
of which now resides in Judgemental's tummy!
A Down-Down for Judgemental accompanied by, "Here's to the coke addict...."
Pocket
Rocket has a story. It is about the folly associated with failing to
pay attention to roadsigns. The Longs are running down a steepish hill.
There are warning signs for traffic calming measures in the form of
road humps. The next thing is a not unreasonable and impromptu attempt
at the triple jump by the FRB. He hops, slips and jumps his way down
the road after snagging a road hump. Our Olympian triple jump finalist?
Man-Pig. Beefy comes up with a song whilst the Pig gargles his half
pint into oblivion.
The
last half. I didn't clearly catch what Beeflicker was saying but I
think the long and the short of it went something like this. Pisswell
and Beeflicker have got off trail. Beeflicker consults the mapping app
on his phone to find out where they are. This is only partially
successful. They know where they are but they don't know where they
should be. Pisswell says:
"It's
a shame we don't have a phone. We could phone the Hare and ask where
we should be". And so you could. A note for "Clouseau", the observant
one.
A final reminder to everyone about this weekend's TVH3 Christmas Party and it's time to wend our way home.
Next week
Our
hare(s) for next week's Hash are definitely U-Bend, hopefully assisted
by Poacher. The venue will be The Smugglers (Teignmouth -
Dawlish road).
On-On to next week. MP
Saturday, 30 November 2024
ON ON TO THE KING BILLY!
Run #2052 Monday 2nd December Circle up 7:15 pm from King William IV 45 Fore St, Totnes TQ9 5HN with hare Wet Johnny.
Parking at Victoria car park (free from 6 pm) or nearby on the Plains.
'TIMBER!'
TVH3 The Words for 25th November 2024
The Lord Nelson
Run No. 2051
HARE: Man-Pig
Who
wuz there: Man-Pig, Archangel, Shitfaced, Hotlips, Zoot, Only Here for
the Beer, Beefy, Strap-On, Strap-Dancer, Pisswell, Pocket Rocket,
Piltdown Man, Georgy Porgy, Smellie, Beeflicker, Ernie, Ted, Wetfart,
Melon Picker, Soapy, Wet-Johnny, Judgemental, Red Rum, Smash, Miss
Mash, Satnav, Threesum, Base Camp, Rise'n'Shine, Mateus Rose,,
Triplejump, Wide Receiver, Bobbiball, and, for a second week in a row -
Teapot plus the return of Bluebird!
Circle
Crikey!
What a difference a week makes? I think I counted 26 or 27 in the
Circle with more to arrive for a beer after the run. I think it was the
prospect of chilli and crusty bread at £5/head that must have been the
attraction.
Shitfaced was back from wherever he's been and welcomed the rather large pack to The Lord Nelson. The only announcements were:
1. Threesum would be in the pub afterwards with both raffle tickets and Christmas party tickets and
2. Wet-Johnny was in attendance to advise that next week's trail is from the King Bill, Totnes
So, with that, it was over to the stand-in Hare.
The
Pig imparted that there were the usual three trails; Walkers', Shorts'
and Longs' trails. I don't think that there was any mention of
distances but, for the Longs, there was a warning! Two large trees have
blown down on a narrow footpath in woodland. They have completely
blocked the path but, with a bit of patience, you can get through (he
hoped!).
Trail
The
whole pack started off up Fluder Hill and then an arrow had them turn
left and down Daccombe Mill Lane with the Walkers/Long & Shorts
split at its end.
For
the Walkers it was a fairly simple, all road, loop. They would head up
Willowpark Lane and turn right at Kingskerswell Cross for the drop
back into Kingskerswell via Fluder Hill.
The
Longs and the Shorts carried straight on along the footpath that takes
them up to the Bothy...and a check. Well, most carried straight on.
Judgemental decided to do a bit of broken dam hopping en route. At the
end of the footpath there is a check. I think Beefy checked towards
Coffinswell but there was soon a call from the East. "On-On" towards the
tiny hamlet of Daccombe.
At
Daccombe we arrived at the solitary Long/Short split. The Shorts
pushed on along Orestone Lane but only for Wide receiver to find a
back-check. This was after Pocket Rocket had checked up the very steep
Daccombe Hill to report that there were, allegedly, no marks. The
FRB'ing Shorts ran back to the bottom of Daccombe Hill....marks after
all!
