Lots of rain at the moment has kept fields green and the dust down

Hares show off the hash's new toilet mugs

Virgins Rolf, Erica, Nayan, and daughter

Visitor Goldmine from Dhaka

Visitors Greasemonkey and Aphrodunciac

GM's bum hits the shit

Private circle at the centre of the public one. GM probably telling Towed to shove off.

Hashit tries for next weeks award by lightening this week's of beer

Lulled into a false sense of security by the run destructions failing to make mention of the 5 km of rough gravel road beyond Bungamati, some 51 hashers gathered in a pleasant little glade just before the usual Champi On-In site. As was later discovered, a further dozen or so serious latecomers arrived after the off, making the pack up to a total of 57. (How come the Master failed to acknowledge these sinners in the circle? Perhaps an update of the Turd’s prompt sheet is called for.) The Hares were called into the circle by the Master and they announced six checks for the runners, of which numbers 2 and 5 were holding, and one holding check for the walkers. Paper was laid on both trails, just to confuse everyone, with no colour differentiation between the two.

First paper was, as everyone had noticed, back up the road to the north, but this soon ran out and, with Grumble still running merrily on down the road, caused a degree of confusion that was only resolved when someone found paper leading off along a track to the west and down the other side of the main ridge. A pleasant run down to Check 1, which had no obvious paths leading away from it and looked suspiciously like a backcheck, saw most of the pack staying together. Paper was soon found leading north again and up to Holding Check 2 where the pack foregathered with the walkers, with the exception of Towed and Duckbill who, in a valiant effort to catch up with the pack after checking in completely the wrong direction from Check 1, had found paper leading down to Check 3 remarkably close to Check 1.

The trail ran down and down from Check 2, eventually reaching a village where the Hares had clearly become seriously confused and laid the paper in a circle through the houses, but with no obvious check. Eventually paper was found by Towed leading southwards to another obvious backcheck at Check 4 (or was it 3?) where Run Crafty picked up the paper leading further west and into yet another valley. Somewhere around this point Tadpole went missing, not to be seen again until the On-In, proving that Towed’s problem is a genealogical one rather than a deliberate avoidance of paper. Here the Front Hare was well to the fore and, it transpired, for good reason. After guiding the first five runners: Rotter, Keeled Over, Hurry Krishna, Run Crafty and Towed (and Duckbill) like a traffic policeman through a junction in the trail (although seriously misguiding the first two with the words “its a straight trail” omitting to mention an abrupt left turn after some 100 metres or so) Grumble then closed this trail and sent the rest of the pack on a shortcut to Holding Check 5, in the same location as Holding Check 5 on Run 1262. In the meantime, the Famous Five had been led seriously down the garden path (a long way down) to a stream, along a shady run and stumble up the stream bed and then back up (a long way up) to Check 5 using the same approach trail as on Run 1262.

Most Hares understand the meaning of the term “Holding Check”. The idea is that everyone waits until ALL the pack have arrived and then, suitably rested and regrouped, they are invited to check out the trail. Not these Hares. As the first of the front runners approached the check they were dismayed to see the tail end of the shortcutting pack disappearing homewards to the On-In, leaving the Back Hare to await their arrival (and have abuse on the lines of the above heaped on him!). The trail from Check 5 ran up and up the road to the main ridge and Check 6, somewhere near to Check 2 from Run 1262. From here it was a reversal of the Run 1262 walkers out-trail back to the On-In.
A final note on the misguiding of the Hares. As Towed was making his way back along the road, studiously avoiding the scene of a previous transaction for a deceased one-day old chick purloined by Duckbill, he encountered Courtney heading away from the On-In towards Check 6, having been instructed to turn right when she reached the road instead of left.

Meanwhile the walkers, herded by The Turd, apparently had a pleasant walk down by the Nakhu Khola, keeping well away from the dust and sweat of the running pack.

Once everyone was back, and all arrived fairly close together, the Master called the circle to something approximating to order and invited the pack to assess the run. Despite a number of objections and a starting offer of 1.9 for the run score from Keeled Over, the Hares were awarded 9.9 for what was, on reflection, a pretty good run when you know what Grumble is capable of.

Further down-downs were awarded as follows:

• Virgins Rolf and Erica, visiting from Johannesburg, along with Nayan and offspring all the way from Kalanki, here for the beer and to promote her husband’s new Kathmandu map.

• Visitors Goldmine from the Dhaka mixed and men’s hashes, along with Greasemonkey and Aphrodunciac from the Amsterdam hash

• Lots of Returnees: Phil, Beaufort and Erlinda, Etienne and Therese, Night Owl, Theresa, Richard and Mouth Organ

• Mouth Organ for worming his way out of setting the run two weeks ago

• Leavers Jumping Jack Flash, under who’s period of stewardship the water from Melamchi has moved three years further away from Kathmandu and Emily, but only perhaps

• Towed for only having one joke

• Towed and Rotter for private partying in the middle of the circle

• Rotter, for trying to blame Mrs Rotter for forgetting the hash mugs

• Crashers Tadpole and Rotter

• Hash dedication for Emily (leaving home at 4.00 a.m. to get to the hash), Night Owl for coming straight from the airport and Lao Lover for abandoning his broken down jalopy and making it by taxi.

• Towed Under for advertising the British School Summer Fair (10.00 next Saturday at TBS)

• Michael for advertising his new maps, one of which given to The Lost Ark in the hope that he will be better able to find forthcoming hashes and finally

• The Hashit to Bendy Toes for not bringing it back for the last two weeks, who won the coveted award against strong opposition from Grumble, for being Grumble and Roger, for being incredibly quiet.

The Master, however, was not allowed to escape from the penalties of his disciplinary remarks (“I’m the Master and I’m in charge”). Turd Herder disputed the latter part of the statement on the grounds of evidence from any recent circle that the Master has allegedly run.

Thanks to Mrs Rotter, Towed Under and The Lost Ark for hash catering and to the Hares for an excellent run.