| Date | Hare | Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec 2022 | David | Kevin |
Who knew that the weekend of December 10th/11th would provide two Arctic expeditions for Mr and Mrs GOM with both occasions being made more authentic by the Arctic blast the UK is in the grips of at the moment. Firstly on the Saturday our daughter and grandson had invited us to join them on the Polar Express to the North Pole to meet Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus. And what a jolly good time we had being taken by steam locomotive to the North Pole hopping off to be greeted by Frosty and then Elf ushering us into the Grotto to meet the great man himself, grandson (11 months) didn’t say a lot but smiled and laughed at Santa. Mr and Mrs GOM enjoyed the encounter but enjoyed the mulled wine served in the North Pole café even more!
Our second Arctic expedition on Sunday was of course David’s hash from the Calley Arms. Looking out of my window from my abode in North Swindon I could see that there was about two inches of snow on the ground and covering the car, thankfully the snow had stopped falling by the time we set out for David’s hash and I was hoping that other fellow hashers would not be put off by the weather conditions. Driving to the Calley Arms there was just a light dusting of snow but the ground was frozen and the area around Hodson (South Swindon) looked like the Arctic Tundra. On arrival we were greeted by Kathy who as promised offered us mince pies. Keith wondered if David had been seen as he was concerned that no trails might have been laid. Kathy reassured us all that she saw David along the Hodson Road laying some flour and I checked just inside the pub entrance to see David’s bike propped up against the wall.
11 o’clock was approaching and still no David (I was considering sending those hashers who braved the weather off having no idea where the On! On! was) when at 10:59 (that was the time David said he appeared when questioned later on in the pub) David appeared to give his briefing to the gathered hashers. The long trail about 5 ½ miles, short trail 3 ¾ miles, long short divide about 1 ½ miles. David advised the ground was hard and rutted in some places and apart from the usual flour marks he would introduce a short cut towards the end of the hash marked by an “E” for easy for those hashers who did not want to go down and up the valley between Chiseldon and Hodson which was very rutted and difficult to run or walk on and On! On! was across the Hodson Road at the end of Broome Manor Lane.
Off we set along fields south towards Draycot Foliat where we came across the short long divide on the tarmac stretch of The Ridgeway. Those taking the short would go east towards Chiseldon, those taking the long would go west towards Draycot Foliat and then back towards Chiseldon to join the short trail. Mrs GOM, Lily and myself decided on taking the short trail which took us east along The Ridgeway, then north through a field to New Road, Chiseldon where we then followed the trail through the Washpool and back up to the Hodson Road where we decided to take the more difficult route through the valley back to the Calley Arms, Hodson. As usual Mrs GOM, Lily and myself are fast walkers and unusual for us we had to kick a few circles out as we seemed to be ahead of the runners.
We did not see any other hashers ahead of us until we got to the Washpool when Jeremy and Noodle took the lead. Des and Dan were the only other runners that overtook us down in the valley between Chiseldon and Hodson where Des mentioned they had crossed the Saxon Bridges going over the river Og at Draycot Foliat on the long trail. David was out and about on his bike ensuring hashers were going in the right direction. David had to redirect Keith and Viv back to Draycot Foliat as they missed the marks to turn left off The Ridgeway due to being distracted by their convivial conversation.
An hour and half after setting out in the trail we were back at the Calley Arms for the apres. All hashers were back by about 12:45pm to enjoy a few beverages, David’s chips and Kathy’s mince pies. I gave my usual speech (which was difficult due to the background noise from the locals enjoying their Sunday lunches) where I thanked David for a trail which on this occasion the distances he stated at the briefing were accurate and where he laid plenty of flour marks which in some situations David had removed the ice and snow where he laid his marks to make sure they stood out. Mike handed the KVH3 ceremonial horn and blue horn to me for safe custody. No bags were awarded as John is still determined to wear them when he next runs.
Although the weather was cold, frosty, overcast grey and the ground hard under foot there seemed a sense of serenity following David’s very scenic trail.
Many thanks David for the trails laid and many thanks to Kathy for continuing the tradition of giving out mince pies on the last hash before Christmas!
Postscript
Annie recently bought a doll’s house for one of her grandchildren and James donated some furniture that he makes.
