The rain clouds parted as we approached Childrey, closely followed by A Cruel Joke in his mini.  “Look out for Rear Admiral, he promised to stand on The Green and direct us.” No sign of him anywhere.  Had he drowned in the downpour or could he just not be bothered.  No-one knew!  All will be revealed when we next see him.

A recently dried off Ringer was greeting guests as they jumped the puddles daubed along the road. He had got absolutely soaked laying the trail and had to ring out his shreddies more than once I gather.  The dustbin was full of water and ice and was being filled with beer when it suddenly had another use.  Ringer’s terriers (Eric and Archie) were minding their own business in their own garden when Deaf Aid arrived with Betty (an even smaller terrier).  On being released from the constraints of a lead she was so overjoyed she attacked Eric, fastening her jaws round his face.  The only two methods that work to separate dogs in this situation is to stick your finger up the aggressor’s bum or douse them with the iced water designated for the purpose of beer cooling.  Cold beer or eating with a finger that has been up a dog’s bum??? Hard choice but Ringer decided he could put up with warm beer so the iced and water went everywhere.  The dogs were separated, Betty was taken home in disgrace while Eric went and hid in the house.  Dingaling took on the responsibility of returning as much ice as he good to the dustbin.

As Ringer put it, Eric was supposed to be away for the BBQ but did make it, had a fight with a bitch, was doused with cold water and was quiet during hash words!

Leaving some of the ladies, and CS, behind, we set off on the hash.  It was c3 miles and was very beautiful.  Phoebe changed out of her all in one waterproof as the sun had come out.  But Milo kept on his wonderful wellies that looked like crocodiles. Well, for the first third of the trail anyway.  At that point Dancing Queen realised that one had fallen off while he was carrying the young man and they had to go back to find it!

I don’t have a map of the trail.  It was very pretty and, of course, with Ringer as hare, had some hilly bits too.  The On Inn was through fields of corn (on a footpath of course) which waved a golden salute to us as we passed.

Back at the pad CS had cooked a mountain of meat and the salads were laid out in the kitchen.  Were CS and Big Stiffy canoodling by the table or was it just a fight to get to the food first?  Plates were piled high – Henry V’s chilli beef salad was a particular success – and we gathered under the massive pergola (it even contains a sand pit) just before the heavens opened.  Perfect timing. At this point Hutch and Mick had to leave us as Hutch was expecting even more Australian visitors. It was good to see Mick again though.

Then the sun came back out and we spread round the garden and enjoyed a splendid selection of desserts and perhaps a glass or two of our chosen beverage.  There was a little concern shown over the bottle Tinkerbell was drinking.  The label had washed off in the dustbin, honest, dad!  Eric had been eyeing La Crease’s lap for some time and been kindly dissuaded but she finally gave in.  If dog’s could smile, he was.

Hash Words.  We thanked Catherine and Ringer for hosting such a wonderful do.  There were no vests to award but FBJ had the paddle.  It had been somewhat defaced (literally as the first skin was hanging off) by a certain younger attendee and was now superglued and taped.  So it was quite just that it went to Epic for being boring about Linked-In.

Then came the naming.  This was Katie’s hash.  She was probably lucky that Ringer didn’t realise that 2 of her 3 hashes had actually been BBQs or he may have found a different name.  Anyway, she was wearing a rather football shirt supporting a rather dubious team and had her hair in curlers.  She has also just finished the art course that Dingaling is doing.  So she was named Arty-Farty.  “Sounds a bit like a dating website – Arty-Farty seeks Wonky Donkey.”

On On

Hare:  Ringer

Hounds:  Epic Fail and Phoebe, Dancing Queen and Milo (although the little people spent most of the run on their respective dad’s shoulders) Dingaling, NLG1, Tinkerbell, A Cruel Joke, Gatecrasher, Big Stiffy, Hotlips, FBJ, La Crease, Deaf Aid, Wimpey, Lemony Snicket, Hash Hoodie and Katie

BBQ crowd: Catherine (well, it was her house and she had done all the work so she should come first!), CS (who manned the BBQ) ABH, Doris, Hutch and Mick, Aby, Helen and Jake, Eric, Archie and Hattie and Betty

Date: 2 August 2014

Distance: 3 miles