Jubilee Picnic Hash (QH3 run 762/AH4 run 33)

Date: Tuesday 5th June 2012
Venue: Allestree Park, Derby
Hares: Durex (GM AH4) and Malteaser (GM QH3)
===================================
A common memory for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations will be how wet the weekend was. What a wise decision to have this picnic hash on the Tuesday Jubilee holiday. For June it was cold, rain threatened but did not arrive until 4 pm when all the hashing picnicers had packed up and gone home after Jubilations to be remembered.
The largest local hash pack of the year, swelled by lots of children, two virgins (Roberta and Jane) and many welcome backs, assembled in Allestree Park adjacent to a big umbrella and gazebo. Most were from the Quorn Hash - much of the Ashbourne Hash obviously have more exciting things to do with their bank holiday. A big area of parkland right on our doorstep yet much of this was a new hashing area to me (see the trail as set by the hare). Nice park but pity about the local council's unbelievable mindless bureaucracy. This was the first hash ever that I've had to write a risk assessment for! Graciously they waived the £26 admin fee because this was a Jubilee event then decided that a week was insufficient time for them to process my submission - we were jubilating at our own risk.
It was basically a winding run around the perimeter of the park with an excursion to Quarndon. I was determined to get the pack to the top of Bunker's Hill for an excellent view of the Trent Valley. A last minute change in plan spared the hounds an extra 1.5 miles and a long climb up Bunker's Hill. Instead I made good use of an Asbourne fish hook from the view point, a fish hook that if you didn't run back to the hare it meant you weren't going to find the trail home.

Talia - Queen for theday

RA for the Jubilations - Butt Plug

Copious amounts of food were provided, especially cake, as well as beer. The latter provided in a 20 litre container courtesy of the Flower Pot. An hour before the hash, the trail had been laid but I got a phone call from an unhappy Malteaser who had been standing outside the Brunswick brewery at the agreed time to pick up the hash beer only to find nobody there. No amount of cake or brilliance of hash trail would have made up for a lack of hash beer.
A decision was made to use Wallington's much travelled miscellaneous cans for the DDs and save the nice beer for social drinking. RA for the day was Butt Plug who with his white, red and blue hair was well-dressed for the part. Talia was the Jubilee Queen for the circle and fortunately didn't decide to chop off anyone's head, even the hares', as an overwhelming majority voted for a good run.
Bugger brought the croquet set but too much picnicing followed by darkening skies meant this returned home unused again.