BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:541@sh4.org.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241226T120000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241226T180000 DTSTAMP:20250102T120711Z URL:https://www.sh4.org.uk/events/hash-1503-boxing-day-hash/ SUMMARY:South Hams H4 Hash 1503 - Boxing Day Hash - Links Court Flats Car P ark DESCRIPTION:\n Thurlestone Car Opposite\, is not free\, so best to use thi s one.\n\nOn Down at the Village Inn Thurlestone\nThe Words according to.. .\n...owing to a seasonally-induced oversight (we are clearly lost without our esteemed GM!)\, no Scribe was appointed at the Boxing Day hash last T hursday\, so I'm afraid you'll have to tolerate another week of editorial placeholder content - or skip altogether and scroll down for the eagerly-a nticipated 'official' Pre-Xmas 'Lube Weekend' write-up\, courtesy: one muc h-missed Pony Shafter!\n🌟 👣 🌟\n\nHASH 1503 - BOXING DAY HASH\, TH URLESTONE\n\nHares\, Olive and Marty\, resplendent in festive finery\, cor ralled a very respectable (in number\, at least) bunch of hashers to Circl e Up in the free (thank you\, Pugsley) carpark at the flats above South Mi lton beach at 12 noon\, sharp. A couple of virgins\, Lucia and Violet\, we re gently shoved forward and introductions made\, followed by a thoughtful SH4 Hash Symbols 101\, delivered by Olive - I think we all learned someth ing...! The hares advised a Long of approx. 5 miles\, a Short of about 4 m iles and a Walkers route of approx. 3 miles\, with not one but two Ha Ha's to look forward to\, and an optional sea-immersion at the end\, with ever yone repairing to the On Down at The Village Inn\, Thurlestone after.\n\nT he Longs bounded off towards Leas Foot beach\, only to discover the first HaHa\, which prompted a swift retreat to the carpark and then back along t he cliff for a brief moment before descending onto the beach. A gambol acr oss the sand and reluctant crossing of the fetid creek only led to a furth er HaHa\, discovered in the dunes\, however - but\, a band of silver-linin gs types (...)\, hashers turned this to their advantage and used it as an opportunity to institute an informal Regroup\, which became something of a theme for the day\, a group-photo moment\, and a welcome breather for the still-fuzzy-headed.\n\nBack across the sand we went (later learning that we should\, in fact\, have followed the footbridge [to avoid another foot- dunking in the micro-organism-laden estuarine soup]) and on on\, into the nature reserve. This provided the hares with another prime hasher-dunking facility amongst the reeds - and Marty was strategically positioned to cap ture every inelegant crossing (some more undignified\, and squeal-y\, than others...). Blown Off - toting his hand-held fancy camera-on-a-stick - al so seized the chance to capture some footage (sure to be deployed to comic effect at a later date).\n\nUp onto the South Milton beach road\, past a barn of rather cute calves\, and then back into the fields\, via a stealth y stile in the hedge\, and downhill...before another uphill and out onto t he road into South Milton village. That's Crap interpreted the 'TC' that g reeted us as we stepped across the stile threshold from field to tarmac as a personalised instruction to Take Control\, and decreed another Regroup. It was then uphill to Olive's gaff\, where a Christmas hat\, er\, be-hatt ed Blue Nun was manning a most excellent festive Beer Stop\, boasting the holy grail of all festive Beer Stop combos: shots of Baileys AND Christmas cake\, the latter lovingly prepared by the hare herself. There was also a cornucopia of other festive treats to enjoy\, which stalled some hashers for a little longer than others\, before we retraced our steps back to the carpark.\n\nReturning hashers were 'rewarded' with a Finish Line photo\, courtesy of our ever-conscientious Hash Flash\, Rubbery\, and a handful of intrepid souls continued on to the beach for a bracing sea dip to complet e the Boxing Day Hash package.