Sub 60
Hash House Harriers
HOW WE STARTED
Dave Harvey Beadnell-Smith, initially from Cheltenham & Cotswold H3, moved down to Weymouth and was a founder member of Hardy’s’ Hash House Harriers (H4) in 1988. H4 ran on Sundays which did not suit his newly found sailing interests. However, H4 were happy with Sundays for their runs so Harvey formed another HHH to run on Mondays and named it the Sub-60 HHH. “Sub-60” meant that the run had to be completed in less than 60 minutes.
The code of the Sub-60 H3 established by Harvey was to keep the hash informal. There was no Mismanagement as such and after each hash a hare would be nominated to set the next run. Communication was “word of mouth”. Any social events etc would occur if and when the situation arose. The subs were set at 50p per run and they were to cover the traditional “Down Downs” for sinners, miscreants etc.
Some of the early protagonists. (Back L Pathfinder, 4th fr L, Ballcock, Wally & Sooty, front L Menagerie, Doggy, Rosie, frt R Harvey)
The first Sub60 H3 was held on Monday, 4th June 1990 from the Clifton Inn, Portland.
Hares: Harvey and Harry the Knob Handsford. Hounds: Marcus Hairy Darler, Dave Megabyte Stokes and Dave Ballcock Myers.
By the 4th week, at the Mason’s Arms, word had got round about the Sub-60 H3. This was the first week that the well known Kenny Doggy Pryor from the Hardy’s H3 as well as Harriettes appeared on the scene (was there a connection?).
Hares: Dave Ballcock Myers & James Sooty Stockley. Hounds: Harvey, Doggy, Tim Shepherd, Steve Rolls, Rob White, Mick Jolliffe, Gary Rambo Robinson, Dave Megabyte Stokes, Simon Plunkett, Paul Wally Watton , Harriettes:Theresa, Jodi Stokes, Sharon Spannerarse Bush, Saffron Hitchins and Julie The Injector Cox. Ballcock, Wally & Sooty.
Recognition came on the 13th run (24/08/90) which was jointly held with the Dorset Hospitality H3 from the Railway Inn, Wareham.
The 25th run was celebrated with The Ken Pryor Granby Assessment Run on November 5th 1990.
This was an important milestone in the history of events because amongst the many virgins were Alex Menagerie Bardswell, Andy Rover Rosewell, Marianne Sprout Houston, Pauline Gravelrash, Dave Commander & Sam FOT Squibb, Mark Abo Birkill. These Hashers have continued to be the mainstay of the Sub-60 to this day. Bananaman & Angus
RECORDS LOST!
After the 181st Hash, 18/10/93 and up to April 1996, the Sub-60 H3 records went AWOL! Ironically, the 181st hash was run from Weymouth Police Social Club. Hare: Mark B’Stard Dent; Hounds: Jason Angus Mc Angus, Bananaman, Pathfinder, Steve BFG Bucke, Sprout, Hooker, Doggy, Mark Calculator Kid Davey, Nigel Joker Jelfs and Abo.
WHERE ARE THOSE MISSING RECORDS?
Up to the 181st run the records were well kept. For example: Harvey 147 runs; Rambo 102; Doggy 100+ and so on.
During this period of obscurity, the hash apparently continued with regular runs with a mostly younger group of hashers turning out including Steve BFG Bucke, Mark B’Stard Dent, Paul Saboteur Dent, Bananaman , Sean Sheepshagger Barlow as well as the hard core, including Doggy, Sprout, Menagerie, Kipper, Gravelrash and Welly W**r (formerly Commander).
Numbers were never very high at this point and after a particularly weak period, some of the more seasoned hashers decided that there should be a revival of the Sub-60H3.
THE SUB-60 H3 REVISITED
The “revisit” run was from The Spa on 22nd April 1996 when the Sub-60 H3 meeting night was changed from Mondays to alternative Thursday evenings.
