The Hash last Friday nearly looked like it would not happen - the only Hasher at Al Jalaa on time was your correspondent, in order not to miss anything... Then Mamoun arrived 5 minutes before the hour H, and some time later a small crowd gathered, consisting of almost more cars than Hashers, which upset considerably the Hash Mama (Salwa), who dropped in from Holland, one of the countries most endangered by the global warming.
Luckily, the site was not far out - the less attractive end of 100 Acre Wood valley (under the bridge). Wise Pranker and Sawsua had apparently been volunteered as Hares on the previous Hash by Rafi, who himself did not turn up on this one. His absence (together with RA's and Sharif's), gave it an even more abandoned air: In my memory of almost three years of hashing, he had never missed out once...
About equal number of walkers and runners set off in opposite directions - the walkers along the road, dodging numerous cars (and a vicious looking German shepherd at one stage), the runners up a steep, dismal looking slope behind the bridge.
Our Armenian twins seem very busy elsewhere these days - the trail was so short that the runners had downed at least one beverage each long before the walkers sauntered back, notwithstanding the fact that Wise Pranker used the wheels to set it - a first such offence on his part, as far as I know. He was duly submitted to a hearty down down as an Easy Rider.
For such a small group, there was a lot of virgins - two pairs, to be precise: Hin and Ahmed (?), Syrians, who had 1/ no idea such a thing as the Hash existed, and 2/ practically no English, (Wise Pranker seized this opportunity to reveal his hidden talent as an interpreter), and a Syrian/English Rim and Ian, both of whose English was perfect.
Up till this point, our temp RA White Thrashed had some trouble with the Hash discipline, but soon gained control.
The 3rd down down went to two walkers - shortcutters (another novelty on the Hash), Diplomaniac and Huda, because despite having taken a longer and more strenuous route above the valley, they arrived ahead of the others and from the opposite direction.
Next down down was a goodbye for Ken 1, who is leaving us to go on Hashing in the country of origin of his laudable activity. (Sad for me, as he was the last of the ex-pats on the Hash when I joined.) He received a commemorative mug.
Hash Mama, wearing her Last Damascus Hash T-shirt, was downed downed for returning as a bad penny, and then again, for turning ?0 the day before. A water/beer fight then issued between her and the English speaking virgin (for reasons unclear to your correspondent), which kept flaring up, disrupting the last down down for lazy Seli the Balls Crusher, who confessed to missing the previous Hash for sheer laziness. In the end, she was probably wishing that she missed this one as well, as some local boys punctured one of her tyres and let the air out of another, having previously destroyed our piece of ice. That was another first on a Hash - a rather disturbing one.... Luckily, Lost and Found and Ab Flab could supply a spare and Zila came without a husband but with a portable pump, so all ended well, even if some effort was wasted by putting back on the punctured tyre. This last bit of information was supplied with a glee by Lost and Found. If you are wondering why HE wasn't putting it on, it is probably because not only had he already volunteered, together with Ab Flab and Diplomaniac, to set the next Hash, but was then volunteered by Wise Pranker to supply the food as well. Sawsua is probably fed up with all the feeding of Hashers she had to do lately. (We were treated to another delicious, even hot, dish from her.)
Onon
Diplomaniac (Some people still say it is Diplomania. Why didn't I settle for Diplomatic Baggage???)
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