\n\nBack at The Village Inn\, many a convivi al drink was enjoyed (eventually...the bar did seem a little overwhelmed b y the thirsty hashing horde!) before Olive valiantly stepped up - after a day's hare-ing - to square off the Boxing Day hash with a little speech. E veryone was thanked for turning out\, and a few little snippets of notable goings-on were shared - including Rizzo's narrowly-avoided swan-dive into the deep\, chilly waters of the nature reserve (which earned her a very s nazzy reflective baseball cap - presumably\, so that all such future stumb les will be visible\, even in the post-7pm darkness). Lactaster had brough t her lovely family - children\, husband and parents - whom had all comple ted the hash\, of one distance or another\, and despite becoming a little lost... The children had done brilliantly\, and were awarded hashing prize s in recognition of their efforts.\n\nI don't remember there being any Dow n Downs\, but happy to be corrected...\n\nAnd no parking fines (yet) recei ved 🙌 (thanks again\, Pugsley! I think memories of Challaborough are st ill fresh...)\n\nOn on to CALIFORNIA CROSS....er\, earlier today!\n\nShagg y xx\n\nPhoto credit: Rubbery\n\nPhoto credit: Dimwit\n👣\n\n🏃 📸 🍻 You can enjoy a clutch of Christmassy photos from the Thurlestone Box ing Day Hash on 26th December 2024 by checking out Hash Flash's purpose-bu ilt photo album on the SH4 Facebook page 📸 🏃🍻\n\n👣\n\nHASH 149 8 &\; 1499 - PRE-XMAS LUBE WEEKEND (SAT HASH &\; H.O.D.)\, BRIXHAM\n \nTHE ("Better late than never") WORDS according to PONY\n'Twas the month before Christmas and time for the traditional festive fun and frolics at t he Pre-Xmas Lube weekend\, which always delivers - and keeps giving... A w elcome return to Brixham\, and Grenville House.\n\nOn the First day of (th e) Christmas weekender my true love said to me... "What's the weather like in Brixham?" was the stream of messages via social media. Admittedly\, wh en I got there it was quite bright\, but the photo that I had posted on th e group had given way to greyness and moistness...\n\nFilth\, our hostess with the most-ess (who had valiantly organised the weekend)\, and I\, arri ve early to get a head-start on transforming the place to 'step into Chris tmas'\, but the staff had already stepped up and it was very much like San ta's grotto already (Ed. Five star service from Grenville House!)\n\nThe i ntrepid attendees started to arrive\, including a strong contingent of PH3 Party Animals\, Pre-Xmas Virgins and the Lovely Little Chef and BOR. As d id some more messages from those that were now not attending - Gaffer\, ak a Donald\, aka He-man\, had the sniffles and Dead Man Walking\, who must h ave pulled a guitar string. Filth's fantastic home-made soup was heated an d heartily consumed with chunks of crusty bread. We did have a problem cut ting the bread as the Centre had sensibly locked away all sharp knives and implements in a padlocked drawer (Ed. but I am sure this was no problem f or an ever-resourceful band of ravenous [and ravening...] hashers\; who ne eds a blade in the face of such brute determination?!].\n\nCircle Up was h eld inside\, and numbers were swelled by the addition of other day-tripper s: Man Pig (well\, part-day)\, Fluffy Dice\, Silly Shunt and Flage\, who w as racing on the Sunday at Newnham. Yours truly\, for being absent for a w hile\, was lucky enough to be press-ganged to do the Words (Ed. 'privilege d'\, did you mean there\, Pony?).\n\nFluffy Dice sort of volunteered (Ed. the only way anyone ever volunteers for such an 'honour') to carry the Has h Horn.\n\nWith due diligence to 'Elf and Safety (Ed. glad to 'ear it)\, F ilth gave a detailed itinerary of what was to come\, including the most im portant point\, i.e. the name of the pub in Brixham we were finishing at. She and a non-hashing friend had marked the Shorts/Walkers the day before\ , and Lord Overshot was out laying the Longs\, although\, worryingly\, mes saged to say he had been delayed on the ferry... (Ed. suspect this to be a deliberately-engineered tactic to add an extra dimension of challenge to the trail-laying effort: FRB status doesn't come cheap...😘)\n\nOff we j olly well went along the road towards the Berry Head Hotel… First beer s top? Probably not - too posh. I was joined on the walk by Short on Pork. W e met up with the rest of the gang at the first beer stop\, Rubbery's ampl y-stocked van\, ably manned by both Rubbery and Broken Man. BM was less co mmunicable (Ed. and/or communicative?) on Sunday after an incident with hi s hearing aid in the shower! I SAID\, BM WAS… (Nevermind)\n\nThere was s ome concern at the rusty beer cans which had been in Rubbery’s garage fo r a few years but which actually tasted ok. Snacks and sweets were proffer ed in abundance\, too.