A
short but painfully steep crawl up the 1 -in-4 hill brought the Shorts
up to an arrow near its junction with the top of Fluder Hill.
The
Shorts now followed a trail that swapped from one side of the road to
the other, predominantly staying in the veneer of woodland that
straddles the upper reaches of Fluder Hill. Eventually they rejoined
the Walkers "On-Home" trail at Kingskerswell Cross.
For
the longs there was a sense of deja vu. For the three of them that had
found last week's Long they were, once again, ascending Footland Lane.
This week the Longs extended to seven hard, or should that be foolish,
souls? This comprised Beefy, Beeflicker, Miss'ing (without her torch
for the second week on the trot), Pisswell, Ernie, Ted, with The Pig
sweeping.
Another
back-check and we found ourselves ascending the same narrow, but
steep, track up towards Barton Hill Road. Would we encounter fairy
lights and another equine adventure like last week? No. Arrows lead us
across Barton Hill Road and safely onto the verge down to Newton Hill.
However, Ernie and Ted had to be called back for overrunning an arrow
and merrily heading down Barton Hill Road.
All
back on trail, the Longs embarked on a half mile needless loop down
Newton Hill and then back up Barton Hill to its junction with Claddon
Lane where the Pig was waiting.
The
trail now went down Claddon Lane and then right, through a kissing
gate (no tongues now!) and into a large open field criss-crossed by
tracks. Dots of floor were soon spotted and we eventually arrived at a
check at the end of a track with a South West Water sign attached to
its locked gate. Beefy had found two crosses but no third blobs of
flour. Beeflicker was nowhere in sight so he was either well ahead of
us or he was off trail.
The
Pig directed the pack up the SWW access track up to the Barton Hill
reservoir and a view point. A couple of snaps later we continued past
the reservoir and telemetry mast and along to an old iron kissing gate.
There was no check but Ernie and Ted continued straight on while
Pisswell looked at a blob of flour at the edge of a wooden kissing
gate. Ernie and Ted were called back and we all commenced a descent
into woodland. All was well until we ground to a halt.
"Tree!"
A
big fecker too. And it had fallen along the line of the footpath
blocking movement for at least 20 meters. We crunched and cracked our
way through and over brittle branches from the dead tree. We crossed
from one side of the trunk to the other and found ourselves back on the
footpath......for another 20 metres. Another fallen tree and, just like
the previous one, it had fallen along the length of the footpath. We
repeated the clambering/climbing procedures rehearsed only a moment
earlier and successfully traversed lignin obstacle number two. The
footpath lay clearly before us now. Down some woodland steps and along
the shiplap fencing to someone's garden before exiting onto Padacre
Road.
There
was no check but flour was soon spied as we ran down Padacre Road and
then right and up Swedwell Road. No chance of any marks being left here
from last week's Hash as we ran up to its summit and junction with
Roccombe Close. The Pig adds a late, but helpful, arrow. The trail now
takes us to the end of Roccombe Close where there is an almost unseen
footpath that takes us back onto Barton Hill Road. An arrow has us
cross onto the top of Fluder Hill where we rejoin the Shorts' trail. It
is all downhill from here.
We arrive back at the On-Down at 9.02 - some 6.33 miles after we started. Just in time for a beer and some chilli.
Down-Downs
The
temperature had dropped a little during the run so were glad to be
back in a traditional pub with a nice warm open fire. We took over the
lounge bar whilst four or five locals inhabited the public bar. Most
Hashers were tucking into their chilli when we arrived. It all looked
rather snug and convivial. This is one of Teapot's favourite On-Downs
and it was great to have him back two weeks in a row. And, behold,
another stranger or is it a returnee? The flightless one has come out of
hibernation and is in conversation with another "two shows in two
weeks" - Bobbiball.
This
congregation of time served Teign Valley Hashers now comprised Teapot,
Wetfart, Bluebird, Bobbiball and Man-Pig. We were having a good old
chinwag until Bobbiball spoilt things by stating the bloody
obvious...."we must have a combined age of nearly 400!". Yes Bobbi. You
are correct but this is absolutely not called for.
We then swiftly move onto the Down-Downs and commence by thanking the pub for:
- opening especially for us
- for putting on the scoff
- and for the Down Downs
Are there any awards from previous weeks?
Yes, but only one.
