Run	Date	Hare(s)	Description	MapRef	1:50000	1:25000	1:10000	More
755	2013-02-03	Dog Whistle & Geoff	Eartham Woods	SU938106

One could be forgiven for assuming that the prospect of a hash in the familiar woods after only one week of abstinence on a miserable cold morning would prove a deterrent to most. Not so. There was a steady stream of arrivals finding free slots for their chariots amongst those of the myriad dog walkers in the mud sticky car park.

Popeye was the last to arrive, just after we had welcomed back Al and Sas and as the hares were impressing upon us that the run would be short, gentle and only a little bit muddy in the odd spot while having crossed fingers behind their back.

To start with there was a great number of minor explorations in the immediate neighbourhood before most of us noticed that all those heading up the main trail north were not returning. There was some real wildlife action along this section as deer bounded across the trail heading for the safety of St Mary's wood and Bika^MBE was dragged forward by Buddy half choking on a strained leash. Things got even more exciting when we reached the gravel road and happened on a mass of yapping pooches and nattering owners.

Leaving the cacophony behind we headed north east into the heart of the wood with Flash's thousands of years experience keeping him at the front of the pack. Just south of Stubbs wood we reached what turned out to be the “top” of the trail and a lovely four way check with each direction clearly visible from the cross. Old Faithful, Splasher and Flash chose the north west, Popeye and Dr Blood the north east with Pancsi and Bika^MBE heading south east, while the rest of us chewed the fat.

South east was the way to go on a long run through North wood where we encountered the spots of mud and brambles that tore at our flesh and caused more that one exclamation that cannot be reported accurately here without an elf and safety warning to the reader. The misery continued as we left the shelter of the trees and reached a regroup on Stane St to experience the full force of the bitter north easterly wind.

Once again I am indebted to Spiderman for a GPS track that reminds me that the next section saw us exploring the area south of Stane St where the luckless Al went miles on a falsie to the hare's delight and Sinbad managed to get away with a massive short cut in full view of those that should have noticed.

The so called short run drew to a close as we recrossed the Roman road and headed south west, reaching the On-In after one hour and sixteen minutes of decidedly chilly hashing.

At the circle it was brought to our Webmeister's attention that a JM's name had been miss spelled before the Hash-It was presented to Panda for encouraging Flash to consult with some oncoming walkers regarding the disposition of flour on the trail ahead. As usual the George was the wayside inn of choice.

Subsequently, the JMs have realised that as a group we did not express our thanks to the hares who not only volunteered to lay the trail at short notice but also had to change venue at the last moment and still managed to get us lost in our own back yard. So, THANK YOU! Geoff and Dogwhistle, we are sorry for the omission.

Bambi.