\n\nFilth\, after locking up\, was in such haste to catch up with Santa and his elves that she fell over a sleeping policeman in the GH car park. Must be a related joke there... Luckily\, Rubbery was also there and\, after he had stopped laughing and taking a photo\, helped her up (Ed. what a gent...)\n\nThe trail wended its way around the coasta l path\, and the Longs and Shorts disappeared into the greyness. Tyred Bun ny was meant to be looking after the Shorts but was too busy texting a loc al woman “acquaintance"\, it seems.(Post script: it worked\, as she turn ed up at the pub later - you ain't lost it\, TB).\n\nThe Walkers\, numbers swelled by a few sensible SCBs\, headed back down towards Brixham and the Blue Anchor. Filth\, Tradesman's Entrance and Collars 'n' Cuffs headed of f for a quick visit to the charity shops and came back with some fetching hats 'n' stuff. What's the name of that kids' film\, Cat in Hat...? No\, I said CAT! Filth\, always goes one step further and had two hats!\n\nThe r est of the elves started arriving in dribs 'n' drabs. Windy Puff had not o nly short-cut to get to the pub quicker\, also rewarded himself with a lar ge bowl of chips! (Ed. exemplary hashing behaviour)\n\nAs our numbers grew \, we were shepherded (apt for the time of year [Ed. nice topical touch]) to a side area\, as we were blocking the entrance\, and then - as was to b e expected - some serious amounts of alcohol were consumed before the shor t stagger back to the Grotto.\n\nOn return Hekkel's superb Christmas cake was soon devoured. Best Xmas frocks and Xmas attire were donned\, and an o utstanding Xmas meal was prepared and served by the staff - well\, one lov ely and hard working girl. Crackers\, hats\, laughter and wine ensued.\n\n Tyred Bunny (ask him how he got his name...lucky boy) the RA for the day h ad decided there would be a 'rolling RA'\, with the role being passed on\, like pass the parcel\, and each successive RA giving a few lines before n ominating the next. Initial guffaws faded as it\, surprisingly\, worked! V arious enhanced stories were told\, and a\nnumber of Down Downs consumed b y the recipients\, including a new drink of choice - a custard-and-red-win e cocktail... Wonder whose idea that was!\n\nThere seems to have been a fe w issues with the wall on the coastal path\; Gaffer's No Rules\; Overshot burping\; following Whisperer\; map cheaters\; missing L/S Splits\; big hi lls\; Shorty\; extra miles...and Johnny Depp (Ed. a little light on detail s\, this list\, Pony - but\, really\, I think the only item for which furt her information is completely essential is the last...!)\n\nFor a more pic torial/moving-pictures (Ed. -based report of the evening's Christmassy cap ers)\, see Rubbery's videos on Facebook. Whisperer and the custard is part icularly worth it (Ed. the mind boggles - or\, more probably\, curdles!)\, and you Hasherettes….maybe? Overshot and Over-Exposed were in charge of the evening's musical entertainment and impressive light show.\n\nFilth w as the instigator of various and novel party games\, including Nose Ball\n Pushing\, Cornflake-packet-munching and the Condom Challenge (that one may have been down to me lol [Ed. we would never have guessed\, Pony...] ). W hat happens at Hash stays on Hash.\n\nSanta arrived and gleefully sat a pr ocession of Hasherettes on his knee to fumble in his sack. The boys more c ircumspectly drew up a chair and sat next to him (Ed. very sensible).\n\nT he music\, dancing and drinking went on till the wee small hours - well\, 3-ish\, as is tradition of course\, but no karaoke (luckily?). (Ed. undoub tedly an oversight...)\n\nI must have forgotten to set my alarm up in the Penthouse (not the magazine boys) -nothing to do with the alcohol - and mi ssed waving off the mercifully short HOD hash\, which the intrepid Jelly B aby (not 'Bean'\, Nice Tackle) had laid.\n\nFilth and Rubbery\, who should be on Masterchef (it's ok - no Greg jokes are coming) served up a superb\ , traditional Xmas fry-up\, including deep-fried eggs (Ed. pushing the cul inary envelope... 