Hash, Flour Power, Bunny Costumes and My Little Pecker

Monday night this week was the first time I got to lead the Hash with the Guildford Hash House Harriers. As the 'Hare' I got to pick my own route for the run. I chose the woods nearest to me because I know them so well.

I set off at 5pm from my house with 6kgs of flour in my rucksack and ran from my house to Hydons Ball where the route i was planning would run.

laying a circle in flour means runners must seek out the correct path from this point

I ran up Hydons Ball with flour in hand getting funny looks from people as I laid small piles of flour at convenient spaces all along my intended route.

As well as laying marks for the route you lay circles at various crossings of paths with multiple options. In doing this the front running bastards (fast runners) have to run down all of the possible routes for a distance until they find the next flour marker and shout 'On On' ! This also gives the knitting circle (slow runners) the chance to catch up so the group as a whole stays fairly close together during the run.

X marks the spot where youve been stitched up

You can also be a sadistic Hare and run people up a very steep hill only to find and X at the top denoting a false trail. This means they have to run all the way back and try again.....and yes....I did this.




Smearsing (smiling with my ears)


The sun set while I laid the trail which totalled 4.5 miles which is the recommended distance for a hash. I had my headphones in and had a great time running out the trail. When I finished back where I started at the car park at Hydons Ball I ran down to the Merry Harriers Pub in Hambledon where all the hashers would be meeting at 7.30 pm. I had 45 minutes spare when I got there so in true hashing spirit I relaxed with a nice Pint of Pilgrim and chatted to the locals with a pink bunny tail pinned on my bum and bunny ears on my head.

The Merry Harriers is a really lovely, friendly country pub in Hambledon and well worth a visit. Its a rare gem that balances good beer and great food but avoids the 'Surrey prices' . Its also got its portrait in the Tate Gallery in London! They are quiet on a Monday and usually take the chance for a well earned rest and shut early but they were willing to stay open just for us.

The Hash went well and I couldnt resist making part of the route along the Greensand Way . Scrum Muffin (Claire) and I got a great pic of us at one of the Greensand Way Markers .

Greensand Way Night Hashing

As the run came to the end and we got back near the pub the traditional 'On Inn' mark I had left near the pub had been butchered by Popeye. This seems to happen on a lot on hashes. Although the hash went well and no one got killed/lost/injured I learnt that I needed to leave longer gaps from the circles so that it took more time for the front running bastards to find stuff so that the group stayed together more. In total I had run 11 miles setting the trail , running the hash and running from my house.

As I had my suspicions about a potential naming ceremony I made sure I dumped ALL of my flour before I finished.

An anchor means 'Popeye Woz Ere'

In the Car Park at the end of the run we had the usual end of run 'huddle' . As various people started asking me if I had any flour left I wisely put my phone and camera in my bag and prepared myself for a 'naming'




Pancake day comes one day early

I was deeply touched that the hashers had spent so many weeks thinking about my potential name. It shows in what high regard they must hold me. Unfortunately for me they had brought plently of extra flour. Most hashing names are rude and loosely relevant to the person, for example a lady that works in customer services is called Satisfaction Guaranteed or Claires dad is a lawyer and called Loose Article.
The options considered included 'turned out nice again' because I play the banjolele and am a window cleaner, 'cock' because I keep chickens, ' Oh Bee - Have' because I keep Honeybees but based on my 'microbiology' degree (actually I am a molecular biologist!) and the fact that I keep chickens and found a parrot on a hash once they decided on my hash name as.....

LITTLE PECKER

Arise 'Little Pecker' (complete with pink bunny tail)

When naming all the women hashers get to pour beer and flour over the named persons head. I can tell you that once this 'batter' sets it takes A LOT of washes to get it out. I also had to down beer for being the Hare AND for being named. By the time I got home I was very drunk.

Battered

It was great to get named. I really feel like part of the club now, especially as I have now led a hash too. I got named at the place where I did my first ever hash run and also got to do it on a night when we ran part of the Greensand Way.

I hear Dave is joining The Hash House Harriers near him in Portsmouth soon.... Cant wait to see what name he gets !



On On !


Little Pecker

:)