| Date | Hare | Scribe |
|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2025 | Niki & Brian | Keith |
Sunday, 16.00 I write this as I sit waiting for the Lionesses to successfully defend, I hope, their title as Euro champions against Spain in one hours’ time. With luck, we’ll all be singing “sweet Caroline” around seven o’clock.
If they do it, it will cap off a very pleasant day (unless of course you happen to want Spain to win) given we met for Nikki and Brian’s hash at Great Bedwyn this morning. Probably their last regular hash with Kennet Valley as they are moving on to the Malverns – their presence here will be greatly missed!
Kevin and Julie are away and so Jeremy was GOM today. By 11 am we were gathered outside the pub, The Three Tuns. Quite a cool grey day with little wind and no chance of getting muddy shoes in our parched landscape in this exceptionally rainless Summer.
I couldn’t run today (injury), which irked me as I enjoy the running and we do so few hashes nowadays, so I had to be content to walk. We had just three runners and a larger number (9) of walkers.
Our hares gave the briefing; 3 miles or 6 miles, a few horses and electric fences to negotiate, and quite a few stiles, but no cows.
The trail quickly took us into Savernake forest and later over grassy fields and through fields of ripe barley, on often chalky soil that made flour spotting a little difficult at times, but the trail was well laid, scenic and nobody got lost. The parched ground had shrunk in places making unmaintained rickety stiles even more rickety to climb over than they otherwise might have been.
It was lovely to talk to the other hashers about so many different things on the trail, which can’t happen so much when running – certainly in my case as I don’t have the additional breath for it.
The walkers got back at 12.30 just as the runners did, so the trail was very well crafted by our hares.
The pub was very busy with just two working the bar, but the ale (Ramsbury Gold) was worth the wait. We sat in the garden around one long table eating David’s chips once again.
Our hares were warmly thanked by Jeremy for their trail and wished well on their move to Malvern (with the possibility we may be able to do a trail there sometime), before the bags and hash horn were awarded to Viv and Kathy respectively. Viv got the bags as she often, it is said, complains of being cold, and Kathy the horn because … well I missed that bit.
Sunday, 20.00 The game’s over. We won. Downcast Spanish lady footballers are collecting their runners up medals as I write. But (whispers) Spain were better than us, but never took their chances in the game. But very well done to our valiant Lionesses hanging in there till the very end. What a triumph! What a day!!