The village boules competition provided a tranquil backdrop for the meeting point of Run #13. The soft clonk of metal against metal counterpointed nicely the gentle bubbling of the tarmac on the roads, as temperatures peaked at about 40°C. Despite the lure of copious amounts of food and drink at the On In, the roasting temperatures had kept many hashers away (from the run at least – a great many skivers turned up for the On In!). Conspicuously absent were G.M., Crafty Linguist, and Hash Cash, Mountain Goat, who were too busy booking holidays to set an example and dehydrate with the rest of us. At 3.30pm Hares Shredder and Lapdancer stepped up to give the pre-run brief brief (the long run (11km) is this way, and the short walk (6km) is that way), informed us that they would drop water around the course, and then gave us the Off. There were nine runners and roughly the same number of walkers. After 15 minutes of running it was obvious that we were in for a real challenge. There was little shade, and the course was mainly along small country roads. After an hour, dehydration and over heating finally got the better of Bearded Clam and forced her and D.I.Y. to swap onto the short course (not that D.I.Y. put up too much resistance!). Once on the short course they met up with Pink Helmet, an F.R.B. who got directionally challenged. These three eventually met up with the walking pack, who were equally suffering, and the final 2km to the On In were harsh. Once at the On In, all hashers made a beeline for the beer coolers, and set about replacing lost body fluids with grim determination. Crafty Linguist and Mountain Goat had, by this time, turned up and were trying to ingratiate themselves to the sweaty and burnt pack, by offering lifts to pick up their cars etc. I have to admit that the hardships of the run were completely off set by having an ice-cold beer in Lapdancer and Coffee Bean’s pool. Once all were refreshed, GM, Crafty Linguist called the Circle. First up for DD’s were hares Lapdancer and Shredder, who received a 50% thumbs up for the run – points being lost for not controlling the weather properly. As there were no virgins or people to christen, next up was the AGM agenda. First, all hashers had to introduce themselves and explain, where relevant, the origin of their names. Wandering Two-Lips, and his wife, Whistling Tulips, were called up to ‘make four-lips’ (ie kiss) in front of the camera. Once all had recovered from this display, all the hash positions were read out along with intended incumbents who were, without exception, approved. Point of note: the role of Bier Meister is now the Hares responsibility, with the beer being stored in Lapdancer’s garage. Shredder nearly had a seizure when he heard Lapdancer was to be beer hoarder, and was only placated when informed that the only other volunteer for this position was B.J.! Crafty Linguist then informed us that the Hash funds were happily in the black, and we needed ideas how to spend the excess. How much excess there is wasn’t revealed, as Hash Cash, Mountain Goat, was too busy booking flights to South America (coincidence?) Finally punishment DD’s were awarded to Michael, Patrice and Corrine for stopping to pick cherries en route (pointed out by the newly elected Chief Snitch, Colleen, Crafty Linguist for not having run, again for mis-use of hash names and thirdly for another offence I forget. Crafty Linguist elected for a water DD for the final one, and was, therefore, unceremoniously dumped in the pool. Final DD went to yours truly who failed to understand the GM’s (very convoluted) voting procedure when we selected the new TH3 logos. Song Meister Quicksand was then called upon to demonstrate his ample skill, but was quickly gagged after the first line. In the absence of the R.A., B.J., whose faith healing on his car had failed, D.I.Y. lead off with verses one and two of Swing Low (adult’s version as the anklebiters were occupied in the pool). Once this was finished, the AGM was finally pronounced closed, and the barbeque then commenced. Excellent day! On On Do-It-Yourself.