Run:- 2057, 29 May 2023
Location:- Ratburana, Wat Bang Phung
Hare:- Boobalube

16:30 hrs, 29 May, KC 'Boob-A-Lube' M, Ratburana, Wat Bang Peung

Penned at the request of She Who Must be Obeyed (not the creation of H. Rider Haggard, but of our erstwhile GM Codpiece – who seems to be MIA).

Always start with something irrelevant:
KIDS: we're bored
ME: Listen, your Grandparents, didn't even know where I Was from 1983-1988. Go find some sticks to play with.

Actually, I include this anecdote becoz whilst manning a beer stop at a recent unmentionable manly men’s Hash, I observed the local children. Not a mobile phone in sight.

Instead, they were kicking a football, throwing rocks at dogs, and jumping up and down on what was left of a wooden bridge, trying to make it collapse. And the nearby adults were content to watch. No nanny culture there.

OK. The pack of thirteen duly assembled at Wat Bang Peung, a Rama 3-era river merchant’s temple. It boasts an intriguing combination of Chinese grotesqueries set off by a collection of carnival side show booths. However, we were immediately reduced to twelve by Special Ed’s urgent departure to visit a gastroenterologist. Or did he know it was a 20-kilometre trail? But he was replaced by the much-more-comely Tom Yum Gung, who arrived pouring sweat from her 13-kilometre warm-up run from Suk Soi 16.

A quick chalk talk from the Hare who showed his artistic side by drawing an "X" and an "". The pack watched his artistry in awe, then on the signal, sprang into action. (Whatever happened to "taper off"?)

It was as usual Gringo and Always Cums Last leading the pack out. From the rear YT had the interesting view of them flitting back and forth, effortlessly solving checks and otherwise demonstrating their annoying fitness.

YT was able to handle about two checks with of this energetic nonsense, or maybe three. There was one check in the corner of a football pitch, near a new fence, where had the FRBs simply leapt over the fence, they would have discovered shreddie. But they would have missed the Glamper Coffee and Craft Beer tent, a must-see. (Must-taste.)

That’s a far as YT got before looking to shortcut the next ten klicks. A long stretch of grassy, soft surface beside a lake looked inviting. Maverick: "Don’t go - there’s no way out!" So I went, having been trained by KC to ignore such advice. (And, I vaguely recalled when recceing with KC many years ago that there was a way out.)

And there was an out, through someone’s living room. For the next half hour, YT jogged along canal paths, back alleys, and car parks full of cars that had abandoned all hope. I did come across Hash-Hash teaching a small child how to light up a toke, but quietly went back and out of sight. Best to avoid this sorry scene if I didn’t want to spend my remaining days in Klong Prem. With Hash-Hash.

And sharing Klong Prem with Tyrd Burgler, who surely will be caught and imprisoned for flouting standards of decency by running around on Holy Days in his skivvies. (See addendum.)

Eventually made it all the way to Wat Jaeng Rawn without seeing marks, or Joylide (Speaking of Marks), or Tyrd, or Spinning Dwarf, or the Tickler. Thought surely I’d hear the tap-tap-whack-whack-whack of the Tickler’s cane as he beat a stray dog to death.

But nothing, so unable to pretend I’d done the entire trail (like Rosie Ruiz in Boston) by slipping in with the returning pack, I gave up, walked back to Wat Bang Peung, and walked straight to KC at about 18:30. He said "Well done! The rest of the pack will be here in a few mins."

A "few mins"? No way Jose! SD did walk in, but the bobbing torches (a fascinating sight) only came in after dark and after one and a half hours. Fist-bumping, good run, well-marked, good checks, but ten+ km a tad long for a Monday, etc.

Khun Aae brought out the roast beef slices (with horseradish sauce), the chicken-stuffed baked potatoes with melted cheese; the sherry was warm, the beer was cold, and all was well with the world.

At this point, YT had to run to catch the 19:30 ferry to Wat Daan. On reaching the pier on the far side, YT was the only passenger, so the captain didn’t bother to open the gate and let down the ramp for only one passenger. Instead, as I crawled under the rail he held my beer, with his other hand he helped me jump the metre+ from the deck. I suppose that’s how our Cap’n Erik tested the gullibility of his crew when he docked his Panamax – but a jump from 20m.

So that’s end of the Right-Up. YT missed most of the trail, the circle, and the OOO. Pls s’cuse.

However, one thing that may not have been brought up in the circle. There is a high seawall across the road from Wat Bang Peung. Many, many years ago a doggie somehow lost his balance and fell (or was pushed) 3 or 4 metres to the slime and debris. The pack stood looking down over the wall at it as it struggled, whining pitifully.

KC stripped off his clothes, climbed down the shrubberies next to the wall, to rescue the doggie. Fireman’s carry back up. For years, whenever KC came to Wat Ban Peung, the grateful doggie would come snuffling up to him. But no more, since the Tickler beat the living crap out of it.

Anyway, this somewhat redeems KC for what he did last Sunday, trashing the doggie bed YT had intended to bring home as a comfort to my neighbour’s poor doggie who was wasting away with acute hepatitis. (Cue the "You have a cute hepatitis" joke.)

Addendum – The Holy Day.

The 29th was Whit Monday, or Pentecost Monday, a Christian holiday. It is the day after Pentecost, also known as Whit Sunday or Whitsunday, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament of the Bible.

What Do People (Other than Hashers) Do?

There are a number of customs associated with Whit Monday. Cheese rolling and throwing competitions are held in some parts of England. In other parts of the country, Whit walks, which are parades led by local brass bands, clergy, dignitaries and local organizations, are held. The walks are often concluded by various activities that include competitions, dancing and food. (Scribe’s note: If the Hare had been on the ball, he could have organized a cheese rolling and throwing competition.)

In the United States some churches organize Whit Monday prayer rallies, which include prayers and street marches. In France it is a holiday that is respected by many citizens. In 2005 millions of workers stayed at home during Whit Monday, despite the government's cancellation of the holiday, causing a halt in public transport and the closure of many municipal offices. The French government recently reinstated Whit Monday as a public holiday, while retaining a more flexible Day of Solidarity. (Scribe’s note: How typical - prayers in the US, strikes in France. Drinks in Pennsylvania Dutch country?)

Public Life

Whit Monday is a public holiday in some places around the world, including countries in Europe such as Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway. Whit Monday is not a federal holiday in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Background

Christian Pentecost commemorates the Holy Spirit’s visit to the apostles who received the "gift of tongues" on the 50th day after Easter. It also marks the birth of the Christian Church. Although it is not certain when Pentecost was first observed by Christians, it may have been early as the first century. Pentecost occurs roughly seven weeks after Easter Sunday, or 50 days after Easter, including Easter Day. The Easter date depends on the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox. Like Pentecost, Whit Monday is movable because it is determined by the Easter date.

Whit Monday used to be one of the major annual holidays in Pennsylvania Dutch country in the United States. From around 1835 to just after the Civil War, Whit Monday was referred to as the "Dutch Fourth of July" in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where people came to eat, drink and be entertained. Whit Monday was once a public holiday in Ireland and was a bank holiday in the United Kingdom until 1967, when it was formally replaced by a fixed spring holiday on the last Monday in May in 1971.

In some Orthodox churches, Whit Monday is observed after the date set by the western churches. This is because some Orthodox churches still observe holidays according to the Julian calendar, which preceded the Gregorian calendar adopted by many western churches.

Symbols

Whit Monday gets its English name from Whit Sunday, or Whitsunday, which referred to the white garments worn on Pentecost by the newly baptized. The symbols of Pentecost are those of the Holy Spirit and include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove.