The trouble with being a walkie talkie is that you don’t see what happens anywhere else on the hash and when you ask others for their tales or misdemeanours they go all shy!

Lovely pub but I can never remember which pub it is!  We parked in the field at the back, by the chickens and geese and circled up on a pleasant but not particularly sunny evening. 

We set off north eastwards along the footpath beside the pub before turning noth westwards and heading for Bower Farm.  Onwards through Streatley Warren to Warren Farm and on to Lowbury Hill.  It was here that the walkers finally got ahead of the runners – who had been sent off on a pointless loop.  They set off up a steep slope and were contemplating turning along the next leg when they realised that the runners were coming and would see them against the sky.  So they looked at the view and had a very long discussion on where one of their number could have a wee without being spotted.  The conversation went on so long that she only just made it!   

The runners caught up and headed south towards Compton before turning back to Starveall and on down the hill to the pub.  The walkers went straight there but the runners had to make another loop before joining them in the car park where we raised a glass of bubbly to Henry V and A Cruel Joke to wish them well on their trip to Australia and to Hutch who had just celebrated his birthday.  There was cake too. 

We went into the pub where rolls were delivered to those who had ordered them, drinks flowed and the conversation was most enjoyable.  One thing discussed in detail was the number of runbacks these hares inflicted on the pack.  The final one was 22!  That meant most of the pack had to run back twice.  But the hares had been given these sound words of advice from Hutch, the Aldworth wizard “Be as mean as you want to be”.  They certainly went to town on that one.

Hutch awarded the yellow shirt and announced a re-naming.  Ben Dover had decided to short cut and walk!  So from now on he will be called Ben Dover Slowly!

Then came the naming of Klaus.  Klaus had found out about Didcot Hash when we marshalled at Didcot Park Run c18 months ago and finally decided the time was right to join us.  The Queen had a Annus Horribilis, so Klaus had had an Annus Interruptus!  No, I don’t really get it either.  I cant remember who stood in as RA, but they shouldn’t have!

On On

Hares:  Henry V and A Cruel Joke (with advice from Hutch)

Hounds:  Big Stiffy, Hotlips, Wimpey, Lemony Snickett, Uranus, Comet, Scrumptious, Ben Dover, Hutch, Mudder, Out to Lunch, Rubber Sole, Ratatouille, Epic Fail, Noddy, Gnome Alone, Eric and Pressganger

Date:  8 August 2017

Distance: 6 miles