Out with the old....

OK, so it wasn't quite the hottest day of the year, but it was warm enough for us to leave off our woolly underwear and doff our jumpers. Storm clouds had just obscured the sun as we set off, and the bit of cooling rain that fell on the last run/walk of 2013 was very welcome.

The hardy souls who made it in from the sticks to the city were rewarded by being able to polish off the last of the Christmas champagne after a stroll along and over the river.  Eweshggr received a bottle of beer that seemed to have been named especially for him.  George showed off his new haircut, and all 4 of the hash pooches who were there held a macrame competition using their leads. All in all, it was a good evening to round off a year whose Hash highlights included

• Le W*nk's paddle in polluted Kedron Brook
• The Tenterfield German beer fest
• The Girls' Weekend in Sydney
• A Pearl Wedding Anniversary
• The Mother Superior Award ceremony
• A Tanabata run
• The 2013 Bastille Day run
• "Dag and Drag" Christmas in July
• Offshore runs and walks in Tuscany
• The 2013 Red Dress run

These are, of course, but a few of the memories from this year. Every week has been special in its own way (aaaah....)

Our first outing for 2014 will be a village run from John Scott Park. Bring along all those Christmas and New Year leftovers for a potluck dinner. Who'll have the greenest cold turkey?

Finally, for those who couldn't get enough of Le W*nk's Christmas cracker jokes, here are just a few more...

What do angry mice send each other at Christmas?

Cross Mouse Cards!

What's the most popular Christmas wine?

'I don't like Brussels sprouts!'

Why don't penguins fly?

Because they're not tall enough to be pilots!

Which football team did the baby Jesus support?

Manger-ster United!

What do you call a deer with no eyes?

No Idea!

What do you call a girl with a frog on her head?

Lily!

Next run details

When: Sunday 5th January, 5 pm

Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village

Hares: M. Promptu will set the run; Potluck will cater (please bring along something to share)

Note: no Wednesday run this week - it's New Year's Day!

On, on!

Field and fountain, moor and mountain....

Moors are a bit hard to come by in West End, but our hares managed to find enough mountainous bits to satisfy the most demanding magus; and the drinking fountains we passed were very welcome. Once again, Where's the Beef? and In Your Dreams set a scenic well-marked trail through some interesting and unfamiliar territory. They followed it up with some triffic chili and salad - plus red velvet cupcakes! Great stuff, and thanks!

No doubt about it: pre-Christmas runs are usually hot, and this one was no exception. If you choose to go running at this time of the year in a thick fur coat...well, what can you expect? George's collapse had us all worried. It turns out that he was suffering from heat stroke (the vet could find no evidence of tick bite.) The latest news is that the patient is resting quietly at home after spending a night in hospital. In future he'll be unzipping his furry jumpsuit and leaving it in his locker while he exercises.

Here are a few shots from this week - thanks to our photographers.  The Hash Femmes who were not gainfully employed on Wednesday enjoyed a pre-Christmas lunch at the Broncos:

And Secret Santa paid us a another visit after the Sunday run.  Here are the pictures that are fit to be shown in public:

No Wednesday run/walk this week - although it probably would help us process that turkey and Christmas pud....For those who can make it (it is a very busy time of year) we'll have another Big Smoke run this coming Sunday. The last run of the year! Came round fast, didn't it?

Next run details

When: Sunday 29th December, 5 pm

Where: Vegemite and Evacuate's pad in Petrie Terrace

Hares: Culture and Haughty

(If you need directions to this run, please email us.)

On, on!

Exclusive scoop: Hares remain married!

A year ago we celebrated Jamesbondage and Redbreast's 50th wedding anniversary. It was champagne all round again this Sunday to celebrate their 51st, and a crowd of over 30 hashers and guests heeded the "Free booze!" call.

The well-marked trails for both runners and walkers provided a good mix of bush and burb settings plus a few gentle gradients to stretch calf muscles and lung capacities. Thanks, hares - great trail, great meal - and free booze! What more could anyone want?

