Run #1151 - Rub Ye Frozen Buns

January 26, 2004

Hares: On In, Sumpyton & Raghead
Where: Bobs On The Hill
Big Rock: $12/jug
Attendance: 43

It was a dark and stormy night... well it was a dark night, not so sure about the stormy part though. It was, however, a little on the cold side. Cold enough to make a Lawyer put his hands in his own pockets for a change. As we drove up to the bar the temperature was in the -30 C area - cold, but not the coldest that CH3 has run in.

A quick dash from the warmth of the car to the warmth of the bar showed the brave souls willing to come out to worship the Big Rock Gods. Most were getting ready to layer up for the upcumming ordeal in the snow. A great deal of contemporary fashions were noticed, from the "Cover everything except the tip of my nose and wear ski goggles even if I do look like a dork" to the very tasteful long black coats. Kingshit came equipped with Safeway bags (and tights for a change), and even On In showed that discretion is the better part of valour by wearing tights underneath his kilt... don't want to get frostbite now do we On In?

At last the moment we had all been dreading arrived - time to venture out into the parking lot and see if our layering of thermals, shirts and jackets worked. As we started to form up in the obligatory circle, the pack was called off to the back of Ragheads "racing car" (ah - so now we know what they use to teach Calgary Transit drivers to drive) to sample a drop of UISGEBEATHA, the water of life, known to us mere mortals as Whisky. To the sound of some very un-Scottish sounding music Raghead and Sumpyton dispensed the brew. Most supped it straight away, hoping that it would help act as anti-freeze in the veins, and so keep the feet from freezing for a little bit longer. After the Hares explained the - standard - markings, we toasted the Scottish Bard, and set off as fast as we could down the slippery trail... hoping that if we moved fast enough then we would stand a chance of not freezing to the spot.

The trail was good, short and to the point, with a number of hills to run up to keep the pack warm... well it's difficult to have anything other than hills in Strathcona. Given the conditions I'm surprised that On In didn't try to emulate the shortest Hash in CH3 history. Such a trail has to have at least one check and one check-back. For the record, Dreary and Lakey hold this honour with a trail that went out one door of the Highlander, went part of the way around the building to a check, with the true trail leading to a door on the other side of the bar!

Once back at the On In, the layers came off as Hashers attempted to look normal (a very difficult task you will agree). Beer Loot for the night was TNT who did a very good job of collecting the money and dispensing the golden Big Rock nectar to the thirsty pack. A very good job indeed - especially considering that she isn't an official Beer Loot this year. The price for a Jug of Grasshopper tonight - $12/jug... not as good as the $9.75 we had last week, or next, but a fair price. You can get Big Rock at a deal folks, and if you can't, we should take our business elsewhere. Tucked away in the corner was Mum and Squeeky doing Hash Cash... funny I thought, Mum doesn't do Hash Cash... kudos to Mum for stepping forward to help Squeeky out when the rest of the "official" Hash Cash was MIA.

Once I had my Big Rock in hand I returned to the table I had commandeered for "Ye Olde Haberdashery Emporium". Just so you know, we have long-sleeved shirts (mock turtle-neck and crew-neck), Fleece Beanies, Hash Toques with Fleece lining, Fleece Headbands (from the Jiggle Belle run) and Fleece neck-tubes. All these products are priced to sell!! So come and see your Haberdash and keep yourself fashionably attired, and warm at the same time.

Once the Grasshopper had had a chance to permeate the permafrost, Hardly introduced the virgin RA's for the night. What a good Chief RA Hardly is - last week we had a little Girl-Girl action with the Buns, this week some more Girl-Girl action with The Bawdy and Fire In The Hole!! Once they had formed a choir of Skewbic Hare, Whale Wanker and Suck No Evil, the RA's started dispensing the Big Rock, with down-downs going (in no particular order and possibly not complete):

Once down-downs had finished, the "business" portion of the evening commenced with the real reason we were there... The Haggis! For those of you that don't know what is in a Haggis here goes:
To make a modern haggis, the pluck (liver, heart, lights or lungs) of a sheep is washed and put to boil until tender. When cool, the meat is chopped or minced finely and mixed with the oatmeal, onions, salt, pepper and spices. It's then put again through a coarser mincer. The mixture is moistened, usually with meat gravy, put into a filler and pumped into the prepared natural, or artificial casings which are then sealed. The haggis is then cooked in boiling water for about an hour, depending on size, the mixture swells up to fill the skins, then it's left to cool.

Tasty eh? Well the Haggis (pl Haggi ?) was piped in and Fukawee did the honours with the Address to the Haggis. Sumpyton said grace, and we all formed a queue for multiple servings of Sheep's intestines, Neeps (Turnip) and Tatties (Potato)... all of this to celebrate the unfortunately short life of Robert Burns.