😮)\, which was well-received and heartily devoured - but not before Whisperer's lack of presence was noted\, with shouts up the stairs...until somebody remembered he was sharing Fob Jockey's van\, park ed up the road. A panic-stricken FJ was seen sprinting up the road after s omeone said 'Stella and Custard probably don’t mix'!! (Ed. oh\, crumbs. Or curds...🤢)\n\nThe merry band of elves banded together and\, like Mar y Poppins\, returned the venue to its original condition and removed all s igns of the previous night's carnage.\n\nNew friendships made and hash bon ds strengthened… Hash Family fond farewells were exchanged as Hashers he aded off home in their sleighs. All Night Pepys was on her two-wheeled sle igh: good job breathalysing cyclists is rare!\n\nA massive thank you to Fi lth for organising it all: although numbers were unfortunately down\, irre spective of attendance\, it takes the same amount of effort to organise. T he hard work was worth it\, though\, as it was a great success\, even draw ing praise from our answer to Grumpy from the seven dwarves - no names Rub bery\, lol.\n\nOn On to the Post-Christmas in Torquay - Ho Ho Ho! Be there or be square!\n\nPony Shafter\, aka Head Elf (aka Naughty Elf)\n\nPhoto c redit: Pony Shafter\n________________________________________\n\n👣\nOwi ng to a dose of festive 'flu delaying the editorial process (and nothing a t all to do with fizzy wine - honest!)\, details of the New Year's Day has h are still languishing here below - left in place as a clue to where you could have been earlier today (if you weren't\, in fact\, already there: a nd if you were\, well done\, you!):\n\n🌟 HASH 1504 - NEW YEAR'S DAY HAS H\, 1st January\, 2025 🌟\n\nCIRCLE UP 11.50am for 12 noon start:\nCalif ornia Cross Inn\nCalifornia Cross\nIvybridge\nPL21 0SG\nWhat3Words: aftern oon.exists.pockets\n\nHares: Doggy Style\nRA: TBC\n\nFor further info\, pl ease see the Hash 1504 event page on the SH4 Facebook Group.\n\nAdd your p hotos of how the day went down (Weds 1st January\, 2025) to the Hash 1504 photo album on SH4's Facebook page \, courtesy: Rubbery.\n\nNext SH4 Hash 🐷👣:\n\nHASH 1505 - DARTMOUTH\n\nCIRCLE UP 7.25pm\nRoyal Castle Hotel \n11 The Quay\nDartmouth\nTQ6 9P6\nhttps://what3words.com/rewrites.tinny.r amp\n\nHares: Can't Come &\; Ching Chong\nRA: TBC\n\nFor further info\, please see the Hash 1505 event page on the SH4 Facebook Group.\n\n📝 If you were appointed the lucky Scribe at California Cross for today's New Y ear's Day hash\, please submit your edition of The Words to thewords@sh4.o rg.uk by Sunday evening (5th January\, 2025)\, ideally - and I promise to do a better job of getting them posted before the next hash than I have ma naged this week! 📝\n👣\n\n________________________________________\nH ASH DIARY - Upcoming Events\n🎄\n\nPOST-CHRISTMAS Hash Bash Weekend - 14 th-16th February 2025\n\nIf you have booked your spot for this snazzy SH4 getaway but haven't yet paid up\, please send your £££ asap to the SH4 bank account\, quoting your hash name and ping a quick message to Hash Cas h to confirm.\n\nIf you're not sure how much you owe\, please speak to Fil th/Blown Off (Hash Cash).\n\n🌟 Balances are due by 31st Dec (2024...) a s the venue requires payment. 🌟\n\nPayment to SH4 Bank Account:\nAcc. n o.: 00263482 Sort code: 30-94-72\n\n \;\n\n👣\n___________________\n \n________________________________________\n\nSH4 'EALTH &\; SAFETY\n\n Please make a note of the new SH4 hash phone number and add it to your pho ne:\n\n🌟 SH4 hash phone number: 07922 103701 🌟\n\nUse this number to call for assistance if you come 'unstuck' out on the trail\, or need to g et a message to 'base camp' (On Down) during the run .\n\n👣\n\n🌟 Don 't forget to see Rusty Bottom or Ching Chong before the hash to log you ou t on trail using the new-fangled checking-out/checking-in app (developed b y our very own digital-wizard\, Whisperer).\n\nDon't forget to also check back in with the 'On Secs you're safely back. 🌟\n\n👣\n______________ __________________________\n\nSH4 MercHASHdise\n\nShow your love for SH4 a nd wear your membership proudly with a bespoke SH4 car sticker!\n\nAvailab le exclusively to SH4 members (and\, to be fair\, anyone else who wants on e...) for the bargain sum of £0.50 ea.\, you can afford one for every veh icle in your fleet! 😊\n\nSee a member of the committee at the next meet for yours.\n\n👣 - \n Thurlestone Car Opposite\, is not free\, so best to use this one.