Hash 1181
1181
Last Tuesday's run wasn't in West Wycombe as advertised, but was actually from the Bird in Hand in Princes Risborough. No, Gerry hadn't made a mistake on the website (why would you even assume such a thing?) – the reason for the subterfuge was that it was Barney's Birthday Hash, and the man of the hour was being kept in the dark (literally? Maybe, I didn't like to ask...).
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Anyway, to celebrate Barney's 40th birthday (funny, the balloon said 60 – must have been a typo, or else Ade had bought a job lot of them) Mick and Aud had laid a single run for us all to enjoy together. The length? A little long for the shorts, and a little short for the longs (well, that'll keep everyone happy then). We set off up Station Road towards the middle of town before veering right up a hill. I thought it'd be a great idea to try and race Anthony up this – a foolish plan at the best of times, but almost fatal while I'm still carrying my winter weight (I can still use that excuse in April, right?). It was OK though, as a few checks in the Risborough suburbs slowed the pack up, allowing me to recover, everyone to have a good chat, and Roger to welcome Ellen back to the hash in slightly unorthodox style.
We headed out of town towards Whiteleaf, and after a slightly confused regroup (is there any other kind?) ran back down the hill into Monks Risborough, where we had a long-short split (yes, I know I said there was only one run – we were pretty confused too). The longs headed over the railway line without incident, and out into the fields, eventually coming out on Longwick Road. At this point some of Barney's balloons decided they'd had enough for one night, and even the promise of chips couldn't persuade them to finish the run (well, not intact anyway). Back over the railway, and a short stretch through some vaguely familiar looking bits of the town brought us out at the Church Street car park, for a load of BS (apparently this stands for "Barney Stop" – or is it "Barney, Stop!"), which turned out to be beer and assorted nibbles. A short ON INN up Manor Park Avenue then returned us to the pub, where beer and chips aplenty were to be found. Thanks to Mick and Aud for an enjoyable run and loads of food, and many happy returns to Barney, for whichever birthday it was!