Monday, January 27, 2020

Surviving Ozday 2020

Over 60 thousand years since humans first settled the continent - and 3 years after the founding of Samford Hash - all Australian states and territories agreed (in 1994) to celebrate Australia Day with a public holiday on January 26th. As we know, the date is increasingly controversial, and there are those who get a little peeved if anyone tries to celebrate the nation on another day of the year (the other 364 days are reserved for slagging it off).

We're keeping our heads down. This year - yes - our Ozday run did occur on January 26th, as it did in 1997, 2003 and 2014. Every other year, though, it's been held on a Sunday somewhere around the end of January, or even in February. Don't tell any of the social media warriors....

Charcoal and Strine took us for a wander through the Clear Mountain bushland, which is looking remarkably green after a bit of a drink. We then gathered under the grapes at the hares' - where we found that the Hash esky had suffered an attack of Coronavirus. Some people looked a bit green after a drink of this.



Some traditional fare - silverside, spuds, carrots, damper and golden syrup - followed. Many thanks to our hares!

The thong toss event is remarkable for the variety of tossing styles adopted by the competitors.








Winners of the men's and the under-10 year old categories receive their awards:


Floater was the winner of the female category:


Isn't it extraordinary to think that we're already one-twelfth of the way through the year?

Next run details
When: Sunday 2nd February, 5 pm
Where: Parksedge Street, Upper Kedron. A map!
Hare: Leave Pass

On, on!

Monday, January 20, 2020

What a difference a week can make!

A week ago, Kedron Brook was dry. But this is what we found on Sunday - and note the debris which indicates how much higher the water would have been a day or two before:


Rain had washed the trail markings away, so the walkers followed live hares while the runners were on their own after they'd reached the Brook. Our hares had made special arrangements for the rain to hold off while we were out and while we relished a beaut meal of curries and pavs. Many thanks to Upstanding and Idle Vice!

Some of the runners en route:


The group of 30-something stretching up the driveway:




We were joined by Heavy Metal on one of his periodic visits from New Zealand and by another couple of international visitors from Taiwan. They and birthday girl Tweety-pie participated in a traditional ceremony as darkness fell:


Ozday has rolled around once more, so look forward to some traditional fare next week following an extremely flat bushland wander. You'll find records of a couple of previous events here and here.

Next run details
When: Sunday 26th January, 5 pm
Where: Corner Clear Mountain Road and Buranda Road, Clear Mountain. A map!
Hares: Charcoal and Strine

On, on!

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

The "Hills District" - what did we expect?

The flat bit of last Sunday's route took us along a section of Cabbage Tree Creek (aka Tighgum). Le W*nk's house used to stand a little further downstream, and presumably cabbage trees stand even further downstream and make sense of the name. Once out of the valley the full meaning of "The Hills District" became clear as the trail made sense of this name as well.

Back home at Sylvia Gibbs Park we celebrated Payback's big birthday with a Rum baba and a traditional down, down:


Some welcome rain had forced the hares to re-mark the trail...and they also had to replenish supplies as the hungry hordes made short work of the meal. Many thanks, Redbreast and Jamesbondage!



We're heading a bit closer to the Big Smoke next Sunday.

Next run details
When: Sunday 19th January, 5 pm
Where: Idle Vice and Upstanding's Wilston manor
Hares: Upstanding and Idle Vice

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

On, on!

Monday, January 6, 2020

Virgin hares unfazed

We stopped counting at 32...so let's simply say that quite a crowd turned up for Under- and Overpass's virgin run. Unfazed, they sent us on our way and headed home to rustle up some supplementary nosh. And very nice it was, too. I recall Superhacker, on her virgin run, saying with dismay, "Hashers do eat a lot, don't they?"

The trails took us on a circuit through the lush greenery of the Royal Estates (town water does make a difference) and past some of the enormous houses that have settled there amongst it. It was interesting to note that the new football fields seem to be finally completed after - what was it? - about 15 years under construction? Many thanks, virgin hares!



We bade farewell to Austrek and partner, who are heading off to see a bit more of Australia:


And we commemorated the boating achievements of Shaggy, Cadbury and Le W*nk (don't ask). Escargot was recognised for hashing just about every day this last week!


Here's a shot of Dingo (on the right) celebrating his silver medal in the Halfway Hash frisbee golf tournament on New Year's Day:


The highly successful 2019 Hash Mash - our champion IPA - has probably all been drunk by now. As a permanent memorial, here's a copy of the label:


Tickets for the latest SPADEwerx production are now on sale. It seems as though there will be some hashers going to each performance, including the one in Dayboro. So you'll be among friends whenever you choose to go. And note that you can buy tickets over the phone.


Finally, this last Sunday marked the 8-year anniversary of YShggr's death, and we raised our glasses to her. Many of us will recall that 4 days before her death we hashed from her bedside, and it was a very special occasion. You'll find our original tribute to her here.

Next run details
When: Sunday 12th January, 5 pm
Where: Sylvia Gibbs Park, Nyora Street, Everton Hills. A map!
Hares: Jamesbondage and Redbreast

On, on!