It was good to welcome Le W*nk's son on a visit from New Zulland - and, judging from the look of her, it won't be too many weeks before we'll be welcoming Hardcore's son (or daughter) from Storkland.

There'll be more champagne this coming Sunday (we'll make Christmas the excuse this time, and, heck, we've got to do something with the money in Hash Cash....) As suggested in the circle, we'll also exchange some Secret Santa goodies. Make them unisex ones, to the value of about $10,  please.

And finally, as promised, here are some more shots of the snappy Samford Red Dressers:

 

Next run details

When: Sunday 22nd December, 5 pm

Where: Where's the Beef? and In Your Dreams' pied-a-terre in West End

Hares: Where's the Beef? and In Your Dreams

Remember: please bring a Secret Santa something... and if you need directions to this run, please email us.

On, on!

Samford Hash goes All The Way!

A number of shortcutters were observed on this year's Red Dress Run - but no Samford Hash members were among them. Our running group (which on this occasion included some folk who normally walk) did run the whole 7 point something kilometres, and the walkers completed the whole walk too.

We could also be proud of our fashion flair, showing off our stunning sense of style as usual. Mile High stood out this year - his fishnets provided a  particularly fetching finishing touch to a very slick outfit.

The route included the traditional key locations - King George Square and the Queen Street Mall - but also took us through a rather tony hotel foyer, to the bemusement of staff and guests. We attracted the normal modicum of cat calls and wolf whistles as we threaded through the city centre...nothing out of the ordinary for some of our members, but pretty heady stuff for others.

Here's a before shot, taken at the Caxton as we charged our stocks of precious bodily fluids:

And here's a shot of some of us (looking fresh as daisies, if not fresher) at the journey's end:

More pics to follow in future posts!

The day before this glam event, we celebrated Mile High's birthday in Samford, with a M. Promptu run, a mile-high cake, and champers all round!

How old is he? Word is that the digits (when subjected to a numerological manipulation) add up to 4 - so is it 13? 40? 85? 130? Whatever it is, he runs pretty well for his age....

The Wednesday run/walk continues to attract numbers, and for the last couple of weeks we have gone on for a very tasty feast at the Samford Indian restaurant.

Next run details

When: Sunday 15th December, 5 pm

Where: Meet at the corner of Bunya Road and Collins Road (at the point where Bunya Road makes a right angled bend) The map makes it clear....On, on at the hares' place.

Hares: Jamesbondage and Redbreast

On, on!

Hashcation

As promised, here is Where's the Beef?'s report on his recent Excellent Adventure in South East Asia. What a great trip!

It all started with a suggestion from a fellow Hasher from Tokyo Ladies Hash House Harriers who now lives between Tokyo and Singapore.  Sushi, aka Dead Fish, mentioned how great the 75th Anniversary Run of the Mother Hash in Kuala Lumpur on November 9th would be.  I couldn't turn down the opportunity to attend.  

First off was a pre-lube run with the Singapore Harriettes with yet another trail in the soon to be decommissioned Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery.  A nice dinner followed at the "Red Lantern," a regular Hash hangout for the Singaporean runners.  The following night Sushi and I had to have a strategy meeting at BrewWerkz, a Singapore Microbrewery with a new branch in the Dempsey Hill section of Lion City.  We did our best to empty their supply of IPA in between the very Chinese Malay dishes of garlic fries and buffalo wings.  Luckily there was a branch of Jumbo Seafood around the corner and we did away with some chili crab.  

I found my way up to KL and the Royal Selangor Club where buses awaited us to take us to the quarry that was to be the run site of the 75th.  We had our choice of a walking trail, an 8km trail through "primary jungle" (whatever that means) and a runners' trail of 15km.  I chose the appropriate trail but unfortunately did not make it back to the down down in time to enjoy some of the whole roasted pig that awaited.  And with a 1000 hungry hashers there I was not surprised to miss out.  Plenty of Tiger Beer helped to wash down the roast duck, dim sum and Indian curries that were still available.  

