Sewer Rats

Donut Hashgate Swallow Slowsucker Mrs Blobby Mr Blobby Utopia Slackbladder Little Stiffy TT2 Dwight Scoot Dorothy Twanky Steve (now Woodentop) C5 C4 Itsyor OldFart Old Dog TinOpener Lilo Iceman Messenger Boy Rainbow Warrior Flash Pissquick Glittertits Motox LoudonTasteless Spex Cheating Caboose Dunny Rampant Rabbit Spot Bogbrush Fannybag Centaur Dumper Septic Trembler Zebedee Florence Slapper No Soul Foghorn Ms Whiplash Lonely Bootsie DH³ and OH³ Hashes

The Friends of Sh*tShoveller Hash

At the well-attended Gather Round C5 spoke of our good friend Dave Busby – Sh*tShoveller to BH³, DH³, OH³ and many other Hashes around the world. He talked eloquently of his loss and the pleasure of having known him and of the fact that when we visited the toilet (especially in certain places abroad) we should thank him for his contribution to sewerage engineering! To Penny he presented a 50 run badge from H⁴,Heaven Hash House Harriers since by now, knowing Dave’s passion for Hashing he would no doubt have been given this award and was probably, if not already, the Trailmaster. We came to celebrate knowing Dave and gave him three heartfelt cheers before handing over to the Hares, Penny and Gnomealone.

Dave and Penny are pictured at the Proms in the Park 2009.

Gnomealone, representing the Hares, informed us there would be Fishhooks the way Sh*tshoveller had introduced them to Didcot Hash. Which meant there would be a Fishhook shape with a number next to it, meaning Hashers would have to return that number of blobs to find the correct Trail. Not quite Fishhooks as I remember them but a damn sight better than finding yourself among the requisite number of people who reached the thing and had to run all the way to the back of the Pack. Mind you, the first quarter of an hour was spent running to and fro in a totally confused manner since no-one could find the Trail so I guess we did plenty of the original kind of Fishhooks anyway. We eventually got on Trail and tripped off lightly into the surrounding off-road district. Which was where TT2 and myself found the, you guessed it, blasted Fishhook after a long and lung-cramping run along the edge of the field. And wouldn’t you guess it again. Having run all the way back we then ran parallel to the track we had been on, eventually coming back on to it further up!

We stumbled wearily to the first Regroup where Itsyor advised me sagely, “This is the Regroup.” Very helpful. Thanks Itsyor. Little Poppy the dog wasn’t in the least bit tired by our initial run and resumed eating the flour of the Regroup sign – she had been restrained from eating that which Gnomealone had put down at the Gather Round to educate us in the way of the Fishhook. We tarried not long and burned off, eager to get to the next Regroup and complete the Trail before it got dark...

Now having been stuck in a dusty commercial district rampant with building sites in Southern India for the past couple of weeks or so, courtesy of the plane-stopping volcanic cloud, running through this verdant area was a real pleasure. None more so than when we reached a fine bench at the top of a rise dedicated to a Roy Jenkins(the bench, that is). This overlooked a large paddock with a green hill in it, on top of which two fine, grey horses grazed and, partially hidden in the background, stood the square towered history of an old church. Nothing could have been more quintessentially English. Experiences like this are one of the reasons why Hashing is enjoyed by so many of us you can certainly understand why Sh*tshoveller loved Hashing so much.

Of course, childlike enjoyment of physical exercise is one thing; childish enjoyment of playgrounds is quite another and the sight of Dipstick wobbling unsteadily along a kiddies balancing bar on springs was viewed by the rest of us really rather sympathetically. After all, it was Dipstick. Rainbow Warrior too was thoroughly enjoying herself by swinging on every branch that came within reach.

I trudged up a hill with Caboose. When we reached the top and could reasonably restart our conversation without heaving and retching from the effort he informed me that the village(s?) of Hendred had won the best kept village in Berkshire in 1974. Excellent, I thought. Not surprising. He followed up this diamond of information by saying that the same award had been given the following year... but due a boundary change 1975’s was the Best Kept Village in Oxfordshire. Very useful bloke Caboose. Always comes up with something interesting. Just not this time.

Dusk began to fall. As indeed did the temperature. The latest May frost was on the way. We followed Dwight and Scoot along the Short Trail, getting lost only a couple of times... After some extremely pleasant trots through the darkening fields we drew up nice and early at the pub. Brilliant – no-one at the bar. We had an excellent raffle where nearly everyone with a pink ticket won something and £202 was raised for the British Heart Foundation and Penny was presented with a donation for the Ramblers Society. All in all a great Trail, a good, fun evening and one which Dave would have thoroughly enjoyed. We certainly did 

On On. Hashgate.

Down Downs

RA C5 presented the vast majority with Didcot and Oxford presenting one apiece.

Well deserved and well done

Up and Coming

Hash Walk

Sunday 16^th May @ 10:45 a.m. at gridref 824795. Meet at the layby just off the A4 by The Seven Stars pub at Knowl Hill. There will be a pub stop for food and drink or bring a snack.
Please see Motox for full details.