Date: Tuesday 17th April 2007
Location: Shipley Bridge car park
I've cheated ever so slightly this time because I was asked to do the words by Snow White so having written those and sent them off to her I've decided that I'll copy what I've written and then perhaps add a couple of bits to make it more pertinent to this blog. The bits i've added i've done in a different colour so those who have read the words can then just read the bits i've added. (How kind am I?) SO apologies to those who will read the words but there are only so many hours in the day and my OU course needs some attention tonight and there is of course the matter of the bowl of ice cream that is my special treat and then the washing to sort....... :) (i'm not complaining!)
Operation Avon Dam….The Dam Hashers
The Briefing
Time 7.30pm. Carried out by Sneezy & Snow white. We were to follow a trail of flour laid around the Avon Dam area and capture the excitement of hashes gone before. We were to choose between long and short and find our way home before night descended. We were going where no hashers had gone before…or were we? While we were being briefed Buster decided to have a wee as he seemed a little desperate, he started his wee and one of the hashers walked past and scared him and he moved, I thought he had stopped weeing until I felt my leg go nice and warm and realised he was now weeing on my leg.....YUK YUK YUK. I disappeared to my car and found the wet wipes (how I love those wet wipes) and cleaned my leg before re joining the hashers hoping against all hope that noone had seen otherwise that would have been a down down for sure.
The First Wave
All hashers set off at a fairly normal rate as we were faced with uphill and stoney pathways, then onto the moors and the longs started to fade into the distance with shouts of on on, the shorts picked their way through the bracken and fern, and finally found the check, can I just say here that running at the back has it's advantages....I spotted a blob of flour off to the right as everyone else was going on up and with some help from Sneezy as well found the check. The longs returned to join them on the quest for the assault on the pathway to the river. Over dead trees, under dead trees, through gorse and over one steep wall that caused a few injuries (I think this was where Dolittle caught her finger as Teasel dived over the top, so apologies to Dolittle for the bad behaviour of Teasel and I do hope you feel better soon) and nearly scared a dog to death as it was pushed over the wall…mentioning no names (Tina). Apologies too for Tina but then poor Holly hasn't done anything wrong. I do hope you are ok Holly!!) Then the hashers were wading and stepping stoning it across the river. This was no task for weaklings, those hashers were brave and courageous, they got their shoes and trousers wet and dirty. Snow white bravely waited at the other side, smiling and checking that everyone was across. Then it was onward and upward (groan I don’t do hills!) The longs were off again and the shorts thankfully didn’t have to go too far uphill and then we cut across towards the Dam itself. For a moment the mission nearly failed. Snow white the squadron leader was shouting “On Up On Up” with meaning in her voice. Six Pack, he of the longs, had found the check and was jumping up and down wildly shouting “On Check, It’s Here, It’s Here.” We all tuned our radars in and suddenly the entire pack was heading towards Six Pack who suddenly turned upside down and kicked his legs in the air. Growbag was nearly in a collision with Dolittle as he careered his way onwards towards the target, then like a missile he zoomed off up the hill looking for the trail. I can remember thinking at the time how much energy can one person have, one of my memories of this hash is that most of the pack were kept together for longer than any other hash and I can remember at every point we met up with the longs that Growbag was running round first in one direction then in another...At last the second wave was complete and off we all set downhill (phew) towards (oh no) the river.
The Second Wave
Into the river we all went, no fear, no worries until one by one they realised that it was a ploy, we were tricked into the cold waters, the hashers left the water one by one apart from Coldbitz who decided to have a splash about before continuing. The trail had crossed the river but Squadron Leaders Snow white & Sneezy had foiled the enemy with their sneaky up river scramble. Poacher came to everyone’s rescue in the absence of Ollie and helped us over to the other side, apart from myself who ended up in the river. I don't really know what happened apart from the stone under my foot was very slippery and when I went in I got up pretty quickly again hoping that I hadn't got my car key too wet so it didn't work when I got back to the car....the things that go through your mind when you are up against it. Up and up we went, then the cry came up from Red Kevin “On UP to the Regroup.” At last the checkpoint we were halfway to victory. Several chomps later…… Several chomps for those that eat chocolate, i'd put a mint in my pocket so I sucked on that one....remember i'm a recovering chocoholic and I didn't want to put that in jeopardy, there were some other sucky sweets but I was just too knackered to walk the few feet to retrieve one...sad I know, but i'd just come up a hill. It took me a little while to get going again as my legs felt very very cold and my bum and bits didn't feel like they belonged to me anymore!
The Third Wave
With stallions and mares rearing and bucking all around us we raced, or in my case plodded our way onwards or downwards or was it side-wards. By this time I just knew we hadn’t hit the dam, I’d not seen the dam, it was somewhere there but sadly not hit tonight. although with Sneezy & Snow White's love affair with water I was pretty glad we didn't go near the dam because they might have had us wading through the reservoir!
