| Date | Hare | Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 2023 | Kevin & Julie | Keith |
Today’s hash by Kevin & Julie from the Village Inn at Shaw felt like the first truly Autumnal hash of the season. Fitting, as the clocks had gone back an hour giving everyone an extra hour lie-in. And, on cue, yellow-brown leaves floated gently down covering paths and green spaces, of which there seem to be a good number in this part of Swindon. When they built West Swindon, a lot of trees were planted or preserved, and it certainly shows now, around 35 years later.
It felt chilly, at around 10 degrees, and the sky was grey grey grey, and rain spattered the windscreen on the way there.
But, despite the unpromising weather, a good number of hardy Kennet Valley Hashers were gradually amassing under the cover of large parasols in the pub garden. Kevin stood in wellies, another ominous portent.
The usual bonhomie was evident, of hugs, handshakes and “good to see yous”, and it was good to see Karen and Sue turn up, and to see David there too, hobbling along only 6 days after a major op. That’s the spirit. My tongue in cheek enquiry of “are you running David?” was typically met with a scornful laugh though I’m not sure it was such a tongue in cheek question given how so many hashers are determined to keep “on-on”.
Our running numbers have been a bit low recently, but today we had 5, and around 15 walkers. And a few pooches.
Kevin did the briefing, and it was good to hear the long trail was “just under 5” miles, as I’d forgotten my waterproof socks and just knew my feet would be cold & wet in no time. A pet hate of mine. We would have to deal with wonky stiles, fields of horses and ponies, maybe cows and muddy fields. Slippery everywhere. This deterred nobody & after the group photo, now de rigeur, we were off towards the West. I was behind John, Viv, Jeremy & Janet and soon followed them across a road where we ground to a halt – no flour there. My mistake was in blindly following those ahead – a classic schoolboy error when hashing. Never assume the hashers ahead know what they’re doing! So we backtracked across the road and there were the two dots in plain sight that we should have seen minutes before.
We were soon in the sopping wet fields on the western edge of the Town, and after a while I recognised Lydiard Millicent (a place I nearly moved too recently), busy with lots of traffic passing through which rather spoils it. Down the main village road back towards Swindon and soon we entered fields and then the Western edge of Lydiard Park. A few times we struggled to find flour, (well, it’s 260 acres and Hare warned us we might struggle to see flour here) and none more so than in the Park, but our Hare had told us the exit we needed to take out of the Park so we were soon back on track. A few minutes more working our way across the housing estates and we were back at the Pub. Not sure how long it took, but I was the last of the runners, having become separated from the rest near the end.
The cold and spattering of rain on the way round wasn’t a problem and as I got back, the sky was clearing to allow blue sky & warm sunshine. In the pub we secured use of a bar at the back just for ourselves and enjoyed cheap good beer, roasties and great après.
We generally hash from villages and these urban hashes are relatively rare but when we do them, I enjoy them just as much for the variety they provide, as we usually reach open countryside, like the Wootten Bassett hash that took us beside the canal there a while back.
Jeremy did the thanks to Kevin & Julie for a very enjoyable hash. Jeremy also promised (PROMISED) to wear the hash shorts he has had now for some time, next time.
Thanks to the Hares for a super Hash, despite the weather.