Hash 429 – Carriers Arms @ South Marston

Severe stormy weather for Sunday was forecast – and several of us checked the website before leaving, desperately hoping for a message from GOM cancelling the hash. No such luck, so we dutifully set off.  It was wet but never really tipped down, so I think we got off quite lightly. Surprisingly there was a good turnout of runners and walkers – the bad weather certainly brings out the best of the British ‘carry-on’ spirit. Most people were unrecognisable initially, what with all the wet weather gear they’d managed to get into. Kathy even wore sensible boots for the occasion – rather than her usual designer footwear.

When Navy Mike turned up from laying the trail his hands looked as if he’d been making pastry – noticeably no one seemed to want to shake hands with him. It also appeared that the trail was quite vicious as he had blood streaming from hands and knees. And the mud – well I assume he was wearing shoes, but they certainly weren’t identifiable through the glutinous covering he’d managed to acquire.

Maurice had apparently already sent his apologies to GOM – he had his own bit of mud to ‘enjoy’ in Savernake Forest – looking for his missing hearing aid which he’d lost there the previous evening, for some inexplicable reason. Perhaps we’ll ‘hear’ more of that in due course.

As usual we waited for Margaret and John to arrive and then set off down the road through the village, most of the route initially being on tracks and road. But then we went through Nightingale Wood, and that’s when it all started to get horribly muddy. There were supposed to be two long/short divides, but some of us only saw one, the other washed away in the flood water presumably. However this turned out to have advantages because it meant that we missed the muddiest section – which some of the walkers said came up to their knees, but that could just be the walkers trying to impress.

Surprisingly everyone seemed to make it safely back to the pub, despite the perilous conditions – although I’m not sure anyone counted us out and in again at the end. Perhaps there are a few unfortunate hashers still trying to extricate themselves from the mud out there. After a few restorative drinks and a change out of wet clothing, entertainment was provided by newcomer Guy, who showed us how to take a panoramic picture on his new phone, and then persuaded his dog to do his party trick of standing on two legs – what fun we had!!

A couple of points for us all to note – Sam invited us to sponsor her as she’s entered for the London Marathon, and Liz announced that she’s planning an Easter weekend away in West Wales for anyone who’s interested.

Well done Mike for laying a great trail – especially in such challenging weather conditions, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.