Water, water everywhere

As the old song has it, "April showers may come your way" - and they certainly have kept coming. It's been a wet year so far. And if anyone had any doubts about the naming of the Boondall wetlands, these should have been dispelled on Sunday. 

It was certainly wet underfoot...but the watery views, the waterbirds, the waterlilies, and the rainbows were all very pretty and inspired many Hash photographers. It was also very interesting to inspect some infrastructure left over from the Brisbane Commonwealth Games - namely the BMX track. We assume that the planners of the 2032 Olympics have been taking some hints...who needs to spend billions on facilities?

And Banger shared this sign with his family and friends in the UK, under the heading "Only in Australia":

Our hares Shockjock and Miss Demeanour had found a beaut spot for the on, on - close to the snaky toilets and right on edge on the edge of the water, where we were attended by a ring of hopeful turtles as we tucked into chili and chocolates. Many, many thanks to our hares!

According to Cash Converta, the man responsible for closing the gates was supposed to come round at sunset and "flash" us. He didn't arrive (no doubt to the disappointment of many of the ladies) but the mossies did as we packed up....

As noted above, the scenery inspired many photographers - too many for us to keep track of. Thanks to Cash Converta, Idle Vice, Banger, Redbreast, and anyone else we've forgotten:

 

 

Le W*nk has promised to set up an Easter Egg hunt in the park for next Sunday!

Next run/walk details
When: Sunday 20th April, 4 pm
Where: John Scott Park, Samford Village
Hares: M. Promptu will set the trail; Potluck will cater (please bring something to share - Easter bunny pie, anyone?)

We suggest you bring chairs - and chocolate if you like.

On, on!

City sights

It's been quite a while since Samford Hash enjoyed a city run, and hare Le W*nk celebrated the event by contracting the lurgy that Cash Converta and Payback brought back from Norfolk Island last week. He and George considerately kept a social distance of at least 1.5 metres from the rest of us:

The route took in some of the major tourist destinations around the Big Smoke, beginning with Brisbane's oldest building, the Windmill - but didn't take the walkers into the casino, for fear that they would never emerge....(pics by Lax and Payback)

 

 

Back at the old mill, we enjoyed a cold-meat-and-salad-collation, followed by muffins. Many thanks to our hares!

Here are a few more shots from the occasion, courtesy of Cash Converta and Payback:

 

 

And in case you missed them, here are Culture's city walking boots:

 

 During the week four hashers met up at Hahndorf in South Australia. They look well wrapped-up:

 

 

And on Sunday, Budgie and Miss Behavin' did their own hash walk at Granite Island, Victor Harbour. Miss Behavin' asks you to note that this is an extremely rare photo - Budgie is shown smiling!

 

Next run/walk details
When: Sunday 13th April, 4 pm
Where: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Melaleuca Drive, Boondall. Meet in the first carpark on the left. A map!
Hares: Shockjock and Miss Demeanour

We suggest you bring chairs.

On, on!

Running repairs

16 years ago, just after joining the runners' group, Superhacker managed to fall off a ladder at Mt. Nebo and break her knee. She ended up with the construction screw you can see in this old x-ray:

And on the 14th March - just after achieving a PB in her local Parkrun, and when she was just about to complete her 50th Parkrun - Superhacker got to see this screw again.  Why? Because she'd fractured her knee again! What a pain (in more ways than one)! And once again, she didn't do it while exercising, but while helping family members with some furniture removal....

As she describes it, "The NHS Registrar at Addenbrookes sucked in his cheeks like an Aussie chippie (at least that is how it seemed to me) looking at what the last bloke did, stroked his chin, and said 'Who did this?'" (not that tradies are normally critical of the last bloke's work, ha, ha).

Anyway, she'll know more after revisiting the fracture clinic this week. We wish her all the best!

Sunday saw us back on home turf, revisiting the green (soggy) fields of Samford. The walkers completed a variant of the Samford circuit, the runners went up and over the hill behind BP Park, and the hare was awarded a down, down for the paucity of trail markings....We gathered back in the heart of the village behind the Farmers' Hall as darkness fell (next week we'll have an extra hour of daylight as we move to a 4 pm start).

Here are some of Culture's pics from the occasion:

 

 

Nipliquor arrived in his new(?) gas-guzzler...

 

...and we couldn't resist re-posting a picture showing the results of his encounter with another vehicle (a few years ago, of course!):

 

Next week will be our first city run for a while - should be fun!

Next run/walk details
When: Sunday 6th April, 4 pm - NOTE the winter start time - 4 pm!
Where: The old windmill, Wickham Terrace, Brisbane City. A map! (Note that there is usually plenty of parking on a Sunday afternoon around this area.)
Hares: Le W*nk and Lax

On, on!

Even grander designs

It seems that the average price of a house in Wilston is now greater than the GDP of many small countries...and the trend continues. This weekend we re-visited some very grand construction sites that we first toured a couple of years ago. Many are still providing employment and support to the construction industry - but time blow-outs are common in Grand Designs, aren't they? And the budgets for these projects are terrifying to contemplate. A very interesting route indeed.

Back home at the hares' we enjoyed a selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, and inspected the renovated kombi. Many thanks to our hares!

Here are a few pictures taken by Culture:

The three walkers who have completed or almost completed their 96 km fund-raising month:

The runners celebrated the Queensland Reds' win over a team that must not be named:

And finally, please take note - as usual, we will be moving to a 4 pm start from the beginning of April!

Next run/walk details

When: Sunday 30th March, 5 pm

Where: Behind the Farmers' Hall, Samford Village

Hares: Culture and Haughty

On, on!