After a recovery I made my way up to Penang and managed to hook-up with the Penang H3.  And I'm not sure I was glad that I did.  Their trail was 90 minutes of steamy agony in what must have been the definition of primary jungle.  I did not run at all on trail.  Just fought my way through dense underbrush up and down ravines.  The local runners thought the trail easy.  I was just happy to make it back to the circle.  Which was quite enjoyable and they were a great group.  Tiger Beer was again in plentiful supply and this time we enjoyed a catered dinner of Indian food.  And I even managed to get a lift back to Historic Georgetown from a fellow hasher.

Not much else doing in Georgetown so I made my way up to Chiang Mai to see the tigers at Tiger Kingdom.  Something I would recommend to anyone to add to their bucket list.  It was certainly on mine.  I also managed to fit in a run with the local Chiang Mai Hashers at a newly built resort about 90 minutes outside the city.  The trail had some problems and several runners ran into us going the wrong way.  Typical hashers.  Unfortunately, one of these hashers, Pinky, from Australia as well as the Lion City H3, managed to get lost again while only a kilometer from the down down.  Her poor husband had to go back out on trail and she didn't show up for another hour.  

From Thailand I flew up to Hanoi and got one more Hash in with the Hanoi H3.  It was another long bus ride out of the city with far too many hashers on the un-airconditioned vehicle.  The solution on the way back was of course to bring as much beer as possible on the bus to keep everyone cool and happy.  They did a great 10km trail through the Vietnamese countryside with rice paddies aplenty and more water buffaloes than you could shake a stick at.  Which the local farmers were happy to do to keep them away from us. Or was it to keep us hashers away from the buffaloes?  

In any case, from there I flew down to Singapore and thought long and hard about doing a St. Andrew's Day run with Lion City H3 but was a little concerned about making my flight out at 1130 pm and getting the airport in time following a hash.  Next time... 

Be warned! Where's the Beef? and In Your Dreams will be our hares in a couple of week's time - and he'll be applying some of the things he learnt on this trip....

On, on!

Amazing birthday run

Amazing's birthday run took twenty-something of us along sections of Kedron Brook we haven't visited for a while. The route was lined with placards aimed at embarrassing her - but what could have matched the embarrassment of having Le W*nk break in through security at her place of work loaded with armfuls of flowers?

Here she is, cutting her cake.  After her birthday down, down she obviously can't remember which hand to hold a knife in:

And here she is with her greatest fans - and evidence she's not as young as she looks:

Thanks to Le W*nk, Amazing and the two Georges for the run and a great meal!

Where's the Beef became the latest of our overseas travelers to return to our shores.  He's been on an intense Hashcation. This means that over the last couple of weeks he has run with hashes in Penang, Singapore, Chang Mai and I don't know where else. He also (the highlight of his trip) took part in the 75th Anniversary Run at the Mother Hash in KL.  Look for his full report in a future post....

He and In Your Dreams brought along one of the 3 desserts on offer - Japanese cream puffs - for a game of Cream Puff Roulette. Which of these innocent-looking items contained the deadly dose of wasabi?

Here's the reunited couple, watching expectantly for All To Be Revealed:

Here's Eweshggr, reminding us that we have somehow missed celebrating St Andrew's Day this year. Hoots, mon!

And here's Payback, after he was attacked by a mountain bike last week:

This year's Red Dress Run is on Monday 9th December at the Caxton Hotel, Petrie Terrace - 6 pm for a 6:30 pm start:

The cost is $15, payable on registration at the start.  Think of it as a fun way of donating to the Salvos at Christmas....

Finally - with the travelers' return, numbers at the Wednesday mid-week run have picked up again.  Those who can make it run or walk from John Scott Park at 5:30 pm - come rain or shine (though there's not much shine at 5:30 in winter.)  This week we'll be going on afterwards for a meal at the Samford Indian restaurant. Payback and Cash Converta will be bringing Hash drinks, or BYO.

Next run details

When: Sunday 8th December, 5 pm

Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village

Hares: M. Promptu will set the run; Potluck will cater (please bring something to share)

And then...the Red Dress Run

When: Monday 9th December, 6 pm for registration

Where: Caxton Hotel, 30 Caxton Street, Petrie Terrace

Hare: Radar

Cost: $15 donation to the Salvation Army - also gets you one free drink and a half-price meal.

