Run No. 157 - 18th February 2006 - Report
This was a great event; a couple got married on Friday and decided to Hash on Saturday. Along with the wedding guests!!!! Well that is Welsh for you. The pack from Wales, U.K., thought this was the best way to say good bye to the country that united them and accepted the hospitality of the SWANK Hash House Harriers on the afternoon of 18 February 2006.
The GM R’ Hole had reccied the forested area south of Diani for a couple of days and laid a tricky trail that began from the pebbly murram south of nowhere it seemed, with the sea behind, sun overhead and a forest ahead. The rules were read and the front runners led by the visiting Welsh GM Sheepshagger took off in the unknown. The little 5 year old Joey kept guiding the trailers with correct reading of trail marks and enjoyed leading with the ON-ON clarion call.
While traversing the first 2 kilometres through a banana plantation, the visitors were flummoxed to see bunches of bananas drooping on the plants. Some of them had never seen one in their entire lifetime, but were consoled that some local hashers had never seen an apple or a pear tree too. So that levelled the score. But giant baobabs, Indian almonds, lime and various other fruit trees proved a further reason for louder “oohs’ and “aahs”. Matters were not helped much by the sultry afternoon heat and hanging tails of the colobus monkeys who were clearly upset that the Hashers had not made prior reservations to visit them. Well, the Welsh gang promised to give tits for tats when we visit them.
Circling the periphery of the sacred Kaya Kinondo forest which is a no-go zone, because it is sacred, the pack was led on to a wet hold to sample the nectar from palms in a forest clearing that was replete with mango trees all round. Another museum piece for the visitors. From here, the trail was pretty straight forward, as long as you can keep straight on broken murram and dry gorse thorns sticking to the southern sides of everyone.
A veritable Salsa dance was what the run looked like when the trail led on to the wettest of wet holds; the sea front. Full tide only an hour away, sun setting in the west and pristine sands beckoning the rituals of down-downs, the whole pack was just short of speech at the majestic vista, taking in mouthfuls of Ozone and the drinks from the cool box.
The honour of conducting the Down-down ceremony was given to Sheepshagger who baptized one of their own MaryPoppins, for taking on an umbrella to Hash! Others were also baptized in a mass ceremony; “E” Je, kullet ( French or welsh), Deviant Mpira, and others were drenched with the baptismal baths and asked to run to home base a further kilometre down south with the dusk falling fast. From there, those brave enough, led on to a different watering hold.
On the way back to the island, sometime towards the middle of night, in the middle of the ferry, in the middle of the channel, the retreating SWANKERS remembered that the swansong of the evening was not yet sung. So, out came the braves and a circle was held, and ‘SINGING IN THE RAIN’ was performed for the midnight audience complete with choreography to boot.
A superb run with a superb ending.