Hare: BFG. Hounds: Doggy, Sprout, Kipper, James Syk Chalmers , Dave Mary Poppins Wills, Calculator Kid, Angus Mc Angus and Bananaman.
Hash log: “The revisit was typical, pissing down with rain, cold and very dark. An extremely wet looking hare was waiting to greet the hounds. The On On was tricky – both by the numbers of false trails and slippery tracks. Everyone was wet, so, so wet! Two mile copse was deep in shiggy, but more was to come. There were two ditches to cross. Mad James Syk Chalmers loves to show us his acrobatics! With one tremendous leap, he landed right into the middle of the first stinking ditch, completely disappearing then reappearing covered in mud and rubbish. What he didn’t know was that this first ditch was 2 feet of water over 2 feet of dubious looking mud. In the process, he lost a shoe. He was persuaded to re-enact his leap so that he could find his shoe. He and Doggy practiced their diving skills to find it without success. Sprout was whinging because she was cold. C. Kid , Angus and Kipper swam across the 2nd ditch which was very deep. Bananaman & Mary Poppins wimped out. Ohh! We were met at the On Inn by Lurch looking really pleased that he arrived too late to hash!
Down down for shoeless Syk.
NEW DIRECTION
In 1997, it was decided that the Sub-60 needed more direction or it would not survive, especially as communications were becoming electronic! Pauline Gravelrash Squibb became the “official” GM in 1997.
She held this post until December 2001 until Dave Kipper Bucke was formally elected GM on 13th December 2001.
The hash trails around the Weymouth/Dorchester areas have been criss-crossed many times in all kinds of weathers. We have visited most of the drinking establishments in and around the Weymouth and Dorchester area. At most of them we have been made welcome but there are a few that we don’t frequent anymore! On our runs we have disturbed courting couples in cars, been mistaken for terrorists and amazed other patrons of pubs when we have arrived after a run soaking wet or covered in snow.
There have been Christmas parties often held at Chez Gravelrash and Welly W**r, or Café India or some other dubious hostelry, but wherever, they have been brilliant. The risqué drinking games organised by Doggy have been hilarious. How we ever got home from those occasions is a miracle! Some didn’t! Rumours went around that Kipper and his dog, Badger, spent the night in a gorse bush in Curtis’ field. There have been beach barbecues with sizzling, freshly caught mackerel on balmy summer nights (well, sometimes it had been blowing a hooley and there have not been any mackerel!).
Many hashers from the mid 1990s’ have remained loyal to the Sub-60,turning out even now in 2009. The success is due to the hash being “low key”, with a friendly crowd and lots of banter on the runs, and occasional whingeing from Sprout!
2011
Two major events happened this year. The first was to set one of the runs at Nash Hash 2011.
GM Dave “Kipper” Bucke, his wife Gilly “Willy”, Kenny “Doggy” Pryor his wife Marianne “Sprout” and Google Earth (Doggy and Sprout live between France and Spain), planned an A – B trail through some of Dorset’s finest forest and heath. In fact it proved to be so popular that over 80 hashers chose this hash!
The second event related to the GM, “Kipper” Bucke.
Kipper decided that 10 years was a long time to be GM and the prestigious post should be passed onto a hasher who was younger, fitter and of course, better at drinking than him. Sub-60 hashers with these criteria are rare. Nevertheless, there was one candidate who just about passed the test (he’s not as handsome) and he is Simon “Bookends” Dunning.
A handing over ceremony (well a party) took place on 29th September at the GM’s house. A lot of beer was drunk, food eaten, there was even a monologue from Kipper followed by many DD’s before Bookend was “elected” GM.
The hash presented Kipper with a clock made from an old beer bottle and he was made an Honorary (Honorable) member of the hash.
The Rules of the Sub 60 Hash House Harriers can be found here an must be memorised for randoms tests at the GM's discretion
The Sub 60 Hash House Harriers Mismanagement past and present can be found here