On, on!

The Mystery of the Disappearing Chalk

"I say, Dick," said Julian quietly, "I don't want to alarm the girls, but I haven't seen any chalk markings at all on this trail."
"Nor have I," Dick responded. "And yet that man stirring a pot of curry told us that we'd see plenty. Do you think he was trying to mislead us?"
"You never know - with people from Yorkshire," replied Julian, gravely.
"Oh, Timmy!" called George. "Have you found some chalk? Oh, no! Oh, Timmy, that's disgusting! Get your nose out of that!"
"As the actress said to the bishop," laughed Anne.
"You know," mused Dick, "I've a jolly good mind to go back to that man, wolf up his curry and wash it down with lashings of beer!"
"Me too!" said Anne. "But make mine lashings of wine!"
"Woof!" agreed Timmy.

The storms which disrupted play at the Gabba also washed out the chalk marks Leave Pass had spent three hours making. He said that we should still have been able to discern traces of arrows on the footpath. Can any junior (or senior) sleuth see what he's pointing at here?

By the time we started the run/walk the weather had passed over and we had a pleasant stroll around Upper Kedron, followed by some very tasty home-cooked curry and a selection of the retro lollies the Famous Five would have used to rot their teeth and pull out their fillings. Thanks, Leave Pass!

2013 has seen a lot of hashers overseas as well as half-seas-over. Eweshggr had some beautiful images of New Zealand to show off, and Mile High and Hugandkiss had had a great time on their round-the-world tour. Haughty and Culture were glad to be back after 3 months of living out of backpacks. Last Sunday (17th November) they'd joined members of the Taunton Hash for a run from the Greyhound Inn, Stogursey (deep in deepest Somerset.) This was just a mile or so from the village of Holford where Culture was born, and very close to Fairfield House (Culture used to be invited there for afternoon tea from time to time when she was younger and better behaved.) It was a really enjoyable run, with innumerable checks and some seriously muddy sections.  Here's the extremely friendly and welcoming Hash after a good clean-up:

The visitors were among those awarded a down, down, and so was the hare's dog - who'd disappeared in pursuit of some pheasants while "helping" to set the run.  The other dog had not committed any offences, but really loves beer and was feeling somewhat envious....

Next run details

When: Sunday 1st December, 5 pm

Where: Le W*nk's bijou riverside residence in Mitchelton

Hares: Le W*nk and George

(If you need directions to this run, please email us)

On, on!

No Shocked Jocks, some Misdemeanors

Storms were brewing around Bunya as a dozen hardy hashers assembled at the home of ShockJock and MissDemeanor. 

Some had forgotten their waterproofs, but the Shock-Demeanor garage seems to be an inexhaustible source of Poncho's/Cagoules/Raincoats/Anoraks... 

..and clearly, with fork lightning in the vicinity, it was unsafe to walk with an umbrella. It was at about this point that the runners, for once, began to miss Le W*nk. Being the tallest he would have acted  like a lightning rod and taken the full brunt of any strike.

After the first few minutes both the runners and walkers were soaked to the skin. ShockJock hoped that the chalk had withstood the rain. The runners valiantly completed the course. Acting out of character,  Banger powered up the steep hills with little effort. Leading the runners to think he's been doing some secret training in the Dayboro hills.

The walkers meanwhile redefined the term SCB, some of them barely making it to the end of the street (not pointing the finger Leave Pass, Superhacker, Makeanoffer, Redbreast, Hopalong).

Some of the hash horrors were seen lying in the gutters and letting the torrents of water wash over them. Then a certain ringleader led them all into the pool fully clothed.

Thanks to MissDemeanor for the dry clothes and towels.  Payback wants you to know that the rain has done wonders for his beauty routine leaving him with soft manageable hair.

Mexican Pie with rice and Tortilla Chips was served at the On On. Another delicious innovation by MissDemeanor. Thanks Hares!

Next week's Run

Sunday 24th November 5pm
Leave Pass's Upper Kedron Gaff
Hares: Heime and Leave Pass

Uncouth mount Mt Cootha III...

...It's such a great title - why mess with perfection. 

There was a delayed start to the run/walk whilst ShockJock coaxed Misdemeanor  out from under the bed (or that's their story anyway).  Storms and lightening were forecast for the Mt Cootha region and this news had brought on a certain amount of reluctance in the Shock-Meanor household.  Then they remembered they had to put on a brave and united front for Chinwag's and ShockJock's Birthdays. Happy Birthday you good things. Chinwag, your sister stole your thunder by starring in the only photo of the occaision. Nice work Fleabite.

Less deterred by the alarming weather forecast was LeW*nk who chose the highest and most pointy point in the area to set the run. Which was, as we've come to expect from Mt Cootha, down down down and then, up up up. Milehigh had some choice words to describe this.

LeW*nk soon stopped being affronted about how severely the dogs had been kept waiting, and issued a saftey warning regarding the use of mobile phones in a storm for the benefit of ShockJock. 

Four runnners and more than ten walkers (ably led by HardCore) then took to the trails around Honeaters.

A self-proclaimed awesome, and fantastic and yet undescribable meal [since I was not there .. superhacker] was served, followed by ice cream overlooking Brisbane by night, which completely wrote off the Finer Finishers entertainment budget for the rest of the year, .and further birthday celebrations for  HugandKiss. 

Thanks for a great run/walk and on on

Next run details
When: Sunday 17th November, 5 pm

Where: In the vicinity of MissDemeanor and ShockJock's Bunya Humpy - Email us for details of how to get to the run

Hares: Miss Demeanour and Shockjock

On, on!  

Under the Tuscan Sun (well almost)

Obviously sending Bigtop and Hardcore on a field trip to Tuscany was a good investment. They have come back with a new range of gourmet dishes to add to their repertoire including
Creamy Tuscan white bean pasta - to die for.

They set a great run/walk through the streets of Stafford Heights/Kedron/Lutwcyhe including some interesting challenges like picking our way through a netball match, and between the headstones of  the (less active) folk of the Lutwyche cemetery. There are a number of war graves there (almost 400) and it is the final resting place of Bertram Steele foundation chair of Chemistry at UQ, after whom the Steele building is named, and who is famed for early work in the control of prickly pear in Queensland.

At the OnOn. Fleabite celebrated her 11th birthday.

Thanks hares!!!

Some of the B'ashers (MisDemeanor, ShockJock. Amazing, Superhacker, Fleabite, Chinwag, Hopalong and Nipliquor) had been out testing her new bike the day before, and Superhacker insisted on sharing her Big Data...put it away Superhacker

We welcomed Payback and Cashconverta back from their travels -  they came loaded with gifts including Hopalong's favourite vimto bars all the way from the UK.

Le W*nk couldn't make it as he has become Chanel 7's latest Heart Throb after his appearance on the Great South East  and he was pinned to the ground by eager fans. He thinks he will be able to wrestle free in time to set the run for next week which is

Where: Entrance to Honey Eater Track Just past the Lookout Mt Cootha
When: Sunday 10th November 5pm
Hare: LeW*nk - look for the distinctive van - if it's rocking don't come knocking.

When shall we have the Hash Christmas Party

• Friday November 15th
• Saturday November 16th
• Friday November 22nd
• Saturday November 23rd
• Friday December 6th
• Saturday December 7th
• Friday December 13th
• Saturday December 14th
• Not at all Bah Humbug
• Some other date I will email samfordhash

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Dog Politics

My dog can bark like a Congressman, fetch like an aide, beg like a press secretary, and play dead like a receptionist when the phone rings.

Gerold Solomon, US Congressman

Once again a call went out to all hash members to gather at Clear Mountain.  The hares listed the safety requirements for this gentle walk and run, walking sticks, two days water supply (for the easy walk) GPS, search and rescue dogs (4 dogs answered the call,  and a ball of fluff). The Channel 7 Rescue Chopper was on standby.

