Run Details

-

HHHi hashers - Nips here again for another re-hash. And boy did Monday find us a little further north than usual; but perhaps not as far out of our normal patch as our visitors from Chichester H3! Cocks Burn, Caught Short and Just Lindsey had decided to join us for what turned out to be anywhere between 8km and 11km (depending on checks and FHs) through what is probably some beautiful terrain in daylight, but alas late September finds us now needing headtorches from the outset. And so, with KIU giving a quick chalk talk to cover the symbols for the visitors, On On was called out left of the pub and down the road. Of course, this direction was not unexpected to anyone on Strava, for KIU had marked it yesterday and forgotten to turn it to private... Oh dear! Headed S down Lewes Rd, trail then turned off the road NW opposite Sandy Lane and into the woods where the first fishhook caught a number of FRBs. Continuing NW to Birch Grove Rd, a plethora of X's confused everyone until it transpired that the local authorities had marked all the surface level stumps from felled trees with crosses, with a false trail leading FRBs W / SW when in fact true trail was E and then N at the footpath, turning back to W and through the woods some more, dropping us out at the corner of Twyford Ln. A check here found FRBs splitting up. My map gets a little circular here and what I thought was a FH is, with memory refreshed, where Mudlark and I found a nice run through the woods besides the river and over a footbridge - much nicer than the road route SW that the hares had chosen, and we didn't SCB to re-join of course 😉 Quickly back off the road, trail then went up the hill with a generally straight run down and over School Ln, turning right (W) at the footpath and S to Birchgrove Rd and Birchgrove itself (what is that - a dozen houses tops?). Continuing in an E-ish direction a second FH would catch several before Lewes Rd. Down S and over Lewes Rd, along the edge of the fields and S back into the woods once more, an impromptu sip would be called, for Cocks Burn had been carrying some port on her back! Yes, those CH3 hashers are DEFINITELY welcome back 😀 After a quick sip (and the hare checking his phone) trail would continue straight over ("left or right", from KIU, my arse!) and turn E at Boxes Ln, running the length of the road E to Stone Quarry Rd and a third FH, although the hare was spotted changing the 7 to a 3 in an attempt to get everyone back to the pub for 8:30pm. Up the road, trail finally turned N for a run in back to the pub, although a FH along the route would be rubbed out (on the understanding that the hare wanted everyone back ASAP), with On Inn spotted on Sandy Ln, turning left (N) onto Beaconsfield Rd and then right (N) onto Lewes Rd and back to the pub... Unless you were Bouncer, RIB or any of a number of hashers who DIDN'T turn left at Beaconsfield Rd and instead turned right and away from the pub! In their defence, FRBs spotted no marks and it was only Half Moon's local knowledge that saved us from a similar mistake.

Back at the pub, fed and watered, it was noted that Bouncer had text me the night before to point out that it was St Michael's Day; a little retro-Nips factoid was that St Michael is the patron saint of Police Officers, and on this day in history in 1829 the first units of the London Met Police appeared on the streets of London, the capital's first modern police force. With that little tidbit done, the gathered masses were asked what they thought of the hash, a rather subdued response coming back - by all accounts everyone had loved it but evidently found the area to be a little surprising in its hills! So the hares were called up - KIU, WB and Beat the Barman (Trouble being absent due to traffic on the M25) - with DDs to "Here's to the Hares". Next, KIU again for leaving his route on Strava, checking his phone for directions at the sip, and a host of other misdemeanours; joined by Angel, for referring to HM as "Fitbitch"! Her defence? She 'says that about others' - a defence immediately poked holes in by Little Swinger who had never heard herself called that (perhaps she's just too fast to hear it though?); DDs to "10/9/8". And finally, our CH3 visitors Cocks Burn (we assume due to the port), Caught Short (we all assume why on that one) and Just Lindsey, on only her fourth hash with CH3 and the first for all of them with BH7; DDs to the tune of "Oh the seagulls". Details for next week's hash were provided (The Greyhound, Keymer) before Christmas was one again mentioned - a spreadsheet will be out shortly with menu and pricing, expected to be approximately £37 for three courses / £30-£32 for those who have paid subscriptions. And with that another circle was closed with a toast to the hash.

Nasty Nips