Base
Camp has the Horned Hat. Base Camp has done the Walkers' trail. He
lives 600 yards away but Threesum is working so she will be joining us
later. Although it is only 600 yards, Threesum phones the pub and asks
Base Camp to come and pick her up. This he duly does. He drops Threesum
off at the pub and then looks for a parking space. There are none. By
the time he finds a space he is parked closer to home that the pub.
Accordingly, a lazy Threesum gets the first Down-Down accompanied by,
"She's the meanest......"
Next
we have a story from Wide Receiver. It is about a Hasher who knows
that Daccombe Hill is very steep. This Hasher hopes that the trail
continues along the comparatively flat Orestone Lane. Hence he calls,
"No marks" which commits Wide Receiver to continuing along Orestone
Lane....only to find a back-check. The second Down-Down goes to Pocket
Rocket accompanied by, "The Grand Old Duke of York.....".
Shitfaced
has the next story. Miss'ing is so named because she is always missing
from the On-Down as she always elects to go home straight after the
run. For some reason this week she is curious enough to, at least,
stick her nose into the Snug.
"Oh. It's quite warm in here".
So
in she comes. However, she is as good as her name as this is the
second time in as many weeks that she has forgotten her torch. This is
the first time in three years, that she is NOT missing from the On-Down
after the trail. A thoroughly deserved Down-Down. "Hold it in your
hand Mrs Murphy".......
There are two halves left so the Hare is called upon to dispatch one.
Pisswell
has a story from last week which she thinks will earn Beefy the last
half of ale. Somehow, in the process of giving Pocket Rocket a lift last
week they'd left one of their cars in Bovey Tracey.......and forgotten
all about it. They get up on Tuesday morning:
"Where's the car Beefy?"
"Outside"
"No.Look for yourself"
"Oops!"
Hence
the last half goes to Beefy for forgetting where he parked the car. "A
note for the horse rustler" (a reference to our wanderings around an
equine estate late at night last week).
Next week
Next week's Hash is from the King William IV, Totnes. Our Hare is Wet-Johnny.
On-On to next week. MP
Sunday, 24 November 2024
CHRISTMAS DRAW 2024
Our Christmas Draw is on Monday 23rd December from the Kings Arms at Kingsteignton with Zoot and Hotlips.
Saturday, 23 November 2024
BACK TO THE NELLIE THIS MONDAY
Run #2051 Monday 25th November Circle up 7:15 pm from The Lord Nelson, Fore St, Kingskerswell, Devon TQ12 5JB with that stalwart of stalwarts, Man-Pig.
PLEASE NOTE that this is a diary change. The pub is opening especially for us and putting on a chilli with crusty bread at £5/head.
The Three Virgins and an Equine Adventure
TVH3 The Words for 19th November 2024
The Prince of Orange
Run No. 2050
HARES: Smash, Miss Mash & Satnav
Who
wuz there: Smash, Miss Mash, Satnav, Man-Pig, Archangel, Beefy,
Pisswell, Coldtits, Pocket Rocket, Piltdown Man, Georgy Porgy, Ernie,
Wetfart, Psycho, Wet-Johnny, Red Rum, Miss'Ing and special guest of
honour - Teapot!
Circle
In
the absence of Shitaced, Piltdown Man called "Hash Hush" for the
Circle. Only one half of the Topiary Twins was present - Psycho. But she
was making enough noise for both of them so Piltdown handed over RA'ing
duties to her for failing to adhere to the "Hash Hush". Despite being
put on the spot, she made a pretty good job of it, especially as there
was only one notice.
The
solitary notice came from Man-Pig and relates to a change of Hash for
next week. Unfortunately, Poacher can no longer do next Monday's Hash.
Hence the replacement Hare will be Man-Pig and the On-Down will be the
Lord Nelson in Kingskerswell. Details to be confirmed on the TVH3
Facebook page.
So
over the the Hares, all three of which have arrived by bicycle. Would
we be on cycle paths for the entire trail? We would soon find out.
Smash
explained that there was a Long, Short and a Walkers' trail. However, a
combination of wind, rain and sabotage had obliterated a number of
marks and the first Long/Short split was:
"Up the road and on the left".
Trail
So
off we trotted, crossing Barton Hill Road to the chip shop and then
heading uphill. Sure enough, 200 yards later we come to the L/S split.