\n\nOn Down at the Village Inn Thurlestone\nThe Words acc ording to...\n...owing to a seasonally-induced oversight (we are clearly l ost without our esteemed GM!)\, no Scribe was appointed at the Boxing Day hash last Thursday\, so I'm afraid you'll have to tolerate another week of editorial placeholder content - or skip altogether and scroll down for th e eagerly-anticipated 'official' Pre-Xmas 'Lube Weekend' write-up\, courte sy: one much-missed Pony Shafter!\n🌟 👣 🌟\n\nHASH 1503 - BOXING DA Y HASH\, THURLESTONE\n\nHares\, Olive and Marty\, resplendent in festive f inery\, corralled a very respectable (in number\, at least) bunch of hashe rs to Circle Up in the free (thank you\, Pugsley) carpark at the flats abo ve South Milton beach at 12 noon\, sharp. A couple of virgins\, Lucia and Violet\, were gently shoved forward and introductions made\, followed by a thoughtful SH4 Hash Symbols 101\, delivered by Olive - I think we all lea rned something...! The hares advised a Long of approx. 5 miles\, a Short o f about 4 miles and a Walkers route of approx. 3 miles\, with not one but two Ha Ha's to look forward to\, and an optional sea-immersion at the end\ , with everyone repairing to the On Down at The Village Inn\, Thurlestone after.\n\nThe Longs bounded off towards Leas Foot beach\, only to discover the first HaHa\, which prompted a swift retreat to the carpark and then b ack along the cliff for a brief moment before descending onto the beach. A gambol across the sand and reluctant crossing of the fetid creek only led to a further HaHa\, discovered in the dunes\, however - but\, a band of s ilver-linings types (...)\, hashers turned this to their advantage and use d it as an opportunity to institute an informal Regroup\, which became som ething of a theme for the day\, a group-photo moment\, and a welcome breat her for the still-fuzzy-headed.\n\nBack across the sand we went (later lea rning that we should\, in fact\, have followed the footbridge [to avoid an other foot-dunking in the micro-organism-laden estuarine soup]) and on on\ , into the nature reserve. This provided the hares with another prime hash er-dunking facility amongst the reeds - and Marty was strategically positi oned to capture every inelegant crossing (some more undignified\, and sque al-y\, than others...). Blown Off - toting his hand-held fancy camera-on-a -stick - also seized the chance to capture some footage (sure to be deploy ed to comic effect at a later date).\n\nUp onto the South Milton beach roa d\, past a barn of rather cute calves\, and then back into the fields\, vi a a stealthy stile in the hedge\, and downhill...before another uphill and out onto the road into South Milton village. That's Crap interpreted the 'TC' that greeted us as we stepped across the stile threshold from field t o tarmac as a personalised instruction to Take Control\, and decreed anoth er Regroup. It was then uphill to Olive's gaff\, where a Christmas hat\, e r\, be-hatted Blue Nun was manning a most excellent festive Beer Stop\, bo asting the holy grail of all festive Beer Stop combos: shots of Baileys AN D Christmas cake\, the latter lovingly prepared by the hare herself. There was also a cornucopia of other festive treats to enjoy\, which stalled so me hashers for a little longer than others\, before we retraced our steps back to the carpark.\n\nReturning hashers were 'rewarded' with a Finish Li ne photo\, courtesy of our ever-conscientious Hash Flash\, Rubbery\, and a handful of intrepid souls continued on to the beach for a bracing sea dip to complete the Boxing Day Hash package.\n\nBack at The Village Inn\, man y a convivial drink was enjoyed (eventually...the bar did seem a little ov erwhelmed by the thirsty hashing horde!) before Olive valiantly stepped up - after a day's hare-ing - to square off the Boxing Day hash with a littl e speech. Everyone was thanked for turning out\, and a few little snippets of notable goings-on were shared - including Rizzo's narrowly-avoided swa n-dive into the deep\, chilly waters of the nature reserve (which earned h er a very snazzy reflective baseball cap - presumably\, so that all such f uture stumbles will be visible\, even in the post-7pm darkness). Lactaster had brought her lovely family - children\, husband and parents - whom had all completed the hash\, of one distance or another\, and despite becomin g a little lost... The children had done brilliantly\, and were awarded ha shing prizes in recognition of their efforts.