| Date | Hare | Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Sep 2022 | Helen & Hilary | Keith |
The area around South Marston is pancake flat and seems uninteresting and featureless to the casual passerby. But our Hares today, Hilary and Helen, know better than this and took us through some pleasantly wooded areas around the village.
A village with a rich history including Saxons, Romans, medieval farming, and the building of 121 spitfire planes in World War 2 after the original Southampton factory was bombed in 1940.
But first, we had to be briefed on the hazards (none really) , distances ( long – around 5, short -nearly 4) etc.
Our group were around 20, which seems the average these days, with a good number of runners. Eight I counted. Plus canine hash regulars now – Lily, Kiri and Noodle.
Off we went along the road but were soon running around the perimeter of the Solar farm, a huge area, and later through managed areas of woodland and back into the village around the football pitch. And church, though I missed that particular loop. It was a winding trail with lots of turns.
Sue declared it had “more twists than an Agatha Christie novel” and although there was flour, at times we stopped to study and debate the meaning of the floury “clues” left by our hash authors, much as Agatha might leave clues to ponder on in her stories.
At one point Danny ran determinedly ahead having concluded an arrow had been seen, though others concluded it was actually a “T” (with a slightly bent top line). Danny couldn’t hear the calls to come back, or, perhaps, was so near the pub by then, didn’t care too as he powered on. Though eventually he did reappear.
We pressed on, and soon we met another pleasant loop to follow through a wooded area before returning to the road. I gather Kiri found a dead bird in those woods and remained determined to hold onto it despite Ainslie doing her best to divest him of it. Finally Kiri relented. Soon a much bigger prize lay by the side of the road quite near the pub; a dead deer. Perhaps too big for Kiri to clamp within her jaws but Ainslie wasn’t taking any chances and skirted to the other side of the road.
I was glad to get back to the pub. Though not a long run, the weather had turned sunny and quite warm (for how much longer?) and I needed some fluids.
We sat outside and enjoyed the apres. Kathy gave the shorts to Julie who shrieked “ Oh no! Why me???” Properly miffed. I think she calmed down and kept them.
Another fine hash from our hares Helen and Hilary who did a splendid job. Thanks both!