LVH3 were North of the border in Cumbria once again, this time in and around the lovely village of Stavely. A cold and windy but sunny morning and a good sized pack of hounds gathered at the Eagle and Child pub. We were joined by second timer Steve from Leck (I hope his groinal injuries soon heal) and 3 virgins from Cumbria who had heard of us from the article in the Westmorland Gazette. I bet they won't believe all they read in the papers from now on.

The hares, Madge and Syd told us all we needed to know about the r*n and markings and said it was mostly flat with 1 or 2 hilly bits. Well personally I think they got that bit completely the wrong way round. Off we went through very pretty countryside, through lots of fields, some with plenty of shiggy, loads of stiles over dry stone walls, and some woodland, too. In one field the back of the pack were cut off by a right load of bullocks (that's right, I said bullocks). They went berserk, running in every direction, all over the place, a bit like us really. On the subject of going berserk, the hares certainly did. They put in 3, or was it 4 of those horrible fish hooks. After 3 I lost count and almost the will to live.

A nasty surprise for some hashers at the BEER stop, no BEER, just orange squash. I ask you, flipping orange squash. Poor No More Cum was close to tears and had to be comforted by the fact that there was plenty in the bucket at the end of the r*n. The second part of the r*n was easier and shorter through pleasant meadows back to Stavely. This r*n however had a sting in its tail, right at the end. when the front r*nners got back early only to find that Syd was with us but not Madge. He was at the rear mopping up the tail enders, and yes, you've guessed it, he had the keys to the car with the bucket in it, so still no BEER. All we could do was ogle all those lovely cans through the car window. I had to confiscate a half brick from No More Cum or I dread to think what may have happened. Anyway, everyone got back OK, the car was opened and everyone was happy. Good r*n, well set and marked, apart from all those flipping fishhooks, in lovely surroundings. Well done Madge and Syd.

We had the customary circle where I had to award some down downs: No More Cum for rubbing out a fish hook, Twisted for rubbing out 2 fishhooks, no hash haberdash as usual and much more wickedly for covering me with flour from the top of a wall - me, for God's sake, the RA. Is no one safe from this woman, a constant offender, one to keep an eye on. The entire pack, apart from the 3 virgins retired to the pub and enjoyed good food and drinks. Bitter even rated their chips and gravy as better then the pub at Austwick. A high accolade indeed!

Visitors:
Terry, Lesley & Robert from Burneside