Ye Olde Jolly Sailor, Teignmouth
Run No. 2006 - Polyfella's Birthday Run
HARE: Polyfella
Who
wuz there: Polyfella, Shitfaced, Man-Pig, Bluebird, Archangel, Hotlips,
Zoot, Cheerio Beerio, Threesum, Only Here for the Beer, Forrest-Stump,
Perry, Melonpicker, Fukarewe, Warmfront, Psycho, Smellie, Piltdown
Man, Georgy Porgy, Beefy, Pisswell, Beeflicker, Well Hopped, Big End,
Ned, Roger the Dodger, Ablesemen, Coldtits, Slip-on-Me, Wet-Johnny,
Manopause, Broadshit, U-Bend, Piddler, Tamsin (Miss Ing), Wetfart,
Triple-Jump, Rise'n'Shine, Mateus Rose and returnee Ollie.
Circle
Inevitably, the main topic of conversation pre-circle concerned Fallen Woman.
You
could tell by the faces that Fallen Woman's passing had come as a huge
shock. The sadness was palpable and our thoughts and prayers are with
Broken Man and daughters Sarah and Kim and larger family.
After
a brief welcome by GM Shitfaced, Man-Pig was invited into the Circle
to say a few words about Fallen Woman and recent developments.
Man-Pig
had spoken with Sarah and, with her permission, he imparted a little
more information regarding Fallen Woman's passing.
Perhaps, more crucially, he went on to explain that the Hash is much more than a drinking club with a running problem.
We are friends, bonded together by big hearts and kindness. The Hash it is our hobby and our chill-out time.
When we arrive at the Hash, we put on our happiest smiles and bravest faces even when, inside, we may not be very happy.
Each
one of us has had a time in our lives when we've found ourselves in a
dark place; for some, darker, deeper and more prolonged than others.
In
the Hash, you are surrounded by friends and, for many, these are
close friends. When you're among friends and someone asks you how you
are, it's OK to say, "Well, actually, today I am not so good". There is
no shame or stigma attaching to feeling down or depressed or sharing
your anxiety.
From
the surrounding nods we've all been there to a lesser or greater
degree. As my dear old Mum used to say, "A trouble shared is a trouble
halved."
It
is good to talk and, hopefully, the camaraderie of the Hash, the run
and the post run beer and banter brings a little light into the
darkness.
Ergo,
we hope that the comments on the SH4, TVH3 and AH3 Facebook pages can
provide a little comfort to Broken Man, Kim and Sarah as Fallen Woman
was always such a joy to be with.....fun all the way.
A Harriet who will never be forgotten by those who enjoyed the privilege of her warm, and frequently gregarious, company.
On
a more pragmatic note, Broken Man is currently in Cheltenham with
their youngest daughter, Kim. I understand that the plan is for Broken
Man to return to Brixham at the weekend.
The
funeral will be at Torbay crematorium on Friday 23rd February at
10.30 followed by The Wake at Brixham Yacht Club. Kim has advised that
the family will be keeping Fallen Woman's Facebook account open in
order to update friends regarding the funeral etc.
We
are sure that Fallen Woman would have wanted the show to go on so next
it was a change of tempo as Pisswell promoted next week's Valentine's
Day hash.....although some seem to have already recategorised it as a
Hallow'een hash. Wear something bright or outrageous; just don't be
boring....perhaps, just perhaps, even think of bringing your partner
along?
Fukarewe
put in a plug about this Saturday's (10th February) Broadhempstone
Beer Festival. This takes place at Broadhempstone village hall and,
historically, it's been a bit of a hoot - just ask Warmfront.
Finally, the Hare.
"The
Longs' is about six. The Shorts' four and the Walkers' about two and a
half. There is one Long/Short split, so once you're on it you've
committed to a two mile loop. There is sausage and chips laid on in the
pub afterwards", which we found out later had been bought and paid for
by Polyfella as part of his birthday celebration - Thank you.
Trail
With
the Hare's porkies still ringing in our ears and our thoughts very
much with Fallen Woman and Broken Man and family, we sallied forth.
A mixture of arrows and dots saw us down to the seafront and running east and then up Eastcliff Walk footpath.
At Cliff Road, we all crossed the A379 and embarked on the punishing climb up the footpath past Middle Holcombe House.
This
was reminiscent of the 2022 Hallow'een Hash trail. Almost at its peak,
we arrived at the Long/Short split and the Tardis. For the Shorts it
was a repeat of the 2022 Hallow'een's Longs' trail. It was going to be a
Longgggggggggggg 4 miles for the Shorts.
For the Longs, it was a trip back in time. We found ourselves on tracks that we haven't been on for about a decade.
At
the L/S split, we continued straight ahead. As per usual, Beeflicker
was leading with Psycho and Warmfront in tow. Struggling behind them
was the Pig followed by a rapidly closing Wet-Johnny. Beefy was,
surprisingly, nowhere to be seen. It transpired that he had a bad cold
and was walking the Shorts.
The Longs descended down a track that was badly rutted in places. We passed Oakleigh Farm just as Wet-Johnny overtook me.
We crossed Westbrook where we thought we'd encountered a sweetie stop but no. It was a farmer feeding his cattle.
When
we reached tarmac, the obvious route would have been to our right.
Indeed, there were calls of "On-On", only to be followed by returning
head torches. Not "On-On" after all as Wet-Johnny and the Topiary twins
ran back whence they came.
Beeflicker
was on trail, on tarmac, and on his phone. We passed and ignored a
sign for a public footpath to our right only to find two dots and a
cross.
Meanwhile,
the Topiary Twins and Wet-Johnny had stolen a march. Beeflicker caught
them up but Man-Pig never did. Returning to an unseen chec,k he was
now at least 200 yards behind the FRB's but this had, at least, allowed
Well Hopped to catch him up so he would not be doing the rest of the
trail on his lonesome.
Following
the footpath along the hedgeline of two fields provided a sense of
deja vu. In the far distance were bright lights atop a hill. If my
instincts were correct, this would be the BAM Nutall construction site
next to the Smugglers' Arms.
When
we left the field only to enter what looked like someone's garden, I
knew where we were. We were on a trail that we'd last done from the
Smugglers' Arms a long time ago, but in reverse. Sure enough, the marks
took us down an alleyway and out onto the A379 just on the Dawlish
side of the Smugglers'.
The
trail now took us onto the Southwest Coastpath and down the steep loop
below the Smugglers'; down to the railway line and up the other side.
At
the bottom of the valley, we could see the FRB's torches, now a good
400m ahead. We looped back onto the A379 and came across a check marked
with a sock....pointing back towards the Smugglers' Arms. Shirley some
mistake. We checked out all the other alternatives. Nothing. Follow the
sock!
The
red sock did not deceive. We were back on trail, crossing the A379 and
heading into Holcolmbe. The marks took us past the Castle Inn (I'd
forgotten that Holcombe had a pub it's been so long since I've been
here).
The
more we followed the marks, the more certain I was that there must be
some sort of mistake as soon we'd be crossing the outward trail. We
left the village to follow a trail up another footpath that I
recognised from many years ago. At the end of this particular section
of footpath, my fears were confirmed. We'd arrived back at the
Long/Short split. This is going to be a long 6 miles I thought.
The
Longs now followed the Shorts trail back to the pub. Initially, we had
a 1km climb up towards Woodlands Farm and past Higher Holcombe House.
At
the highest point, the marks took us left and down Higher Woodway Road
following part of Piltdown Man's and Georgie Porgie's Christmas trail.
This
time we went right at New Road which we crossed and continued down
Ferndale Road followed by Paradise Road and Higher Brimley Road before
running down Shute Road by the railway station. We crossed the Exeter
Road opposite Lidl supermarket.
We
did not succumb to the magnetic force enticing us in to do our weekly
shop. We continued, unburdened by groceries, back to the On-Down -
nearly catching up with Coldtits who was tailending the Shorts.
A great trail covering some old, old ground. Fallen Woman would have enjoyed it immensely.
Down-Downs
I
think that this is the first time that we have Hashed from Ye Olde
Jolly Sailor. For some reason, quite a few Hashers got it mixed up with
The Blue Anchor and ended up taking a rather circuitous route to the
correct pub.
Forrest-Stump
assumed the role of RA in advance of his impending three week absence.
He is having a sojourn visiting his brother in Kenya where he will be
climbing Mount Kenya amongst other things. Enjoy your hols.
Following
in the footsteps of South Hams Hash and our skiing Hashers in Austria,
we commenced the Down-Downs by raising our glasses to the memory of
Fallen Woman.
Our memories of her will be cherished for a very, very long time. "On-On".
The
Down-Downs started with the birthday boy - Polyfella. Is it all the
wrong notes in the right order, all the right notes in the wrong order
or all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order? Nobody
knows nor does anyone care as the cacophony kicked off.
Thankyou for a wonderful trail, the scoff and the birthday cake. You are a star hasher, Polyfella.
There
was a 100 run badge to award....to a local boy. Who was it? The first
guess was correct. It was Broadshit. However, he had to go home early to
start his paper round, so it will keep for another hash.
Next up was Warmfront with, or without, the Jester's Hat. Had she seen anything on trail? No. But she had heard a lot.
A
lot of yakking on the phone by one of her fellow FRB's on the Long.
Who on earth had been yakking incessantly? It was Beeflicker speaking
to his boss......about flashing on trail.
A half pint of Teignmouth's finest eau du tap was dispatched PDQ.
"Where's the Hashshit shirt?"
"With Pisswell still out on trail"
Simultaneously Pisswell appeared, already changed.
"Where's the shirt?"
"In the car".
"Go back and get it"
"Any other stories whilst we're waiting?"
Smellie
narrowly avoided a down-down. She had been spotted approaching the
On-Down from the wrong direction. Had she been home for a shower?
No.
The lure of a trail passing a supermarket was too strong for her, yet
again. She had an unavoidable urge to take advantage of the opportunity
to do her week's shopping.
Note to self. Do not lay any TVH3 trail that passes a supermarket.
There
was a story about a young Hasher and an elderly Hasher and a near RTA.
The younger man was obliged to beep his horn. This was so as to
encourage an elderly and apparently deaf pedestrian to speed up his
crossing of the road lest he be run over. So, who was our jaywalker of
the week? None other than Archangel.
The
timing was perfect. Pisswell reappeared with the Hashshit shirt and
presented it to Wetfart for paying his subs in five pence pieces!.
Wetfart downed his beer without exposing himself (he has a criminal
record for this you know). However, in boomerang fashion, Forrest
returned the Hashshit shirt to Pisswell for being late on parade.
Next week
Next
week's Hash is a Valentine's Day themed Hash from the Dolphin, Bovey
Tracey. The Hares are Pisswell, Beefy and Coldtits. Wear something
romantic/outrageous.
On-On to next week. MP
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