Hash History Part 3:
The philosophy of the original Hash House Harriers from the 1938 charter was:
•To promote physical fitness amongst their members.
•To get rid of weekend hangovers.
•To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer.
•To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel.
The origin of hash names is not totally clear, but it is thought that the Mother Hash, to encourage all of the squaddies and civil servants be treated as equals by their commanding officers; all harriers would dispose of their name, rank and serial number and adopt an appropriate name.
In most Kennels, the use of real names during an event is discouraged. (although there are some exceptions, eg H4, Hong Kong). Members are typically given a "hash name," usually in deference to a particularly notorious escapade, a personality trait, or their physical appearance. (see Later) In some chapters, the name must be earned – that is, Hashers are not named until they have done something outstanding, unusual, or stupid enough to warrant one. In other Kennels, the process is more mechanical, and Hashers are named after completing a certain number of events (5–10 being the most common) or setting their first run (sometimes referred to as a Virgin Hare).
Naming conventions differ from Kennels to Kennel, with some focusing on "family-friendly" names (for example: Lost My Way), innuendo (for example, Purple Vein), and some go out of their way to make the name as bawdy, offensive, or politically incorrect as possible. But in general, once named, Hashers will refer to you by that name at the Hash irrespective of the Hash itself. For the more offensive names, it might be censored in comical ways to comply with the family-friendly tone of other Kennels, but in general, it is kept as-is for the most part.
Back to today's run, VV’s 200th Hared run and his 60th birthday. What can we say about VV, he looks like the long lost son of the famous Viking Ragnar Ragnusson, or maybe even Floki (watch the TV series “The Vikings” to find out who they are). However, he is a Wallonian Belgian, meaning he comes from the French speaking part of Belgium, nr Brussels. He has been in Pattaya for donkey’s yonks (see later) and is the backbone of the PH3. Here are some of his many roles:( forgive me VV if I have forgotten something)
1. Hare
2. Supplier of new trails (always with a water jump!)
3. Beer master
4. Lighting master
5. Beer truck transportation
6. Chef/BBQ queen
7. Beer truck repair
8. Eskie filler
9. Waste segregator and recycler
10. Pattaya Bush Hash founding member, organiser & hare
11. Swamp Rats meister & hare
12. Jungle hash hare
13. Bon Viveur
But let's not forget the love of his life, Two Time, who supports him in all these duties, especially considering VV’s bad back.
What would the PH3 do without them...FAIL!
So on to the Run # 1915, he chose a nice local A-site, easy to get to, (if you knew the gate on Siam Country club road was open for foot passengers) or else a drag along the 4km causeway wrecked road (which my Bolt taxi driver did not appreciate!) to a glorious and very spacious A-site with Eucalyptus shading.
After the customary first circle, covering all the hash rules and the run briefing from the hares, it was off into the woods. 4km later for the walkers and 7.5km for the runners, we were back at the A-site after completing a very pleasant stroll through the woods for the walkers. Comments from the runners were as follows: dry shoes on a VV run! Absolutely fantastic, Eucalyptus trees remind me of home, beautiful A-site.
Highlights from the circle were as follows:
1. Awards to VV: 200 hared runs, Two Time: 50 hares, Spaghetti Head: 80 hares and finally Lord Chicken F@cker: 60 hares
2. Waffle: Everyone fighting over the bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3. SWTT praising Wee Wee over his astonishing Haring records:
a. Pattaya Bush Hash 24 hares,
b. Pattaya Jungle Hash 21 hares,
c. Irregular Lunar 8 hares,
d. Dirt Road 3 hares
e. Rats 296 hares (?)
f. Grand Duchy Hash 1 hare
4. Hash Heros: NaheMan, Paprika Smiley & No Trucking Idea - returning travellers from the Loei outstation Bush Run in time for this run & for losing Ging Gang Goolie on the way.
5. The Beer Hunters for actually walking (300m) to the local bar
6. VV awarded a Special Plaque in appreciation of all his hard work over the years, along with a bottle of Smirnoff and a Birthday Cake
7. Canadian, Steve Small (ex RCMP) and Cloggie, Hans Stackenberg ( ex Dutch Navy Intelligence/Communications Officer) named as “Mount Me” and “YMCA” respectively (how they got away with such innocuous names I’ll never know).
8. WOTW awarded to Krap Thai for knowingly throwing away beer in the Taxi Bell, witnessed by its owners.
9. LCF with the Hares Song a parody of the Kinks song “dedicated follower of fashion” transmogrified to “wearer of pink panties”
10. Final DD, Hash Hymn and “Yat for the Doh” (one for the road in Chinglish)
And so it was, another splendid night in QUEST (Queen of the Eastern Seaboard, wrt Rooster, Thai Visa Editor)
(Watch out for Hash History Part 4 coming soon…..)
On-On! Burl Ives