Run No. 1353               23rd August 2010

Venue:                          The Red Lion

Beer:                              London Pride; Spitfire

Location:                      Bushey

Hare(s):                         Zing-a-long-a-max

Runners:                       11

Virgins:                            0

Visitors:                           0

Newies:                           2                                

Hounds:                          0

Après Hashers:             0

Total:                              13

Membership:                 Around & round the bushes!

            It was a fair way out on a day that saw some really heavy downpours earlier on, so it was not expected to be a large turn out.  The fact the venue chosen by the Hare didn’t allow horrors in there after the 20:00 Hrs meant that the likes of Princess wouldn’t be attending either!  Princess had angrily text the RA to ‘Thank Zing-a-long-a-max for choosing this Pub as she was going to come over with Jaron this evening but like Paxo & the le Pew’s she gave it a miss!  Hey, the RA may be able to do many things but even he wasn’t going to challenge the Landlady on this one!

            As the time crept around to 19:00 Hrs, there was only the RA & Hare raiser in the car park, both of whom were suffering the after-effects of Haring the two Trails at the Ancient Britons weekend, things were not boding well!  Then there was relief as the Nutters arrived, at least with Skip now there. Mr. X now knew that he wouldn’t be checking out each CHK on his own!

            This week saw Smartarse (the one from Cyprus) & Friar Tuck appear for their seemingly ‘Annual’ Trail with Herts.  Mr. X’s minute hand had past the 12 on his watch as more Hashers arrived, seems that traffic conditions due to the earlier weather had added to the delay off getting out to Bushey!  However, there was no sign of the GM!  So, up stepped the RA to fill in for the temporarily absent Herts’ Grand Monkey!

The Landlady was soon out to interrupt proceedings as she wanted the Hash to double park for an expected rush of civilian punters who were going to watch the football!  The Circle resumed & the RA introduced the Pack to the correct R*n number, then the Hare was introduced & he was asked to explain the markings for Chris & Audrey, the two Newies this night!

As Zing-a-long-a-max got to the important bit about there being a ‘Long Trail’ of about 7 miles!!! & a Short one of about 3 & a half out there, the GM arrived & hollered out “It’s R*N 1353!” from his open car window!  Zing-a-long-a-max added that the Pub stopped doing food at 20:45 Hrs, having heard about the length of the run & the food orders stopping, Friar Tuck knowing that Smartarse would be Inn before he would, he decided that Smartarse should order him a burger, whether he was back or not!

The Hare added that there was a BS, which most found disappointing that it stood for Blackberry Stop & not Beer Stop!  So, after a delay of musical cars, the Pack were directed out of the car park & off over the High street & right down toward St James’ Church!

The Dust led on by a small ornamental pond & then down through the Churchyard, the long concrete path headed southward, the Pack now ran right up beside the hedge along the toe of the dog-leg end of the Bushey Golf & Country club perimeter.  The Trail then came out to cross Merry Hill lane, then entered a meadow like enclosure.

After passing a small duck pond the Dust then headed up to the common beyond the enclosure’s hedgerow boundary.  The FRBs of Chris, Friar Tuck & Ketch Up were soon off over the common land in front of the ornate Haydon Hill house, with a large blue crane standing erect & proud behind it (Oh, err Pebbledash!).  They wasted no time in getting up to the next part of the common upon the plateau. 

Along the way Flip Top spotted a black cast iron marker disc & he asked the font of all knowledge that is Mr. X what it was?  He reckoned that it was probably something to do with the old Corporation of London Tax boundary, these are normally white painted cast iron posts that bear the City of London coat of Arms, there is one located Bushey High Street & one by the water way on the edge of Watford.

Anyhow, by the time Mr. X & Skip had scaled Haydon Hill to reach the common behind Haydon Hill House, they could see Ketch Up running on a path between the long avenue between bushes & brambles, but as they set off after him the Hare called out to stop them in their tracks, then in an act Dr Evil would have been proud of he made them go on a loop around to get the outside of the bushes before heading back in, but not after they had started to stray a little off up toward a dog walker who Skip chatted up about a Trail of flour, don’t let Psycho know!

Having realised their error, Mr. X & Skip headed back, were they intercepted Psycho, Party Animal & Smartarse on their way up the path Ketch Up was seen on earlier.  Over the hill the Trail went, on a long stretch to across the plateau to the ridge of Merry Hill, it came out to a CHK on the other side of a stile in the hedge before the drop down to the east.

Not all of the Pack followed the next part of the Trail correctly, instead of heading northward along the top of the ridge of Merry Hill, Skip, Psycho, Party Animal & Smartarse all hung around by the CHK, & then disappeared from the sight of the FRBs standing on a Held CHK a few hundred yards away!

Then Further away in the distance Skip’s red t-shirt was seen to dash out from behind a fence & he dashed back, to cross over once more to be rapidly followed by Psycho, Party Animal & Smartarse.  No amount of calling could persuade these SCBs from coming back, as they were doing what Sludge does best & were off on the wrong part of the Trail.  They were now running down the Inn Trail the wrong way!

My Lil’ Sperm ‘ead was hobbling along at the back & even he managed to get this bit right, though his intention was to carry on northward & short cut back in to Bushey to wander back to the Pub, then treat his aching ankle to a medicinal & aesthetic Ale or two!

The Keenies started off down Merry Hill by the side of the fallow land to the lower level, but for Flip Top, Chris, Friar Tuck, Ketch Up & Porky Pie it would turn out to be a Falsie!  This left ARP, Mr. X & Audrey to take to the next path along that drops through the tall wispy wild grass, but to get to this the Hash had to get to it via a very damp green strip of grass.

