Monday, May 25, 2020

Soprano brass monkeys

If the old saying is anything to go by, brass monkeys would have been singing soprano this last weekend. Saturday was the coldest May day in Queensland, well, for a hundred years at least. And while Sunday's weather was a little better, the group that gathered at John Scott Park after a walk and run reminded this old blogger of a group of pommies drawn up at a layby with their thermoses and in their overcoats, determined to enjoy the "lovely summer weather".


By the way, Strine's thermos contained gluhwein, and it was very nice too.

Elsewhere in the valley, the group that walked from Undambi looked really cheerful as they contemplated a creek crossing:


They then shared cake after the walk to celebrate Hot Stuff's 7th Birthday on Thursday and Dynamite's 11th birthday, on Tuesday. Happy birthday, boys!

Le W*nk had promised to set a trail from Teralba Park, and took the group on a rock-hop across Kedron Brook at Everton Hills. Living dangerously, the group then shook elbows! And touched their elbows afterwards! (Not sure if I should be posting these incriminating photos, but what the heck....)



Meanwhile the serious drinkers in the group know that the trick is to follow Shockjock. He's been doing a lot of brewing during lockdown, and he can't drink it all himself. The group that gathered at H.T. Ireland Reserve enjoyed the latest creation from one of Queensland's champion home brewers:



The big news this week is that Interhash T and T has been postponed again, until April 2022. Our celebratory shirts will be even more out of date by then - or perhaps, like postage stamps with misprints, they will become extremely valuable? Anyway, our registrations remain current and we have even more time to figure out what to do, and to try and sort out credits and refunds.

A small group of guests will gather at a one-off Clear Mountain venue next week to celebrate Charcoal's birthday.

Next run details
When: Sunday 31st May, 4 pm
Where: Three venues available, with up to 10 people at each. Choose from:
- John Scott Park, Samford Village
- Teralba Park (Pullen Road Scout Hut)
- Alfredson Park, Collins Road, Everton Hills. Meet at the Collins Road playground (and toilet). A map!
Please sign up online or email us with your preference.
Hares: M. Promptu. BYO drinks and tucker.

On, on!

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Raring to go!

We were clearly raring to go on our transition back towards normality: we had 35 hashers in total signed up at four venues this last Sunday!

At H.T. Ireland Reserve Superhacker, B-Flat and Malpractice joined the group, as did (eventually - half an hour late!) Miss Demeanour and Shockjock. Superhacker was awarded a down, down to mark her incredible recovery. And Miss Demeanour was awarded another for ringing up at 4 pm to find out if the start time was 4 or 5!


The walkers took on an enjoyable route around the park and through the neighbourhood.



Sadly, we're farewelling Malpractice and B-Flat this week as they head back - to the Old Country, to another 2 weeks in quarantine, and to 10 weeks' worth of lawn growth.

From Undambi, three runners set off for an exploration of the banks of the South Pine and took in the Samford Showgrounds on the way back. The walkers explored Samford Downs before the group practised some serious social distancing under the shelter:


There was yet more social distancing both on the trail and at the on, on among the group that met at John Scott Park:




And our fourth small group took off from and returned to Teralba Park:


It was great to get going again - and we're looking forward to the 12th of June, after which gatherings of twenty may be allowed....

Further afield, Where's the Beef? represented Samford Hash last Tuesday at a run in the Yanaka district of Tokyo. He notes that "We're managing to do some stealth hashing with a very small group with no circle and plenty of social distancing." Here he is, sporting a Samford Hash shirt and being ignored by the goddess Kannon in the background:


And Hardcore took part in a fun run which had to be done as an individual event. She completed a half-marathon in the incredibly impressive time of under 1 hour 40 mins! Running for Premature Babies has a huge personal significance for her, and you can support her fundraising effort here.



On Wednesday Floater and Scratchit enjoyed a two-person picnic to celebrate his birthday near the Samford War Memorial. And - by pure coincidence - a number of individual Samford hashers just happened to pass by at the time....





Finally, Payback has recently discovered a product that some of us might find useful. Check it out here, and contact him if you want to add your name to the order he's putting in.

Next run details
When: Sunday 24th May, 4 pm
Where: Your choice of four 10-person venues:
- John Scott Park, Samford Village
- H.T. Ireland Reserve, Eatons Hill
- Teralba Park, Everton Hills
- Undambi Rotary Reserve, Samford Valley
(Check out availability online and either sign up online or email us.)
Hares: Le W*nk, Lax and Prattle are setting a run and walk from Teralba Park. Otherwise follow M. Promptu. BYO drinks and tucker at all venues.

On, on!

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Baby steps

A matron at one of the Brisbane hospitals tells us that they have 250 empty beds waiting to receive Covid-19 patients - and that they are still waiting. That's good news - it indicates how much better off we are than people in many other places, as governments around the world take baby steps towards relaxing restrictions. Let's hope we stay that lucky.

