#1035 Blackborough Woods - Sorepoint & Paperwork - 23 Jan 2022

Today's trail was a joint r*n with Taunton, which I think suprised a few when arriving at the venue to see unknown faces and a pack that must have been at least 50-strong. Bollards and I were heading to the wrong venue, despite me adding a link to the correct venue on to the hash diary. Extremely luckily we choose a route that took us past the correct car park, and Bollards said "that looks like Sorepoint over there, what's she doing here?"!

After Spocky hash introduced the hash, we heard from the hares that it was 5 miles on the longs - which apparently is long for Taunton! The trail initially took us along the edges of the woods towards the holiday park, then a long stretch along some shiggy paths. Wide asked me how my bum was. When I queried what he meant, he said "after last week"!  Funny, I thought, can't remember any "bum action", then remembered the steep drop on his trail where I'd bounced!  Mad Max decided to lie down, or had he face planted the ground? He didn't get much sympathy anyway!! The long stretch had obviously got Belltoll's insides moving as he was trupeting nicely as he ran after of me! 

Then we arrived at the sweetie stop. I'm not sure that everyone has arrived by time the hash flash was taken, but the sweets were a great classic selection of babies, all-sorts and pastilles!  

We were now back on the road by the holiday park beyond the starting point, with the second half of the trail taking us on a loop around some of the airfield. Then back through Rhodedendrum Wood and back home.

In the circle, Sorepoint had brought along cheesy feet and Paperwork had made mulled cider. Spocky led the circle and despite Wide's bum question, and Max's fall, he got voted for the down-down himself for getting in a fight with a huge Badger that Boots fought off. Or it might have been a bramble that scratched his nose.

On on to next week where we're at Warren Car park on the Common. Please don't forget to Rate the Hash. 

And finally, if you've not laid a trail during the last couple of months, please volunteer. We need everyone to lay at least 3 or 4 trails per year (and of you jointly lay, that only counts as half!!). Please help spread the load so that it's a bit more even than last year! Please contact Tight with the dates you can lay.

#1034 Route 5 Haldon Hill - Wide Receiver - 16th Jan 2022

For the third trail of the year we had our best 2022 turnout, with nearly 30 hashers gathering in the car park. We had virgin 'Pete', who's been stalking us on Facebook for over a year, and we welcomed back the D's after what must be at least a couple of years.  The hare raiser's clip board was also back... More on that later!

Spocky opened the circle with his usual charm, and as always, we struggled o remember the r*n number: "one more than last week" is not a useful contribution to the discussion! Having decided it was #1034, it was over to the hare who told us the trail was "about an hour". Details rather lacking because he left his watch at home. He described it as a 'technical' trail, which is always a worry...

We set off along the track in the usual way, past  the transmitter, and rather unexpectedly, we crossed the road. It took us a while to find the trail, but soon we were into mountain biking territory. A long short split took the longs on a route that finished in a very steep drop, where Itzy-bitz managed the most elegant decent, while I demonstrated the worst (and have the scratches to prove it).

We continued back on the main trail before another split, where we find a back check. As we back tracked, I thought I had done a great job finding a small dot in the hedge row, and Happy Snapper encouraged us all to keep going up as there can be no other way to go. Typical Wide trail I thought as we fought our way through the brambles up the slope. 

Unfortunately the dot I'd been so proud to spot was a patch of mould.  So eventually we looped back and heard Wide calling, directing us to the correct route and over an enormous slippery trunk. Again this was a point where some of us excelled in l strength and flexibility to mount the wooden obstacle. I was not one of them, and even Bollards needed a hand to get her leg over.

Soon we were at the regroup, and some fantastic lighting and greenery as the sun began to sparkle. And then onwards and upwards, for another slippery bank, where XBitz had a fight with a bramble, but it's OK, she exclaimed "I'm used to small pricks"!