The Shorts were to carry on up Barton Hill Road whilst the Longs
descended on a track that I never knew existed. This was virgin
territory for me and I must have run past this track dozens of times,
always assuming that it was a private track. The track is aptly named,
Bottom Park Lane. It is long and steep, descending onto Kingsley Avenue.
The
Shorts (Miss'Ing and Red Rum) meanwhile carried on up Barton Hill Road
to the triangle junction between Barton Hill Road and Kingskerswell
Road. Here I am assuming that they arrived at the Walkers'/Shorts'
split; the Shorts commencing the fantastically steep descent down
Daccombe Hill whilst my guess is that the Walkers (Piltdown Man, Georgy
Porgy, Wetfart and Pocket Rocket - I'm not sure which trail Arkangel was
on!!!) would have carried on up Barton Hill Road before veering right
and along Great Hill Road. The next time that we saw the Walkers was
back at the bar of the Prince of Orange.
Back
on the Longs (Psycho, Beefy, Wet Johnny, Man-Pig, Ernie & Pisswell)
Psycho picked up the trail heading south down Kingsley Avenue and then
climbing up Leeward Lane. I hadn't seen a mark since the L/S split and
simply followed the FRB's hoping/assuming that they were on trail.
Near
the top of Leeward Lane, we ground to a halt and started back checking -
including a footpath that wound its way down and onto Windward Road.
Below me I could hear Ernie. "On On. There's a check here". The FRB's
were a bit spread out but all converged on Ernie and Pisswell who were
already on Windward Road. Amazing. Ernie had found another bit of
"dust". We were now arcing around and onto Lindisfarne Way. However,
before we got there Pisswell spied another mark and we now entered a
large play park with swings and seesaws etc. At the other end of the
play park, we came out at the bottom of Cassiobury Way where Smash was
waiting for us on her bike.
We
were encouraged to continue along Browns Bridge Road. Opposite
Nightingale Close, there is a public footpath that takes one up to
Barton Hall. One of the FRB's must have spied a mark or two as the FRB's
ascended up and past Barton Hall and onto Kingskerswell Road where we
found a large and intact flour arrow, "Hoorah". In front of me were
Psycho, Beefy and Wet Johnny. Behind me, and not to be seen again till
the pub, were Ernie and Pisswell.
Beefy
assumes that he is on trail and takes us down Orestone Lane but marks
were decidedly absent. When we came to the junction with Daccombe Hill,
Wet Johnny checked uphill but came back empty handed. Psycho checked out
a farm track and also came back with little in the way of guidance.
Hence, we carried on into Daccombe. Hallejula! At the bottom of Footland
Lane was another arrow pointing uphill. Half way along Footland Lane we
saw torchlight. It was the almost solitary Shorts - just Miss'Ing and
Red Rum.
We
just happened to be at the bottom of a track that leads up to Ridge
Road which is a fast and dangerous road for joggers as there is no
footpath and not much in the way of verges. However, there is a verge at
the top of this track that would allow a relatively safe crossing at
Roccombe Cross and onto either Newton Hill or Honey Lane which are on
the other side of Ridge Road. Despite the absence of marks, we agreed to
the Pig's suggestion and climbed the track. Then, just before Ridge
Road, an apparition - fairy lights. They weren't here when I ran up here
on Sunday the Pig thought. I then looked at my feet and I was standing
on an arrow pointing through an open gate. Ahead of us another open gate
and another set of fairy lights. We were back on trail but on private
ground.
We
followed the fairy lights along a track, diagonally across a field and
then along a broad track. After 300 yards we arrived at an illuminated
stabling block. It was the drink stop and what a fantastic drink stop it
was. We were surrounded by 4 stabled horses and a collapsible picnic
table adorned with Pimms, Martini, orange juice, water and an array of
savoury nibbles and sweets. It was all really rather relaxing being
surrounded by the horses. The only thing missing was the rest of the
pack! Regrettably, they never made it so they missed a great drink stop.
Poor
Smash had various phone calls coming in and going out about Hashers
lost on trail....or off trail. For the Longs, the most expedient way
back would be to deviate from the planned trail as the marks would
Shirley be washed away by now. The Pig said that he knew exactly where
we were and that he would lead the pack back to the pub.
We backtracked over the private land from whence we came only be be barked at. Not by a dog but by the land owner.