From Saturday May 16th gatherings of up to ten people will be allowed, so we agreed at our virtual circle this last Sunday to gather in three groups of up to ten people at three different locations until further notice. We'll kick off at 4 pm this coming Sunday - and you're invited to sign up for a run/walk at either John Scott Park, Teralba Park, or H.T. Ireland Reserve. If necessary, we'll add a further venue as well. [Update: due to demand we have now added Undambi Rotary Reserve to the list.] It's a small step back towards normality (Normality!? Hash!? What!?)

Hashers continue to get out and about. This last week Eweshggr and Flaps Down encountered some spoonbills on a walk out the back of his place:


And Tatty, Squelch and Co. "accidentally" ran into Shaggy and Cadbury along Cedar Creek near Bellbird Grove:


Mollie and her owners were exhausted after hashing with some longer-legged dogs (longer than Mollie's, I mean) at Salt Beach. "Life's a beach," Miss Mollie was quoted as saying:


And Gunter was so exhausted after a 5 km walk that he couldn't manage another step around Bunnings:


In Taringa, Superhacker joined B-Flat and Malpractice for a 1 km walk on Sunday morning, another 1 km one in the afternoon, and a further 1 km excursion around Indooroopilly in between. This is the most amazing recovery story! Here's Superhacker back in April when she was in Rehab:



And here she is this Sunday! Wow!



B-Flat and Malpractice tackling a hill:


Lax will retain her 2019 Mother Superior award for the next few weeks, until we can get together to pass it on to the 2020 recipient. It seems she is making the most of the opportunity to keep wearing the magnificent gear. This is how she normally hangs around the house in the evenings:


Next run details
When: Sunday 17th May, 4 pm
Where: Your choice of 4 venues:
- John Scott Park, Samford Village;
- Teralba Park (Pullen Road Scout Hall);
- H.T. Ireland Reserve, Saraband St, Eatons Hill
- Undambi Rotary Reserve, Samford Valley.
Sign up for one of these by emailing us, or by accessing the sign-up sheet online.
Hares: M. Promptu. BYO drinks and tucker.

On, on!

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Liberate Queensland!

The Queensland Labor government celebrated the Labour Day weekend by allowing some workers (retail staff, for example) to return to their labours. And unlike these blokes in Michigan, we didn't have to take our weapons into the State Legislature in order to make this happen:


The response to the weekend relaxation of restrictions was enormous, as evidenced by Leave Pass's shot of John Scott Park on Saturday. There was not a spare spot on the grass nor a spare parking space in Samford.


Let's hope that further easing is on its way and that we'll be back together in a physical sense on a not-too-far-off Sunday afternoon.

Our Zoom on, on went pretty well this Sunday, although the system was not as generous as it has been previously and cut off Leave Pass's parodic version of "The Red Flag" while he was in full flight. We'll revisit it next week.

It was very good to catch up with Footsie, Bigtop (and, briefly, Hardcore), Banger and Make an Offer. It was also good to get a peek into Superhacker's bedroom, where she'd spent the night after being granted a weekend Exeat from Rehab. She was about to return for four days in order to top up her specialists' flagging bank balances, but should be home for good by next Sunday. And she looked and sounded great!

Charcoal, Strine, B&W and Trudi Fruti were reluctant absentees due to problems with their Telstra line. Here's B&W showing off the trench he dug by hand:


They also reported a problem with a leaking water pipe. It's lucky that it wasn't anything like an environmental weed getting all the extra water:


Samford Hash members continue to get out and about. Fizza, Payback and Cashconverta ran and walked the banks of the South Pine:




Shockjock and Miss Demeanour (whose Big Birthday we celebrated on Sunday) appear to have not yet mastered the concept of taking a dog for a walk:


Having saved his energy in this way, Pablo had plenty to expend inside the house:


Floater and Scratchit went for a Hash walk in Bunya, where he captured a shot of a gravity-challenged koala:



They've also taken up the challenge of feeding themselves entirely from their own garden produce, and the results look pretty tasty. Of course, to be truly self-sufficient they would have to be growing barley and hops as well....




Le W*nk, Lax, Prattle and Loosehead joined the crowds in undertaking a 10 km walk from Southbank, and followed this up with an ice-cream and drink at Mt. Coot-tha. Doesn't the old feller look exhausted?






And while National Parks have been closed, Jamesbondage and Redbreast have been busy creating their own private one, if that makes sense....


Next Sunday we'd normally be presenting our 2020 Mother Superior award - but we might postpone this for the moment. We'll toast all mothers instead.

And finally - Payback's riff on the traditional limerick form didn't make it into last week's post. Here is the ditty:

There was a young man called Le W*nk
Making furniture that really stank.
Then he had an idea
"I will go to Ikea."
As he roamed that wondrous store
He shouted "I'll make furniture no more."

Keep sending in those run reports and pictures! Keep walking, keep running, keep drinking, keep the home fires burning, keep your distance - and we'll see you next Sunday for another virtual on, on, on....

On, on!