The start of the Hash 1184 saw the GM hare looking dog-tired (see photo of him and wife above) because of a no-show by his co-hare earlier on to help him set the hash. The no-show, co-hare (Stephen "Keeled Over") later explained how he had got carried away that morning performing a difficult variation of 'Ardha Baddha Padma Pashimottanasana' at his yoga class. He had lost all sense of time and arrived half an hour late at the rendezvous point. By this time the GM 'show' hare had disappeared with his bag of shredded paper and was off setting the course himself, no doubt mumbling about "harebrained, no-show, co-hares with no hair who fail to do their fair share". The guilty co-hare had to bear a post-run, down-down beer for being late and bore a further 'drink it down-down' beer for having no hair. Thankfully the main hare did not bear a grudge against his co-hare although he did admit that being a lonesome hare is a bit of a boar (ed: surely bore?). The GM has grey hair.

So… just after 4pm on Saturday 30 September a pack of 37 hashers hared off in an easterly direction to the raucous cheers of a harebrained bunch of Saturday afternoon disco dancers. The hare had to guide the pack on its way off the main track. The front hounds then took a beeline down to the southeast from where the day's outing wound its way around a series of picturesque hidden valleys to the south and southeast of Bajrabarahi forest. (GM editor: that's enough dogs, hares, bears, boars and bees thankyou!). The route followed narrow paths between rice fields and went up and along ridges, passing only a few houses on its way. The going was pleasantly soft underfoot, the weather agreeable, and the company generally amiable. The only complaints heard were from Krishna about the ripening rice chafing his delicate calves, and the difficulty of overtaking on the long stretches of khet paths. At one stage the GM's son Simon got elbowed off the track to free up a tailback of about ten runners who were champing at the bit to exercise their athletic prowess.

The first holding check at the top of a challenging incline (as all are) saw the usual handful of motley latecomers, all of whom were old-timers, traipsing in at the back to a hearty welcome by the on-timers. Several of the checks were cunningly devised, leading to a number of runners covering a lot of extra ground following false trails and MacPole muttering about the correctness of the GM's hash name.

The last third of the run led past a new orphanage, built rather inappropriately in the style of a central government department building. The kids seemed happy enough and cheered the hash on its way. It then passed along shaded tracks to the final holding point by a large pipal tree overlooking the local Saturday afternoon village football game. Once the GM had ushered in the stragglers the pack set off again.

Just before the last checkpoint Jodi and Krishna headed west, but their shouts of "on-on" were ignored by a short-cutting pack who smelt the beer and headed in the opposite direction. The run was now in disarray with shouts of "on-on" coming from several directions at once. The overriding attraction of the post-run refreshments drew the runners towards the finish via several different routes. Four runners, led by returnee Siggy, took a not so short shortcut back through Bajrabarahi religious forest, again to bear witness to the thumping rhythms of the disco beat that seemed to be a feature of religious observance in this area.

The day's run was well received and Mad Cow assigned it a very high score of 5.8. Keeled Over was brought into the circle next, to remind him about the responsibilities of haring. Then the five virgins, Erin, Shaun, Natasha, Jasmine, and Allan were dealt with in the usual way, and the five returnees, Geoff, Jurgen, Siggy, Mike and Mike, were fondly welcomed back. Down-downs were dealt out to Krishna for turning up on a flashy new motorbike and to Apple and Jiwan for being late. These guys just can't win as the other week they were down-downed for being early! Alcoholic and non-alcoholic 'Hash crash down-downs' went to alcoholics and non-alcoholics 69, Simon, and Erin. 69 was congratulated for nearly squashing the GM as he took his tumble.

After complaining last week that 'everyone is getting it except me' the Hashit was awarded to 69 for the not so much heinous as piteous crime of 'hashit envy'. Darkness had set in by the time social drinking was called and so it was decided to begin next week's hash at 3.30 pm. The well-exercised and increasingly inebriated gathering slowly began to break up as the conversation turned to bin Laden and other subjects of topical interest.

OnOn

Keeled Over - no-hair co-hare