Hash 385 – Talbot Inn @ Much Wenlock

The pre-hash gathering at The Talbot Hotel went as smoothly as forming a Greek coalition consensus government. Hashers arriving and then leaving to find mobile signals and re-park cars and then re-arriving and missing each other in the narrow streets and alley ways like a Whitehall farce. Oh….. to have been the proverbial fly on the pub wall watching all the comings and goings and puzzled faces.

Finally we set off, John with the runners and Viv with the walkers. Both John and Viv seemed a little concerned that the trails were quite long. This was absolutely and most definitely not true of course, and anyway I think everyone enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty and Barry Island all on the same hash. I’m joking of course ……….. the clouds were much too low and heavy for us to see Barry Island.

Navy Mike, initially left behind, caught us up quite quickly not by following flour but by the helpful pointing of the local Much Wenlockers we had passed.

Very shortly we were out of town and into the lush green Shropshire fields and woods. The trail was varied. We passed fields full of sheep, other fields full of cows and yet more fields full of arable crops such as barley. We run through soft silent (dry) woods and fields where the wet grass was so high it tickled one’s senses …. especially if you were wearing shorts.

We ran up hills and down dales. We ran up more hills and down more dales. We ran in sunshine, we ran in rain. We saw distant skies of royal blue, we saw skies of forbidding grey. We ran through green meadows infused with poppies whose swaying glistening petals of translucent scarlet red made us stop and wonder at the beauty of it all. As Maurice said as we gazed upon them “When they see the vibrant colour of poppies in such a setting, man cannot but help for their spirits to be lifted”. So true. Mind you, a minute later he said “I must have a pee.” Less poetic but also, apparently, true.

We saw outstanding views on all sides and I was struck by the multitude shades of green woven so carefully by nature into a patchwork quilt in those undulating, rippling, waving hills that covered as far as the eye could see. At one point the three of us (Mike, Maurice and myself) paused at a single oak tree at the top of a rise and surveyed the panoramic views in a 360 degree surround of nature’s grandeur that is England at her most dazzling, most exquisite and most alluring. And as the three of us stood there, humbled, at the very centre of this magnificence and wonder, breathing in the brilliance of all we could see, I believe we all shared the same single thought ……… ”It must still be one hell of a long way back to the pub”.

Off we trotted again. Mike said “It’ll be all downhill from now on”. He was proved wrong. But, as so often is the case, we suddenly found ourselves on the outskirts of Much Wenlock hidden in the folds of this beautiful landscape.

At the pub we sat outside in a canopied area, eating, drinking and chatting in our usual happy companionable way that is the preserve only of shared friendship. As is always my privilege, I was able to thank Viv and John for their lovely hash which was just the right length (any shorter and it wouldn’t have reached back to the pub would it? (quod erat demonstrandum)).  Maurice (who had worn the shorts with such imperturbable self-possession, poise and assurance that I think should have been re-awarded them for life) awarded them to someone else (sorry I’ve completely forgotten who and why). To make mention of all who were lucky enough to enjoy the hash that day and were part of this small piece of England were:- John, Keith, Maurice, Kaye, Hilary, Jeremy, Mike, Annie, Viv and Brian. “This happy breed of men and women, this little world, this precious stone set in the silver sea” – Willy the Shake.

On On Brian (GOM)

P.S. The issue of ‘hash-names’ seems to have become a mild obsession, at least it certainly did this weekend. Not all hash chapters have hash-names and ours has only flirted with the idea up until now. My view as GOM is that I am broadly in favour of the idea that the KVH3 should indeed, like most chapters, have hash-names. However, if such naming or re-naming is to happen it must be within the ethos of the KVH3 (which means I intend to consult/take opinion from ex-GOMs, hares and scribes as to its desirability) and established traditions of Hashing in general.

At risk of being named Brian the Dictator I do not want a scatter-gun approach to this but propose discussion between yourselves and feedback to me (or comment on the website) on the following:-

1. Are hash-names at the KVH3 a good idea?
2. No hasher is permitted to choose their own hash-name, though they can decline or ask for a new name.
3. All proposed names must be ‘family-friendly’.
4. All proposed names should be apposite to that individual.
5. A hash-name only becomes official if and when announced at a post-hash by the GOM or an ex-GOM. The hasher must be present at that hash and it should be recorded by the scribe.
6. No more than two hash-names (or re-names) can be announced at once.