The Hash now progressed & made its way through the maze like warren of damp paths though the lowland level covered in bushes, but there was a stop for Audrey, Porky Pie & a few others as they came up to the Blackberry stop, the RA said he would stick to the ones above dog level!

It was around here that Ketch Up remarked “No wonder it’s called Bushey around here!”  The Dust continued into the centre of the ‘Bushy’ Bushey land of Hartsbourne wood, then it emerged out on to an open area that had a Hertfordshire Pudding stone in the centre.

Pudding stones are fairly unique to Hertfordshire & only a couple of other places in the UK, their distinct formation that looks like flint & stones set in concrete is in fact entirely natural, it gets its name from looking like old fashioned Christmas Pudding mix with plums in it!

 They were created by the flints & stones being eroded from the chalk beds & transported to the beaches, which meant Herts was once under the sea, then a retreating ice age finished things off to leave them in the Herts clay soil capping the Chalk hills.  Like the RA, they are believed to have supernatural powers & bring good luck!  In nearby Aldenham, in 1662, one was recorded as being used to keep the lid of a coffin closed when the buried a suspected Witch, & it prevented her returning from the grave!

Back to the Trail & the place where the Pudding stone was located had at least six options as to where the Trail could possibly go, as by a stroke of luck the correct option was found fairly quickly by Friar Tuck & the FRBs were soon away beneath the tunnel like canopy of bushy trees. 

As the part of the Pack made their way through the slightly boggy paths concealed within the bushy lowlands, the Hare had shot off & had rescued the SCBs from continuing up the Long Trail the wrong way, especially as it was a long way to circumnavigate another Golf Course!  Having sent the SCBs back up the Inn Trail the correct way, he then cut across to the CHK where the Long & Short Trails split.

Zing-a-long-a-max reiterated the fact that the sun would be well & truly set by the time the Long Trail runners would be back at the Pub!  Audrey had been taking it all in her stride to this point & she was up with the FRBs, but since the consensus of the majority was to take the short option, she decided to go with the flow & join the Majority on the shorter option.

Ketch Up & Friar Tuck were up for the Long Trail, & so they set off with Zing-a-long-a-max to go around the Hartsbourne Golf & Country Club Course!  The rest of the Pack crossed a small wooden bridge over a stream & headed out of the gloomy shelter of the trees & bushes to make their way up the open common land. 

Of course having came down Merry Hill, the Trail was going to have to go back up it to get to the higher plateau, this meant the pace would drop to a not so ‘merry’ walk as the steep slope was negotiated, though for Mr. X this was nothing after the one in four slope that was clambered on the Ancient Britons weekend!

The Trail was going to come back Inn on a path that was parallel to the route on the way out, which should have been safely on the opposite side of the common, if Skip hadn’t have spotted the In Trail Dust in the distance.  Once over the stile in the Hedgerow the Pack had a little trot over the top of the hill & then enjoyed the drop down to the meadow again.

As the Trail was coming to its climax, it was noticed that the Hare had placed the flour on the oak trees in the Meadow, of course this placed on the other side to that seen on the way out, just in case some eagled-eyed Hasher had spotted it!  Each sentinel like Oak had at least three blobs of Dust running up their trunks, which led to some asking if they were supposed to climb up the trees?

On the way back Inn the main Pack didn’t see anything of Skip, Psycho, Party Animal & Smartarse.  Having left the meadow land behind, Dust crossed the narrow lane & just off of this corner the On Inn was found on the start of an enclosed tarmac footpath, on the way up it was noticed that there was a small reserve with a stream flowing through it fenced off to the left.

It was now getting dark as the Trail came back in to the Churchyard & a light precipitation was in the air, now it seems that the SCBs had taken the wrong route where the Church path splits.  ARP & Audrey knew that the Trail went off to the left but it seems that Porky Pie & Chris were either keen to go around again or hadn’t recognise the out Trail?  They were not alone since Skip had led his merry band of ‘Nutters’ back around toward Haydon Hill!

 Upon his return Skip was a little sheepish when the RA asked him where he had been?  Since he should have been back well before Mr. X but wasn’t after going awry at the Church!

The Pack retired to find there were a couple of reserved tables for them in one end of the Bar, Smartarse made sure Friar Tuck’s burger was ordered, even though he had yet to return from the Long Trail!  Flip Top ordered a few bowls of chips for the rest of the Gannets Hash to enjoy as they awaited the return of the others.  Ketch Up looked decidedly unimpressed at the sight of a solitary chip left in one bowl, which My Lil’ Sperm ‘ead said was saved especially for him!

While the rumblings of the ‘fall-out’ from Borneo InterHash was told to Smartarse & Friar Tuck, Skip took up the mantle of collecting the subs, old habits die hard!  While the Hash Book went around the tables to be signed, there were a few ‘Fnar! Fnars!’ as it was noticed that one of the Harriettes had reached a significant number of Herts Runs!

Once Friar Tuck was almost finished with his burger meal, he took the last part of the bun out with him, the Circle was called!

The Hare was rewarded for an excellent Trail, especially for those who followed his directions!  Then the two Newies of Audry & Chris were out for completing their first Herts’ Trails; Skip was called out for his leading the other ‘Nutters’ astray!  Porky Pie was awarded his Hit for abusing Skip, the RA said that he ought to leave our elders alone!  ARP was out for completing 69 Runs, the RA likes awarding a Soixante-neuf! (Fnar! Fnar!)