Here is a picture of the dam kindly borrowed from someone on photobucket...thanks purpleglowspider
Nevertheless with beautiful scenery all around we continued. Sneezy offered me the short cut back to base but I declined (I was very tempted, very tempted indeed but no I am not a person that gives up easily in the light of adversity) and scrambled after the disappearing pack in front of me. I could see the backs of Vindaloo and Doris and kept them firmly in sight, the light was beginning to fade and I was ever so slightly concerned at being lost in the middle of somewhere not very populated. (What is this I’m hearing never before has a dam hasher felt so pathetic, come on Gurnie don’t let the side down) I was very glad I'd put my head torch in my pocket and turned it on although it was still light enough to see without it. On On we went, the longs had gone up and up the shorts went across and across. I looked up to see most of the hashers disappearing and then without warning Windy came breezing by…(do you like that Windy breezing….!) yes off he went. With Sneezy shouting keep the marks on your right, he was showing us the way home. I lit my torch and thankfully because the dark tunnel of stones was upon us. Windy did a double somersault flip but was ok and no bones broken thankfully. Down down and down….(at least it was down)…to the On Home mark that I’d been looking forward to seeing (Ok I would just like to make a little bitty request here to anyone laying a trail in the future...when you put On Home and an arrow and Home is like not that close is there any chance you could just scatter a smattering of flour somewhere on the journey home because I did get a tad worried at this point. Vindaloo and Windy (Now there's a good partnership of hash names....!) Vindaloo and Windy had disappeared round the bend, Doris was behind me so I knew I would be ok as long as I kept on the right road. I assumed that on home was along the road but kept looking through gateways just in case as I really had lost all sense of direction...and at last the lights lit up the runway of base (and a big sigh of relief from me) and I was home after one wonderful hash. Thanks Sneezy & Snow white my legs are still aching but so are my mouth muscles from smiling…..…The Dam Hashers have done it again On On till next time.
The down downs were given to Sneezy for losing the last Long/Short split, to Snow White for losing her walkie talkie on the hash and having to run back round the hash to find it. Coldbitz for sitting in the river and Glasseye for having a near miss in the river. See how good it is to be at the back of the pack....no-one but no-one knows about your little mishaps and adventures...although I wouldn't mind doing a down down as long as it's non alcoholic....
Am I the only teetotaller hasher in the world? Am I the only non-runner hasher...?
Who cares? I'm having lots of fun and now i'm rambling so i'm going to go before I bore you all
Till next time On On.....
Nevertheless with beautiful scenery all around we continued. Sneezy offered me the short cut back to base but I declined (I was very tempted, very tempted indeed but no I am not a person that gives up easily in the light of adversity) and scrambled after the disappearing pack in front of me. I could see the backs of Vindaloo and Doris and kept them firmly in sight, the light was beginning to fade and I was ever so slightly concerned at being lost in the middle of somewhere not very populated. (What is this I’m hearing never before has a dam hasher felt so pathetic, come on Gurnie don’t let the side down) I was very glad I'd put my head torch in my pocket and turned it on although it was still light enough to see without it. On On we went, the longs had gone up and up the shorts went across and across. I looked up to see most of the hashers disappearing and then without warning Windy came breezing by…(do you like that Windy breezing….!) yes off he went. With Sneezy shouting keep the marks on your right, he was showing us the way home. I lit my torch and thankfully because the dark tunnel of stones was upon us. Windy did a double somersault flip but was ok and no bones broken thankfully. Down down and down….(at least it was down)…to the On Home mark that I’d been looking forward to seeing (Ok I would just like to make a little bitty request here to anyone laying a trail in the future...when you put On Home and an arrow and Home is like not that close is there any chance you could just scatter a smattering of flour somewhere on the journey home because I did get a tad worried at this point. Vindaloo and Windy (Now there's a good partnership of hash names....!) Vindaloo and Windy had disappeared round the bend, Doris was behind me so I knew I would be ok as long as I kept on the right road. I assumed that on home was along the road but kept looking through gateways just in case as I really had lost all sense of direction...and at last the lights lit up the runway of base (and a big sigh of relief from me) and I was home after one wonderful hash. Thanks Sneezy & Snow white my legs are still aching but so are my mouth muscles from smiling…..…The Dam Hashers have done it again On On till next time.
The down downs were given to Sneezy for losing the last Long/Short split, to Snow White for losing her walkie talkie on the hash and having to run back round the hash to find it. Coldbitz for sitting in the river and Glasseye for having a near miss in the river. See how good it is to be at the back of the pack....no-one but no-one knows about your little mishaps and adventures...although I wouldn't mind doing a down down as long as it's non alcoholic....
Am I the only teetotaller hasher in the world? Am I the only non-runner hasher...?
Who cares? I'm having lots of fun and now i'm rambling so i'm going to go before I bore you all
Till next time On On.....
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