\n\nI don't remember there be ing any Down Downs\, but happy to be corrected...\n\nAnd no parking fines (yet) received 🙌 (thanks again\, Pugsley! I think memories of Challabor ough are still fresh...)\n\nOn on to CALIFORNIA CROSS....er\, earlier toda y!\n\nShaggy xx\n\nPhoto credit: Rubbery\n\nPhoto credit: Dimwit\n👣\n\n 🏃 📸 🍻 You can enjoy a clutch of Christmassy photos from the Thurl estone Boxing Day Hash on 26th December 2024 by checking out Hash Flash's purpose-built photo album on the SH4 Facebook page 📸 🏃🍻\n\n👣\n \nHASH 1498 &\; 1499 - PRE-XMAS LUBE WEEKEND (SAT HASH &\; H.O.D.)\, BRIXHAM\n\nTHE ("Better late than never") WORDS according to PONY\n'Twas the month before Christmas and time for the traditional festive fun and fr olics at the Pre-Xmas Lube weekend\, which always delivers - and keeps giv ing... A welcome return to Brixham\, and Grenville House.\n\nOn the First day of (the) Christmas weekender my true love said to me... "What's the we ather like in Brixham?" was the stream of messages via social media. Admit tedly\, when I got there it was quite bright\, but the photo that I had po sted on the group had given way to greyness and moistness...\n\nFilth\, ou r hostess with the most-ess (who had valiantly organised the weekend)\, an d I\, arrive early to get a head-start on transforming the place to 'step into Christmas'\, but the staff had already stepped up and it was very muc h like Santa's grotto already (Ed. Five star service from Grenville House! )\n\nThe intrepid attendees started to arrive\, including a strong conting ent of PH3 Party Animals\, Pre-Xmas Virgins and the Lovely Little Chef and BOR. As did some more messages from those that were now not attending - G affer\, aka Donald\, aka He-man\, had the sniffles and Dead Man Walking\, who must have pulled a guitar string. Filth's fantastic home-made soup was heated and heartily consumed with chunks of crusty bread. We did have a p roblem cutting the bread as the Centre had sensibly locked away all sharp knives and implements in a padlocked drawer (Ed. but I am sure this was no problem for an ever-resourceful band of ravenous [and ravening...] hasher s\; who needs a blade in the face of such brute determination?!].\n\nCircl e Up was held inside\, and numbers were swelled by the addition of other d ay-trippers: Man Pig (well\, part-day)\, Fluffy Dice\, Silly Shunt and Fla ge\, who was racing on the Sunday at Newnham. Yours truly\, for being abse nt for a while\, was lucky enough to be press-ganged to do the Words (Ed. 'privileged'\, did you mean there\, Pony?).\n\nFluffy Dice sort of volunte ered (Ed. the only way anyone ever volunteers for such an 'honour') to car ry the Hash Horn.\n\nWith due diligence to 'Elf and Safety (Ed. glad to 'e ar it)\, Filth gave a detailed itinerary of what was to come\, including t he most important point\, i.e. the name of the pub in Brixham we were fini shing at. She and a non-hashing friend had marked the Shorts/Walkers the d ay before\, and Lord Overshot was out laying the Longs\, although\, worryi ngly\, messaged to say he had been delayed on the ferry... (Ed. suspect th is to be a deliberately-engineered tactic to add an extra dimension of cha llenge to the trail-laying effort: FRB status doesn't come cheap...😘)\n \nOff we jolly well went along the road towards the Berry Head Hotel… Fi rst beer stop? Probably not - too posh. I was joined on the walk by Short on Pork. We met up with the rest of the gang at the first beer stop\, Rubb ery's amply-stocked van\, ably manned by both Rubbery and Broken Man. BM w as less communicable (Ed. and/or communicative?) on Sunday after an incide nt with his hearing aid in the shower! I SAID\, BM WAS… (Nevermind)\n\nT here was some concern at the rusty beer cans which had been in Rubbery’s garage for a few years but which actually tasted ok. Snacks and sweets we re proffered in abundance\, too.\n\nFilth\, after locking up\, was in such haste to catch up with Santa and his elves that she fell over a sleeping policeman in the GH car park. Must be a related joke there... Luckily\, Ru bbery was also there and\, after he had stopped laughing and taking a phot o\, helped her up (Ed. what a gent...)