Run	Date	Hare(s)	Description	MapRef	1:50000	1:25000	1:10000	Aerial
652	2009-02-01	Bika & Kermit	Buriton Queen Elizabeth Country Park	SU733197

To start we were directed towards the old pit and ended up completely confused running round in circles at the bottom of the big hole. Eventually Bika got bored and showed us the way out. Fortunately the ground was frozen rock and crunchy hard otherwise it would have been a treacherous ascent.
Even so Old Faithful did something to his back that slowed him up for the rest of the day "what ?, give in and stop hashing, you must be joking!".
Crossing the road we headed up into aptly named Head Down Plantation and ground to a halt at a check just above Gorecombe Hole.
Those of us that know this area know that there is only one, long way out of here but we were wrong because enterprisingly Bika had obtained permission to cut down through the fields to Newbarn Road at Holt Down.
The excitement of charging down the soft grassy slope caused Mary to use the unusual method of slowing down called "rolling over on her side" much to everyone's amusement.
Of course once at the bottom the only way was across the road and UP into QECP.

With Goofy and Paul doing more than their fair share of the work we found our way north over the ridge and down to a difficult check below War Down.
Some were checking far and wide while others sought amusement watching the mountain bikers doing a slalom on the western slopes.
Eventually Panda found the trail taking us on a long uphill slog to as high as you can go in the park. From then it was downhill all the way via a loop that brought us on in via the path just west of Fagg's Farm after one hour and twenty minutes.

A round of thanks to Bika and also Torchy who stood in for Kermit who was still at a party somewhere.
There was only one nomination from Flash, so un-surprisingly the Hash-It went to Mary for the aforementioned bodily gyrations, earning her an "on the spot" hash name of No Moss.
We then descended to the Master Robert where the service was so slow I gave up trying to get a drink .

Bambi.

Special report from our roving correspondent

Riyadh Saudi Arabia HASH Thursday Jan 29th

Having been absent from the Chichester Hash’s for a while due to holiday, work and an injured foot I managed to find out where the Riyadh HASH was taking place yesterday here in Saudi. This was no easy task as the Saudi authorities are very much against public gatherings of any type particularly those of an unmarried kind.
After a series of clandestine emails and phone calls I found out that the HASH was meeting at the King Faisal Hospital, or so I thought. It was late in the morning that information seeped through that I was to go to one of the Hospital gates at 2.00pm.
Rushing out in my kit assuming that we were to start running from the hospital, I grabbed a taxi and arrived just in time to find out that we were to drive for an hour into the desert where the HASH would take place. I was quickly informed that it was also an offence to be seen on the streets displaying my knees as this is considered offensive to the Saudi’s…..it has been said before!
The first half of the drive was an experience in itself as Saudi roads and drivers leave a lot to be desired! The second half of the journey was over very rough terrain where the 4x4 came into its own. The HASH started with a 30 minute “round” where newcomers had to introduce themselves, notices were read, prizes and awards were made and those leaving for other climes were told how much they would be missed…..it would never happen in Chi. Hashers also need to sign in and out as getting lost and left behind is not recommended.
So at last the HASH started with options for a short walk, long walk, and a run. I had intended to do the run but after seeing that out of the 100 approx. people gathered only about 10 were running I had second thoughts, still I thought give it a go! However on turning my back to see which way my sponsor Salim was going (every newcomer has to have a sponsor who is responsible for them) the runners had disappeared…..and so it was the long walk. This turned out to be a blessing as the walk was 1˝ hours over very rough terrain and some steep hills and despite being desert the ground was very hard and rocky, whatever would the run have been like? There was a break at the halfway point for water and oranges which were very welcome in the 30°c temperature.
Once back at base many of the hashers stayed on for picnics and bonfires and made an evening of it. It was a great event with many nationalities taking part with quite a few Brits. Hope to see you back in Chi soon.
Best Regards from Saudi Arabia.
John