Run	Date	Hare(s)	Description	MapRef	1:50000	1:25000	1:10000	More
963	2021-07-18 11:00	Romping Donkey & Showjumper	Northney_Langstone_Marina	SU726041

On this sweltering mid july morning cars were stacking up on the causeway, occupants probably slowly roasting in the heat and still miles from the ice cream booth, while Hashers were gathering in the shade of trees in the car park at Northney Marina.

Not many Hashers, we waited on a little longer than usual, still not many hashers, so we started proceedings by welcoming Prancer's brother from Farnham, a newbie, before Romping Donkey tried to explain the markings that were to be encountered. We came out from the shade to peer at the array of hieroglyphics that had been carefully assembled on the tarmac. Now let me see, three dots and you are on except if the check looks like a "tit", in which case there may only be one dot and no false, in which case it's two dots and you are on or it may be a bar which means it's false and not three dots together like usual, yes! that was it, see, I remembered.

This time there were no dogs whining, because no dogs, because they only sweat through their tongues which are not long enough to sweat enough for the heat today.

Out into the blistering heat we went, West on Nortney Road, a small band of mad dogs and dogesses, following the seaward path, which diverted our gaze from the true trail which headed South over North Common. After a good thrash over grass stubble, littered with big black silage bags, we were suckered by our first "tit" that saw Bambi going a long futile way towards Northney.

North Stoke came next, with an attempt to loose us in the small playing field with a hidden exit in the corner, but we were wise to this ruse having been here before in the dim and distant past. There was a small detour through the houses here, baking hot with heat blasting up from the bubbling tarmac, before continuing South to Stoke across short, bright green, cattle nibbled grass that had a deep, deep, shiggy patch concealed at its heart that left us with mucky legs as we emerged at Northwood Lane.

Our Hare was now beginning to show signs of frustration that some of us had resorted to a rather slow pace in order to conserve bodily fluids, that is to say our pace had slowed on account of us being knackered in the heat.

Snake Charmer and Bambi still had a little bit left in the tank, so they forged ahead East on Copse Lane finding a frugal McDougal trail. This proved their undoing, as they over-ran a "tit" and continued on their merry way, nattering about interesting local architecture and chemistry experiments.

There is some suspicion that Popeye spotted their mistake and took no action except to chuckle, in any event by the time the error was discovered it meant a long hard catchup to Gutner Point just in time to encounter a fish hook that caught us all, Dr Blood, Popeye, Kinky, Snake Charmer and Bambi.

Now we were all knackered, except of course for Romping Donkey who runs on dilithium crystals and a warp drive, and made slow progress North to Tye where she encouraged us by saying "only a few more fields to go now" and "its not worth lying down and dying in the shade here, we are nearly home" etc.

As you suspect, this was all flannel, we would have laid down and died if we knew that we still had to go to North Hayling Church via Norhtwood Farm, at least the graveyard there was in the shade, perhaps a good spot to lie down? ... no must keep going .. marina masts on the horizon ... is it a mirage? .... no they are real .. at last the chariots ... after one hour and thirty four minutes of frazzled Hashing.

A few moments later after gulping of a bit of amber nectar, the need to expire became remote, parched larynx managed to utter a few sentences, and polite conversation broke out. In good English tradition we spent a while remarking on the warm weather before thanking the Hares and then awarded the Hash-It to Treefeller, in absentia, who's non arrival was down to a traffic incident en-route during which both his chariot and an unfortunate scooter rider's charge had been written off, thankfully without physical injury.

As normal these days, a little more polite conversation saw us gradually drift away home or to garden parties or wherever.

On On ! Bambi
photos by Bambi .