July 23, 2004
Venue: The Forest of Dean, Cardiff, Wales (World Interhash 2004)
The weather looked good from the start
as we boarded the coaches outside the City Hall in Cardiff. The
previous day’s Red Dress Run had been a little damp but the beer
consumption and general frivolity prevailed over rumblings of doubt
about the wisdom of having Interhash in Wales, or even anywhere in
the UK. The weather stayed good for TDH3 and for the next three days
of Interhash - beautiful sunshine.
After a pleasant coach trip of about one hour, we arrived at the
Forest of Dean location near Symonds Yat in Herefordshire. We had
actually crossed the border into England and left the bilingual road
signs behind. From the coach parking area, we were directed to a
narrow path leading uphill to the Wye Knot Inn. We helped ourselves
to beverages from the back of a large van and milled around meeting
old friends and making new ones in a conveniently large open space
in front of the pub.
The pub balcony was useful in providing hash flashes with a birds’
eye view and for Imelda and the Hares, including Rodders,
Goldflinger and Carlos TST, a platform to address the assembled
hashers.
The start of the trail continued uphill and soon entered thick
woodland, which was what we expected in the Forest of Dean. We were
in woods for most of the trail, which included a beer stop just at
the right time for thirst quenching needed in the warm sunshine. At
one point the trail threaded through some limestone caves and then
emerged on to a magnificent viewpoint over the Wye Valley. In fact,
the trail fitted into a tract of woodland on high ground generally
bounded by a large loop of the River Wye, as was established by
checking the map later.
As the trail, dropped down you got the feeling that we were nearing
the end of the run. There was a long/short split. Some wily old
hashers took the long trail because they mistrusted a short trail
leading steeply uphill again. They came out ahead of some younger
ones who’d taken the short trail. Back to the valley and through the
fields leading to the lush meadow reserved for the circle. As usual,
beverages (including draught beer) and snacks were available before
the circle started.
The jollifications of the circle are best appreciated by viewing the
attached photos. After the circle we were treated to a superb buffet
lunch back at the Wye Knot Inn. We were all rewarded with a T-shirt
sporting the TDH3 motto, in Latin (as usual) and this time also in
Welsh!
Here is the English translation – We Think, Therefore We Drink.
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