\n\nThe trail wended its way around the coastal path\, and the Longs and Shorts disappeared into the greyness. Tyred Bunny was meant to be looking after the Shorts but was too busy tex ting a local woman “acquaintance"\, it seems.(Post script: it worked\, a s she turned up at the pub later - you ain't lost it\, TB).\n\nThe Walkers \, numbers swelled by a few sensible SCBs\, headed back down towards Brixh am and the Blue Anchor. Filth\, Tradesman's Entrance and Collars 'n' Cuffs headed off for a quick visit to the charity shops and came back with some fetching hats 'n' stuff. What's the name of that kids' film\, Cat in Hat. ..? No\, I said CAT! Filth\, always goes one step further and had two hats !\n\nThe rest of the elves started arriving in dribs 'n' drabs. Windy Puff had not only short-cut to get to the pub quicker\, also rewarded himself with a large bowl of chips! (Ed. exemplary hashing behaviour)\n\nAs our nu mbers grew\, we were shepherded (apt for the time of year [Ed. nice topica l touch]) to a side area\, as we were blocking the entrance\, and then - a s was to be expected - some serious amounts of alcohol were consumed befor e the short stagger back to the Grotto.\n\nOn return Hekkel's superb Chris tmas cake was soon devoured. Best Xmas frocks and Xmas attire were donned\ , and an outstanding Xmas meal was prepared and served by the staff - well \, one lovely and hard working girl. Crackers\, hats\, laughter and wine e nsued.\n\nTyred Bunny (ask him how he got his name...lucky boy) the RA for the day had decided there would be a 'rolling RA'\, with the role being p assed on\, like pass the parcel\, and each successive RA giving a few line s before nominating the next. Initial guffaws faded as it\, surprisingly\, worked! Various enhanced stories were told\, and a\nnumber of Down Downs consumed by the recipients\, including a new drink of choice - a custard-a nd-red-wine cocktail... Wonder whose idea that was!\n\nThere seems to have been a few issues with the wall on the coastal path\; Gaffer's No Rules\; Overshot burping\; following Whisperer\; map cheaters\; missing L/S Split s\; big hills\; Shorty\; extra miles...and Johnny Depp (Ed. a little light on details\, this list\, Pony - but\, really\, I think the only item for which further information is completely essential is the last...!)\n\nFor a more pictorial/moving-pictures (Ed. -based report of the evening's Chris tmassy capers)\, see Rubbery's videos on Facebook. Whisperer and the custa rd is particularly worth it (Ed. the mind boggles - or\, more probably\, c urdles!)\, and you Hasherettes….maybe? Overshot and Over-Exposed were in charge of the evening's musical entertainment and impressive light show.\ n\nFilth was the instigator of various and novel party games\, including N ose Ball\nPushing\, Cornflake-packet-munching and the Condom Challenge (th at one may have been down to me lol [Ed. we would never have guessed\, Pon y...] ). What happens at Hash stays on Hash.\n\nSanta arrived and gleefull y sat a procession of Hasherettes on his knee to fumble in his sack. The b oys more circumspectly drew up a chair and sat next to him (Ed. very sensi ble).\n\nThe music\, dancing and drinking went on till the wee small hours - well\, 3-ish\, as is tradition of course\, but no karaoke (luckily?). ( Ed. undoubtedly an oversight...)\n\nI must have forgotten to set my alarm up in the Penthouse (not the magazine boys) -nothing to do with the alcoho l - and missed waving off the mercifully short HOD hash\, which the intrep id Jelly Baby (not 'Bean'\, Nice Tackle) had laid.\n\nFilth and Rubbery\, who should be on Masterchef (it's ok - no Greg jokes are coming) served up a superb\, traditional Xmas fry-up\, including deep-fried eggs (Ed. pushi ng the culinary envelope... 😮)\, which was well-received and heartily d evoured - but not before Whisperer's lack of presence was noted\, with sho uts up the stairs...until somebody remembered he was sharing Fob Jockey's van\, parked up the road. A panic-stricken FJ was seen sprinting up the ro ad after someone said 'Stella and Custard probably don’t mix'!! (Ed. oh\ , crumbs. Or curds...🤢)\n\nThe merry band of elves banded together and\ , like Mary Poppins\, returned the venue to its original condition and rem oved all signs of the previous night's carnage.