"What are you doing. Why are all these gates open?"
We
explained that we were merely following the trail of fairy lights. The
land owner could see that we didn't really fit the description of your
traditional horse thief and waved us on our way.
Back
on the public footpath, we crossed Ridge Road and then ran on the verge
down to Honey Lane. We then proceeded down Honey Lane and started
finding blobs of flour to our right. We were back on trail.....sort of.
At the junction of Honey Lane with Great Hill Road we came across an
arrow and a "W" but it was pointing towards us. It looked as though we
were now running the Walkers' trail but in reverse. The Pig assured us
that he knew where he was going and took the pack onto a small footpath
that links Great Hill Road with Roccombe Close.
"Aloha".
Another arrow, but this time pointing down Swedwell Road. We were back
on trail and the marks seemed relatively intact. The trail now took us
down Swedwell Road and then right and up Jacks Lane and onto Barton Hill
Road opposite the first L/S split. In next to no time we were back at
the On-Down.
Down-Downs
I
don't know. Was it the weather, the location or a new "On-Down" that
had reduced this week's numbers to less than half of previous hashes? It
made no difference. Those that did turn up thoroughly enjoyed the
trail. In fact, the absence of marks (through no fault of the Hares)
made it all the more interesting. Plenty of virgin territory to boot
which is a rare thing in this neck of the woods, so well done Hares.
Particularly, young Miss Mash on her virgin lay.
A
postmortem of the "missing marks" revealed that most of the marks that
were on road were not missing at all, especially around the Daccombe
area. The strong winds and relatively light rain had combined for an
awful lot of leaf fall throughout the afternoon and early evening. These
were mainly hazel leaves and they had simply covered a lot of the
marks. It also highlighted the fact that different species of deciduous
trees lose their leaves at different times throughout the autumn. The
chestnut trees in my neighbour's garden have already dropped all of
their leaves, the sycamores and hazels still retain about half their
leaves and the ash tree hedge will lose its leaves very slowly
throughout the autumn/winter period. I seem to spend the entire winter
sweeping these up well after every other species of tree has lost all of
their leaves.
On
entering the pub an unexpected but wonderful surprise.; Teapot was sat
at the bar with Wetfart. Teapot was smiling away and it was great to
have him back. A shame that Psycho had to rush off as Teapot would have
liked to have had a catch up with his occupational health specialist.
We
started by thanking the pub for having us and making us welcome. So
welcome, in fact, that a couple of hashers had popped over the road for
fish 'n' chips and brought them into the pub.
Smash
hadn't prearranged Down-Downs with the pub and we thought it a bit rude
to ask a virgin "On-Down" for free beer on our first visit. That would
have been a little presumptuous. So, Smash kindly arranged for three
halves of Doombar and two glasses of water. Now, whom to award said
victuals?
There
is only one award present. It is the Jester's Hat which Pisswell has
from last week. This she awards to Satnav for a temper tantrum in
throwing her bike to the ground just before the Circle (I think you'll
find that it blew over in the wind....twice, along with Small & Miss
Mash's bikes). A note for the "Bike Smasher" who is not driving and
elects to have a beer for a change.
No more awards so are there any stories? Silence.
Hence the three Hares, or is it the three virgins, are called up for their Down-Downs. Three virgins? Yes indeedy:
1. Virgin territory
2. Virgin On-Down
3. Virgin lay by Miss Mash
The
RA did ask Smash and Satnav if it was also their virgin lays? No.
Satnav assures us that she last laid a TVH trail 14 years ago! Crikey,
that's worse than Smellie!
The remaining two waters and a beer are despatched by the trio of Hares to a chorus of "Here's to the virgins".
The
last beer. There must be a story. And so there is. A hasher is
mentioned as being afraid of the dark - the recipient is Ernie. However,
the story needs a little more elaboration. Ernie actually told Pisswell
that he was scared of being in the dark with her!!
Well,
we all got back safely on what turned out to be a very interesting
trail. I am sure that hashers can smell free booze a mile off....marks
or no marks. I think the Walkers will simply need to refine their
olfactory glands when seeking out the drink stop....no need for marks at
all!
Next week
A
change of venue for next week's Hash. This will now be from the Lord Nelson in Kingskerswell. Our Hare for the evening will be Man-Pig.
On-On to next week. MP
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