We all set off into the forest, (a head count was needed). The run was a good run, even if it was set with invisible flour but Charcoal did make up for it with his frothy milk Black Adder Style.

 

B &W kept the runners  entertained with his mid run pirouette with dog, (the group gave him a ten out of ten).

[What follows is an account of a hash hound disgracing himself. The hash horrors have voted.. and  George the grunter is  George No. 1 and this concerns George No.2  - are you with me so far, thought not - we'll just blame the whole thing on LeW*nk - I blame the parents quite honestly]

One of the search and rescue dogs George No 2 had to take flight and help to round up some poor small dogs (Chihuahua-rat like things) which he did with ease.  Why the owners of the rats didn’t appreciate the efforts of the highly trained search and rescue dog was beyond us all….it may have been because George No. 2 was not actually supposed to follow the rats into the human house at high speed.  The runners group took great delight in the spectacle of George No. 2 looping the lounge room chasing the rats and then being hauled outside by the scruff of the neck by rats' owner (rubber thong in the other hand noted).  LeW*nk retrieved his dog and both scarpered away with tails between their legs. 

And all this under the watchful gaze of  two visiting Dog Trainers from Japan

The On-On featured delicious pasta and meatballs. Great hash run and walk Charcoal and Strine!

There was talk of setting up a Samford bike hash (once a month) Amazing floated this idea with some of the other hashers last week, format is roughly worked out, once a month, meeting Sunday morning or Saturday afternoon (or combinations of both so long as it doesn’t detract from the Sunday afternoon hash walks), easy rides, mainly flat to start, meeting at different points etc, followed by morning or afternoon tea at a coffee shop in the vicinity of the ride.  Tentitive start date Saturday afternoon 9th November in the city. Who is keen? 

The red dress run is scheduled for Monday December 9th.

Meanwhile in Cambridge Payback, B-Flat, Megaphone, Malpractice and Cashconverta pose on a bridge

Malpractice takes a punt. Megaphone and Trudy hedge their bets.

Credit to LeW*nk, Amazing, and Payback for large chunks of the prose here

Next weeks run 

When: Sunday November 3rd @ 5pm

Where: Big Top's Stafford Heights Homestead (email us for directions to this run)
Hares:BigTop and HardCore

Stayin' Alive

Thanks again to LeW*nk for the Hash Update

Well it was a lovely mid-spring day at Redcliffe (then the Hash arrived).  A mid-size pack made the journey down to Redcliffe complete with four canine hashers.  There wasn’t a cheating bike in sight.  Topless set a great run and walk along the esplanade walkway.  The track was flat but long with much sightseeing to be done.  We passed the Bee Gees Walk of Fame (the runners ran past said Walk of Fame).  Strangled notes could be heard as the classic Bee Gee’s tunes were mauled by the runners.  The artwork didn’t stop at the Walk of Fame, never have so many Southern Crosses been on display, they were everywhere (on calves & shoulders).  The walkers dodged bicycles, children and the odd stray missile from kids playing ball games on the beach.  It was a beautiful setting for an evening walk.

 

For the record books, the On On was ON!  Three different hot dishes with a green salad, followed a lovely German dessert.  The best was saved for last, the plunger caramel coffee complete with FROTHY MILK.  (Cannot wait until next week’s run Charcoal).

Thanks Topless, great run and on on.

Can you all please check your diaries as the hash run/walk sheet has some blank spaces.

And here is a postcard from MileHigh and HugandKiss

We have been keeping tabs on your Sunday adventures while we
have been enjoying ourselves in the other hemisphere.
We've tramped the desert in Dubai, negotiated the crowds in New York and
floated on lakes and canals in Ontario. Tonight we begin training across
Canada to Vancouver and are having an absolutely fabulous time.

• 

  NY Naked Cowboy

• 

  Hugandkiss and friends

• 

  Helpful Sign Dubai

• 

Next run details
When: Sunday 27th October, 5 pm
Where: Corner Buranda Road and Clear Mountain Road, Clear Mountain
Hares: Charcoal and Strine