Bag ladies

A couple of the walkers found some bags and began collecting litter - a pretty hopeless task, however, along the old railway track and through the former quarry. These neglected northern fringes of the village provide local youths with an opportunity to evade scrutiny and exercise their grungy talents...so they've done their best to rival their spray-can-wielding city cousins. Poor bats! - the fumes in the old railway tunnel must have been intolerable.

As usual, Potluck did an excellent job of catering, providing a varied and tasty spread - from sushi and BBQ chicken wings to apple and berry crumble. And of course there were a couple of varieties of quiche for the Unreal men amongst us.

We welcomed Escargot back from the UK. She had to call in an exorcist when she got home - the power had been off for much of the time and the contents of the freezer had taken over the house.

We also welcomed Corkscrewed - a visitor from Adelaide:

And two of our newer members received their Hash names - Loan Ranger and Piston Broke. They're owner-building a house in Samford, and have clearly got the priorities right: so far, the pool is finished, but they haven't yet got the roof on....

Coming up over the next few weeks:

• a Tanabata (Star festival) run on 7th July
• a Bastille Day run on 14th July
• a Christmas in July event on Saturday 27th July

Next run details

When: Sunday 30th June, 4 pm

Where: H.T. Ireland Reserve, Saraband Drive, Eaton's Hill

Hares: Payback and Cash Converta

On, on!

"So follow me, follow

Down to the hollow
And there let us wallow
In glorious mud...."

The hares said it was possible to complete the trail without muddying one's shoes, but many hashers refused to follow them along the grassy verges. They preferred instead to imitate Flanders and Swann's hippopotamus and head into the centre of the muddy wallows.



It was a pleasant afternoon for a wander around the village outskirts, but temperatures dropped as the sun did, and the on, on was distinctly chilly. Here are some of the brave souls who rugged up for the excursion train (click for a larger view):

Next Sunday we'll repeat the locomotive theme - our route will take us past the old railway tunnel at Yugar. Haughty will set the run (he needs the practice) and Potluck will cater.

Next run details
When: Sunday 23rd June, 4 pm
Where: Meet at the corner of Currwong and Woodview, Samford Valley
Hares: Potluck will cater (please bring something to share)

On, on!

The Olden Ways

How many of us had recognised (until Jamesbondage pointed it out) that the fire trail which winds up the hill from Lomandra to the Camp Mountain Road turnoff is the original route over the range?  Once you do realise this, it's easy to image the drays and bullock teams tackling the incline and squeezing past one another on the corners.  And I wonder which was harder - negotiating the bumps and ruts with a horse-drawn buggy or with a baby buggy (as some of the walkers did)?

The rain held off, and the flour on the well-marked trail survived - taking the walkers on a loop past Lomandra and the runners on a wider one past Ironbark Gully.  Despite the long weekend (and BTW - Happy Birthday, Ma'am) some 25 hashers and visitors - plus attendant canines - got their teeth into the route and the pasta that followed.  Good stuff!

We're back on the valley floor next week, and we'll be running down Main Street (see below). That's the young Farmers' Hall on the right (it had not yet grown a second story), and the pub in the distance.  Watch out for the horses parked outside the IGA....

Next run details

When: Sunday 16th June, 4 pm

Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village (down to the left in the picture, past the big pile of horse dung)

Hares: Culture and Haughty

On, on!

Long black, with hills on the side

It was getting pretty black out there this Sunday by the time the last of the runners made it home. Others had earned themselves the title of SCB by taking the vehicular option for the last long uphill stretch.

Thomas Morrison Reserve was an unexpected find - a very pleasant bit of secluded parkland which would be great for flying kites or throwing a frisbee.  Just remember to BYO bridge (it was a pity we didn't have a camera handy when the members of Samford Hash tightroped across Shockjock's Crossing.)

Back at home base, Miss Demeanour provided a Moroccan feast with 2 choices each of couscous and mains - yummy!  And the traditional brewery tour was finished off with a traditional tasting of the current brew.  A great evening for greedy people....

We sang Happy Birthday to Kermit, and also bade her farewell - she's off to the Solomon Islands for 3 months to work on a health project. Bon voyage!

Finally - no matter how long our runs have been, none could match one that In Your Dreams and Where's the Beef experienced in Tokyo. Instead of the usual 1-hour trail, an over-enthusiastic hare set a 22 km course!  Le W*nk, please note - there's no need to compete....

Next run details
When: Sunday 9th June, 4 pm
Where: That really tricky corner on Bygott's Road (check the map)
Hares: Redbreast and Jamesbondage

On, on!