Hash 389 – Royal Oak @ Bishopstone

Hello Everyone

As I begin to write this I have the final day of the Olympics on the TV. I’ve watched quite a lot of the events over the past two weeks and look forward to this evening’s closing ceremony. Much talk about the Olympic legacy from all the presenters. So, have the games caught your imagination? Have they inspired you to be more involved as a participator in sport? Take up a new activity, return to an old one? Have you had thoughts of losing weight, getting fitter, enjoying exercising in the fresh air?

As I drove up Wanborough hill the sun was shining brightly and silver rods of rain glistened and flashed as they bounced off the windscreen.  Arriving at The Royal Oak I was met by these five finely tuned “Oh limping” (get it? Ed) athletes. They’re a happy looking bunch aren’t they?  The rain, knowing a KVH3 hash was about to begin, had dutifully ceased.

Shortly afterwards David arrived on his bike and Hilary wandered in. I’m not sure what Hilary thought upon seeing she was the only walker, but the photo gives us a bit of a clue. But it worked out fine as Viv offered to walk with her.

The first part of the hash was through some delightful little meandering footpaths inBishopstone. This included their lovely village pond. Pretty isn’t it?

All too soon we were heading for the hills, scattering hundreds of sheep in our wake. Up, up and up towards the Ridgeway, the sky a rich mixture of blue and white. A little bit of walking, a little bit of running.

At last we reached the Ridgeway and all joined together again to run in companionable harmony. However, this didn’t last for long as we came to the long/short divide. We all considered going on the short, but not wishing to be the first ever hash when the long run was not completed both Maurice and myself opted to go on. The running came easily and the sun shone.

We came down off the Ridgeway and somehow managed to miss the flour. This meant we went about two miles further than we should have. Our excuses to ourselves were numerous

• John doesn’t lay that much flour,
• there’s no need for flour on a track you cannot turn off from,
• the rain had washed the flour away etc.

Eventually we admitted our mistake, turned around and ran back. As usual we chatted about many things so it seemed we got back to the pub quite quickly.

We sat in the garden laughing and joking and drinking Guinness. Hilary had to leave early but the rest of stayed for a while celebrating. Celebrating what? Celebrating Viv’s Ph.D. Viv is now a Doctor of Philosophy. In the context of academic degrees, the term “philosophy” does not refer solely to the field of philosophy, but is used in a broader sense in accordance with its original Greek meaning, which is “love of wisdom”

In future Viv may be referred to as ‘Doctor Viv’ (hashname) though please do not attempt to discuss your minor ailments with her (or at least don’t take any advice she might give). Doctor Viv did express the hope that in future she might be treated with a bit more respect by her fellow hashers. When we finished laughing (at her, not with her of course) this request was rejected.

Somewhere I managed to thank the hares, John and Doctor Viv, for a lovely trail.