| Date | Hare | Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Dec 2023 | Keith | Annie |
Our hare today was Keith who thanked us fulsomely for turning up , saying he only came because he was the hare. I took my hat off to him, not only did he lay 2 trails but 3. I put it back on though as we set off as it was grey and drizzly. But we were in good spirits. 14 walkers and 2 runners, Jeremy and Julie. Talking of hats, I hope you all admired Ainslie’s hat, and scarf too, truly embracing the jollity of the season.
We have hashed in Shrivenham before so I knew we had the luxury of flat terrain, but the recent wet weather made sure we had some mud to slither around on. Once again I was impressed with the maintenance of the paths on Shrivenham’s circular walk so in the main we coped well and no one took a mud bath. The craic was good and there was an upbeat appreciation of the wintery and somewhat damp countryside, I love how we hashers can find beauty in the scenery even on a day like this.
The après back at the POW was ….. interesting. We gathered round the fire, squashed into a small area of the pub. The larger part of the bar was given over to a family celebration of a christening. I studied the poster announcing the event and couldn’t help wondering if this poster had been dictated over the phone. Does this child really have a middle name of Dash, or should it have been hyphenated and was lost in translation? We’ll never know.
Did you know Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth 11 each had a dog named Dash?
Just when we thought you couldn’t squeeze another soul in, people with pushchairs came and shoehorned themselves in. Small children with big balloons made it worse. Why they didn’t hire the village hall I don’t know.
We were all more or less back around the same time, the sign of a well laid hash. But where were the chips we’ve become used to? Actually, where was David? Eventually he returned, somewhat sheepishly from The Barrington Arms where he’d spent some time wondering where all were. He must have been puzzled at the start of the Hash when we set off from The POW. I just hope he didn’t buy chips over there. A classic Burleyism. We pulled David’s leg for a bit and then Jeremy got his slippers out of the car for him which was kind.
Our GOM thanked Keith, and congratulated Paxton-McDonagh. Jeremy awarded Ainslie the bags to acknowledge her beautiful hat and glossed over who had the horn. Someone commented this was the first hash for a while that no one had got lost, but was corrected as David’s error was pointed out again.
I should just finish by saying our Local Shrivonian Hashers Lynda and Andy could only be there in spirit, as they were occupied manning one of the branches of The Cabin & Cowshed Soap Company. (Sorry, bit of advertising of a family business there, couldn’t resist.).
Thank you Keith, a lovely and well marked trail.