The weather was fine and the multiple trails led to a very fine event!   Congratulations to Bolshie.  His run total reported on the SH3 Website is not recorded, i.e. NIL.  So now he has opened his account! 

  He is of course no novice to Hashing (nor to SH3 in particular), so he started today with the benefit of years of experience – from both Surrey and overseas  in Hong Kong.

  To start with he chose a beautiful day – warm not hot, dry under foot and hardly any wind.  A highly popular location in the Northern reaches of Surrey (so much so that a couple of visitors crossed the boundary from Berkshire (Welcome to them!)  The terrain is large, open and varied, allowing several runs to proceed concurrently – from the same start/finish point.

The meeting place car park is not overly large and from fear of arriving to find it full I arrived early but need not have done.  Not so many locals turned up concurrently but I doubt Bolshie caused that.  Adjacent is an area suitable for gathering for a circle Marked out were start points for 4 different runs!   In flour or sawdust, for runners, strollers, a short trail for the over 80’s and another specially short and marked with large very large blobs presumeably for centenarians and infirm.  How considerate is that !!  He must have stayed up all night to set all those.  Such consideration.

  My “run” as usual these days was mainly with runners who fall away to be walkers after about a third of the way, and I found myself in the pleasant company of SBJ, Dormouse, Bugsie and Paddy.   We did well in long grass, brambles, stumpy bushes but mostly on foot paths which had been well marked through with flour, and then found ourselves linking up with other hashers on the crest of the hill (today devoid of model aircraft fliers).  [Ed: There was one who told us he was waiting for a second as they are no longer allowed to “fly” alone these days – something to do with there having been a massive fire on the common 4 years ago – not that it was blamed on model aircraft flyers, which remnids me of a bad joke.  *See editorial!]  ON Down to the flat and close to the group of real cattle!  The end destination site now in view up the ridge.

  Not much later Master Bates came a cropper at that junction.  Everyone else was back at the finish, on their second can, and aware he had not yet returned – but he straggled on his own just before the circle started.

  On On,

  Mother Brown

Addendum

  Why on earth Bolshie chose Staple Hill Car Park will remain a mystery. Most of the substantial pack, prudently, arrived early but there was a sense of panic, when nobody could find the Parking Machine!  Furthermore, after everyone was parked, including several dog walkers, there were still many vacant places.  It was surreal!  Bolshie had got wind of Wurzel’s WH3 run, less than two weeks before and asked for the track, so that he didn’t duplicate.

  I ran with several people but ended up solitary.  Surprisingly, I was mostly ahead of J Arthur and there were two reasons, the dog he’d brought dropped a micro pellet every hundred metres or so, plus he had to carry it over prickles even heather.  I don’t know when he got ahead of me but he admitted to cutting a loop.  The trail was exceptionally well marked and CC’d and the only place I almost lost the trail was on the “Model Aircraft Plateau” where a lone enthusiast was just setting up.  There was a clear arrow pointing out the way but that area is splattered with chalk chippings and the narrow paths are overgrown with heather.  I’m glad I didn’t shortcut because, in fifty years of walking and running Chobham Common, I had never before seen that picturesque, long narrow lake between Flutters Hill and Longcross House, full of Canada Geese and their goslings.  Although there were blossoms, most of the area was showing clear signs of drought. It will recover after it rains but is prone to fire, hence the “Burger off” sign in the car park.

  After my fall, I was clearly very late and the circle had started.  Atalanta aka “Caring Karen”, phoned me and I explained that I’d passed the On-In and was negotiating the hill back up to the road.

At the circle Bolshie was admonished for CCing the checks before they were solved but it was grudgingly admitted that he’d laid an excellent run.  Hopefully, he has learned his lessons and will lay more high quality runs in the future.

  The RA called me in for my last report in which I said that he “inordinately droned on..”.  This week, he was merely “Plethoric”.  He called in many other sinners but, at least, this week there was room for a large circle.

  Coda: As agreed, Bolshie, you’ll pay us our money at the next hash.

  OnOn,

  Master Bates