\n\nNew friendships made an d hash bonds strengthened… Hash Family fond farewells were exchanged as Hashers headed off home in their sleighs. All Night Pepys was on her two-w heeled sleigh: good job breathalysing cyclists is rare!\n\nA massive thank you to Filth for organising it all: although numbers were unfortunately d own\, irrespective of attendance\, it takes the same amount of effort to o rganise. The hard work was worth it\, though\, as it was a great success\, even drawing praise from our answer to Grumpy from the seven dwarves - no names Rubbery\, lol.\n\nOn On to the Post-Christmas in Torquay - Ho Ho Ho ! Be there or be square!\n\nPony Shafter\, aka Head Elf (aka Naughty Elf)\ n\nPhoto credit: Pony Shafter\n________________________________________\n\ n👣\nOwing to a dose of festive 'flu delaying the editorial process (and nothing at all to do with fizzy wine - honest!)\, details of the New Year 's Day hash are still languishing here below - left in place as a clue to where you could have been earlier today (if you weren't\, in fact\, alread y there: and if you were\, well done\, you!):\n\n🌟 HASH 1504 - NEW YEAR 'S DAY HASH\, 1st January\, 2025 🌟\n\nCIRCLE UP 11.50am for 12 noon sta rt:\nCalifornia Cross Inn\nCalifornia Cross\nIvybridge\nPL21 0SG\nWhat3Wor ds: afternoon.exists.pockets\n\nHares: Doggy Style\nRA: TBC\n\nFor further info\, please see the Hash 1504 event page on the SH4 Facebook Group.\n\n Add your photos of how the day went down (Weds 1st January\, 2025) to the Hash 1504 photo album on SH4's Facebook page \, courtesy: Rubbery.\n\nNext SH4 Hash 🐷👣:\n\nHASH 1505 - DARTMOUTH\n\nCIRCLE UP 7.25pm\nRoyal Ca stle Hotel\n11 The Quay\nDartmouth\nTQ6 9P6\nhttps://what3words.com/rewrit es.tinny.ramp\n\nHares: Can't Come &\; Ching Chong\nRA: TBC\n\nFor furt her info\, please see the Hash 1505 event page on the SH4 Facebook Group.\ n\n📝 If you were appointed the lucky Scribe at California Cross for tod ay's New Year's Day hash\, please submit your edition of The Words to thew ords@sh4.org.uk by Sunday evening (5th January\, 2025)\, ideally - and I p romise to do a better job of getting them posted before the next hash than I have managed this week! 📝\n👣\n\n_________________________________ _______\nHASH DIARY - Upcoming Events\n🎄\n\nPOST-CHRISTMAS Hash Bash We ekend - 14th-16th February 2025\n\nIf you have booked your spot for this s nazzy SH4 getaway but haven't yet paid up\, please send your £££ asap t o the SH4 bank account\, quoting your hash name and ping a quick message t o Hash Cash to confirm.\n\nIf you're not sure how much you owe\, please sp eak to Filth/Blown Off (Hash Cash).\n\n🌟 Balances are due by 31st Dec ( 2024...) as the venue requires payment. 🌟\n\nPayment to SH4 Bank Accoun t:\nAcc. no.: 00263482 Sort code: 30-94-72\n\n \;\n\n👣\n___________ ________\n\n________________________________________\n\nSH4 'EALTH &\; SAFETY\n\nPlease make a note of the new SH4 hash phone number and add it t o your phone:\n\n🌟 SH4 hash phone number: 07922 103701 🌟\n\nUse this number to call for assistance if you come 'unstuck' out on the trail\, or need to get a message to 'base camp' (On Down) during the run .\n\n👣\n \n🌟 Don't forget to see Rusty Bottom or Ching Chong before the hash to log you out on trail using the new-fangled checking-out/checking-in app (d eveloped by our very own digital-wizard\, Whisperer).\n\nDon't forget to a lso check back in with the 'On Secs you're safely back. 🌟\n\n👣\n____ ____________________________________\n\nSH4 MercHASHdise\n\nShow your love for SH4 and wear your membership proudly with a bespoke SH4 car sticker!\ n\nAvailable exclusively to SH4 members (and\, to be fair\, anyone else wh o wants one...) for the bargain sum of £0.50 ea.\, you can afford one for every vehicle in your fleet! 😊\n\nSee a member of the committee at the next meet for yours.\n\n👣 CATEGORIES:Hash Trails LOCATION:Links Court Flats Car Park Links Court\, next to Thurlestone Car P ark\, Thurlestone\, TQ7 3JS GEO:50.263392;-3.858706 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Links Court\, next to Thurl estone Car Park\, Thurlestone\, TQ7 3JS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=10 0;X-TITLE=Links Court Flats Car Park:geo:50.263392,-3.858706 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20241027T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR