Beautiful sunshine bathed the entrance to the pub and the church bell rang 11 as Wimpey and Lemony timed their arrival to perfection (on the 11^th bong!). But parking was a bit of a problem so there was a bit of a delay as everyone gathered.  There was a  chilly wind so a few hid under the archway and Gatecrasher sat in his car.  Call Girl introduced he sister, Stacey, the quiet one (but she probably couldn’t get a word in edgeways when they were growing up).

Off the pack set and confusion reigned.  There were 3 blobs and a cross going up the lane beside the pub!?! But the trail went left and then right down Queens Road, the right again and left onto the footpath.  There wasn’t much flour and the hare didn’t seem keen to mark the route!  Three sides of a square later we were coming out of the lane in Overy and admiring the brickwork on the grand house!  The trial went left to the underpass but the flour was laid on the raised footpath rather than the slope (which was completely flooded).  Ringer insisted he ran through it and Call Girl that she floated elegantly across.  Here we came to the river and a lecture theatre made out of large logs.  Gnome Alone tried to raise the intellectual level by giving a speech but was somewhat ignored. 

We turned south and then East and Whisper tried to eat a pug coming the other way before we cut across a VERY muddy field and entering Warborough with enough mud on our shoes to plant a crop up the High Street!  We followed the main road and then searched in vain for any sign of a trail once we reached the corner.  Pressganger had to point us off left before a wiggle right and left across the bridge and straight along a cart track.  The numerous puddles started to come to life as the rain started gently and the coats went back on.  It was quite heavy by the time we reached the check and then it was a left turn directly into the jaws of the storm.  The hail was hitting our faces and stinging our legs.  At times it felt like we were going backwards.  What an introduction to hashing for Stacey!  Lemony tucked in behind Hutch and then ducked down into some trees for some protection before setting off after the leaders again.  Even Ringer had put the paddle of rebuke away to concentrate on moving forward.  Pressganger kept walking through the next check although the front runners who knew the location had chosen to go that way anyway kindly pointed us in the right direction to re-trace the route out and find the underpass.  Here we met some real people who were sheltering from the rain.  Good to see it is not just hashers who enjoy inclement weather.  From here we continued through Overy to the main road and the sun started to shine.  What to do?  The walkers and Twitcher (whose shoe was doing a great impression of a ventriloquist’s dummy) headed right and back to the pub.  The rest decided to follow the trail for the extra 1.5 miles.  If only it had continued to rain for a few more minutes!  Poor Pressganger had to cross over the road and go with the runners.  We did a wiggle towards the Thame and back before following the path to the Thames, crossing at the bridge and heading back into Dorchester.  Pressganger tried to persuade us that the route was actually via Days Lock but the sun had gone again and we were getting cold and tired.  The runners chose their own route back into the village and to their cars.  Hopefully Hutch realised that Rubber Sole had moved their vehicle to be nearer the pub and didn’t go all the way to the Co-op!

The pub was welcoming and we managed to take over 3 tables in the bar and then eat a whole basket of Easter Eggs provided by our kind hare.

Ringer awarded the paddle to Stacey – something to do with borrowing heated socks from her mum, although I think Ringer’s hearing was causing him some problems. 

Call Girl passed the Supergirl Pants (which were wet and dirty) to Gnome Alone for being mesmerized by a footprint in some dog poo!  You just can’t do anything without being spotted.

On On 

Hares:  Pressganger and Eric

Hounds:  Weirdo, Call Girl and Stacey, Ringer, Dingaling, Lemony Snicket, Wimpey, Hutch, Rubber Sole, Gatecrasher, Gnome Alone, Cheap Date, Twitcher, Pyro, Whisper and Qualcast

Date: 27 March 2016

Distance: 4.88 miles