This took us back towards home, and another long split (Bollards did it twice!). Back along the road towards, finishing of with a lovely fish hook!

Great trail by Wide, but be sure to Rate the Hash https://cityofexeterhhh.blogspot.com/p/rate-hash_3.html.  For some reason that I can't remember, I had this week's down down, which want a parade experience. Don't know what I could have done wrong...

Then Tight was out with her clipboard, but only found one potential hare. PLEASE volunteer to lay a trail so that the effort gets spread around a bit more than last year!!

Next week we're at Blackborough Woods, for a trail from Sore Point and Paperwork. Map is here:

https://goo.gl/maps/aWrM7JbZFr7EP1Nh9

On on

Stix

#1033 King George V playing fields, Exeter - Speedy & Bollards - 9 January 2022

This is Bollards. I was given the alternative of writing the words or making chocolate brownie, and I couldn’t be bothered to stand in the kitchen. Also. I am, undoubtedly, the hardest person in this house. Fact. Despite feeling like I’ve been repeatedly kicked in the ribs, I valiantly made the effort to get up this morning to be Speedy’s sidekick. It should have been Rocky, but he didn’t feel like it and Stix was pretending that he didn’t have a hangover.

I have very little memory of laying the trail. I had to concentrate quite hard on breathing but Speedy had mapped out the route extremely carefully and made the correct decision in not giving me the map. I think the short went something like this: park, Topsham Road, uphill, onto muddy track, up field to a regroup/view spot. Apparently, prior to this, Blobby had committed his down-down worthy misdemeanour of calling on to sweetie stop when it wasn’t. He was mislead by multiple S/S marks (in spray paint) probably denoting the route of the sewer pipe.

After the regroup: muddy, slippery downhill, another long/short split then the proper sweetie stop. Speedy provided some top class confectionary including (but not limited to) sour skittles and some vegan approved candy kittens. Even the sweets that he didn’t think were vegan, were vegan. Brand names and everything. Decent. (Remember this when rating the hash).

After the regroup it went something like: Topsham Road, crem (hi dad!), long/short split, path along river, flood barrier, tree house, On Home. The longs went a bit further. I don’t know where, but in total they did something like 9K.

In the circle, we all racked our brains to remember where next week’s trail was before looking it up on the internet and realising that there wasn’t actually a trail planned. Wide decided (with no consultation with Tight) that he would lay next Sunday’s trail from Route 5 – at the top of Haldon Hill. Probably. Or maybe somewhere else.

Don’t forget to Rate the Hash https://cityofexeterhhh.blogspot.com/p/rate-hash_3.html

#1032 Prickly Pear Blossoms Park and Rec Ground - Spocky - 2 Jan 2022

Words by Speedy.

This week’s trail was laid by Spocky, in a forest somewhere in Europe, UK, England, Devon, Exeter near the A30, the run number was 408 (in base 16). We started the trail and Wide immediately fell over what appeared to be thin air, but later turned out to be an iron pole sticking out of the ground, he didn’t cry though so its ok. Long short split time and the longs had a loop back to the car park, followed by another long, short split before Spocky took us all the wrong way at a check, even though its his own trail. To our relief we got to the sweet stop where we learned that this piece of land we where running on was the first ever piece of land given to the national trust in 1906 which was 103 years before Michel Jackson died. At the sweet stop Son Of The Bits said “I don’t like the long hard ones,” Stix then said “oh that’s funny that’s just how Bollards likes it”, to which Speedy murmured “she will never get it though”. Eventually we got to the final long short split which lead us back to some old trail and back to the car park. A down down went to Wide for falling over. Speedy pored the drink so it was nice and foamy, wide blew it off at him, but Speedy topped it up. Personally was my favourite trail so far this year.

Next weeks trail is laid by Speedy at King George V playing fields, LOWER car park off Countess Wear Road (not the one off Topsham Road): look forward to seeing everyone again.

Map here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AriTgZ72hGaLcGyc8

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