Creative Samford

What a creative bunch of walkers we have in Samford Hash! Dull plodding along a marked trail is not for them (at least when they're in reasonably familiar territory.) Instead they tried out all sorts of variations on the route this last Sunday, approaching home from all sorts of unexpected directions....But at least they did all get home. And I think they did all do a farewell march past the old CSIRO buildings, which are just about to be torn down.

For any who are interested, this is the route that you should have taken:

The good news this week is that Miss Demeanour did not succeed in poisoning her family, despite trying her best. Shockjock had brought home a cutting of Hibbertia scandens (Snake vine) from one of our Wednesday runs and put it in a glass of water (as you do). His better half served it up for dinner, claiming that she thought it was an edible herb. Yum! The moral is - treat salads at Shockjock and Miss Demeanour's future runs with caution. This is the plant to look out for:

[Image by Karelj - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19534386]

Meanwhile in Leicestershire Leave Pass had to keep walking after his attempts to thumb a lift with the local doctor failed:

We're at home in the Samford Valley again next week, but on a rather less familiar route. Boxer and Saucy are hosting their first Samford Hash meet!

Next run details
When: Sunday 2nd June, 4 pm
Where: Boxer and Saucy's Royal residence
Hares: Haughty will set the run; Boxer and Saucy will host.

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

On, on!

Looping lagoons and spirit turkeys

An admirably clearly-marked trail led us from Eweshggr's mansion on some wide loops through the Deagon wetlands. This is the area where we surprised some magpie geese on a previous jaunt. We saw none of these this time, but there was plenty of other wildlife (besides hashers) on the water and around the lagoon verges. The steepest point on the trail was the loop spiraling up to the footbridge over the highway - and rumour has it that Shaggy ran that bit!

Back at the hare's place a table was spread with delicacies including meat pies, mash and accompaniments. Thankfully, Le W*nk left some of the mushy peas for us. Golly - doesn't he love mushy peas? There was dessert as well before some of the stayers settled in for a whisky-tasting. Many thanks to you, Mr Hare, and to all your family helpers!

Speed blurred the features of some of the returnees:

Now, if you've ever wondered what happened to all the flour you used to set the trail, this bit of wildlife photography by Superhacker hints at an answer:

Her "spirit animal" she calls it, and the scrub turkey may well be the spirit animal of a number of us. Consider this bit of advice from Gaia.com on how to determine what yours is:"Be open and attentive when animals appear in your life....Take note of repetitive encounters with animals....Repetition may be a sign." Makes you think, dunnit?

Leave Pass is off walking Hadrian's Wall with the spirit legions, and Charcoal and Strine are currently in Austria, climbing mountains by funicular railway. Come on! What are your legs for?

Next run details
When: Sunday 26th May, 4 pm
Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village
Hares: Culture and Haughty

On, on!

Mother Superior 2019

There was a good crowd this Sunday, especially for a Mothers' Day run. Shaggy and Cadbury did us proud, with a typically flat Ironbark Gully trail, and then a couple of large pots of chili, heated on a genuine wood fire! Good on them - and many thanks!

One notable absentee was our 2019 Mother Superior - Lax. Never mind - we presented the formidable award by proxy, and her representative made a bit of a fist at modeling. We do look forward to seeing her sporting the garments in person in the future, however.

Two traditions govern the handing on of the award:
1. It's never to be washed (this is probably a pragmatic provision - it would fall apart)
2. Each recipient must add something to the decorations....

Last year's artistic winner - Floater - showed off her arty addition (which reminded me - we're supposed to be planning a studio visit!):

And Le W*nk, the proxy recipient (don't forget the "r" in "proxy") showed off his inner blonde:

Down, downs for the proxy and for birthday boy Scratchit:

Scratchit recalled his induction into Gladstone Hash, in which he had to down, down a yard of ale. They must be well-off in Gladstone - we couldn't afford that!

And Jamesbondage, our Hash jeweler, has been busy. Boxer and Saucy were awarded their Samford Hash name necklaces. Note the Statue of Liberty in the background:

Next run details
When: Sunday 19th May, 4 pm
Where: Chez Eweshggr in Bracken Ridge. If you need directions to this run, please email us at samfordhash@gmail.com
Hare: Eweshggr and assistants

Raise the scarlet standard high!

Jim Connell wrote "The Red Flag" in 1889 - which means the song turns 130 years old this year. Maybe we should have wished it a happy birthday as well as raising our voices in our traditional tuneful(?) rendition. Raise the scarlet standard high - in honour of Mayday - and on, on, comrades!

Last minute complications prevented Shaggy and Cadbury from hosting, but runners and walkers had no real difficulty negotiating the Mt. Coot-tha tracks and finding their way home.

We welcomed Mile High and Hugandkiss back from Japan. They are both looking tremendously fit and strong after their major hiking adventure. Hugandkiss said she'll never complain about a hill on a hash walk again! Here's a view of part of one of the landslips they had to negotiate (it goes down a long way further):

It was good to see Shockjock and Miss Demeanour on the trail, looking none the worse for wear after her birthday celebrations the night before. He even managed to bring along some bottles of a very drinkable Pale Ale! A couple of visitors (or first timers) joined us for the walk and a pizza feast.

Elsewhere in the world, Banger and Make an Offer have been walking around the Croatian coastline...

...while Charcoal and Strine have been exploring the Black Forest - and trying to get some walking in to counter the effects of the irresistible tucker they've found among the alpine villages:

And an interesting bit of goss surfaced this week: one of our members used to perform in porn movies! Guess who....

It's our Mothers' Day event next week, so we'll be passing on our Mother Superior Award! You can find reminders of some previous ceremonies here, and here, and here....

Next run details
When: Sunday 12th May, 4 pm
Where: Ironbark Gully picnic area. A map!
Hares: Shaggy and Cadbury

On, on!