Wednesday, December 28, 2011

RUN NO. 2262 - SPG 378 SG AKAR - 27DEC11

Glamour relaxing after having done a 4 hour hash!

JM Magic with Cheryl introducing first time guest Karli
Looking for a replacement for this lost bottle in the jungle.
Cheryl explaining her boob roll down the hill.
Cheryl showing off her bottom.
Glamours shoes and walking sticks.

RUN NO. 2262
DATE: 27 DEC 2011
SITE: SPG 378 JLN SUBOK, SG AKAR
HARES: GI Jane/Gung Ho

As Jane said on Tuesday night, ‘there is never a dull moment in Brunei’. I think we should qualify that by adding ‘at the Ladies Hash’!

The evening started out without incident as a small gathering of hens went off into the jungle to the sound of the horn. As I didn’t have my usual walking companions, Kym very kindly said she would stay with me. I am more of a ‘crawly talky’ rather than a ‘walky talky’ these days!

After about 30 minutes we caught up with Glamour and rather than hold up the ladies I was with I stayed behind to keep Glamour company.

We got on well to begin with but as the evening wore on and it got dark we got slower and slower. Fortunately we were well equipped with mobile phones, plenty water and torches. Up on the ridge we keep up a steady pace but as the paper lead us down again onto muddy trails we slipped and slid down to the bottom. I even managed a spectacular ‘boob-ski’ at one point. (Beautiful bruises this morning, one in the shape of Africa, the other quite a good profile of George Clooney!)

We crossed another stream, crawled over a log and then came to a horrendously muddy hill. I did try to haul myself up it but decided it would be too difficult to propel Glamour to the top. That is when I phoned Heather and asked for help.

GIJane, Marcella and Fiona (Gung Ho) came to the rescue. Jane took us back a little bit on the trail to meet up with the ridge, thus avoiding the muddy mountain. Then after a short while we heard the welcome chatter of the rest of the hens.
Thank you girls for coming back into the jungle to get us, we could not possibly have done it without you.

The on-on was conducted by MAGIC (Jan)standing up and me sitting down! It was a pretty short affair; the hens were thanked for the run followed by splendid food, then KARLI was introduced as a guest. Only one announcement, from me, about the forthcoming Burns Supper (on the 26th January at Serasa Yacht Club – write this immediately in your new diary!)

No hashit given.

All in all just another night at the Ladies Hash!
Next week’s run needs another recce, so details of difficulty, length. etc will be announced before the horn.


NEXT RUN: DIPLO - HOGMANAY (A Scottish New Year's Eve celebration) wear any bits of tartan if you have
HARES: Cheryl/Alison/Smurf/Possum

Sunday, December 25, 2011

RUN NO. 2261 - 20 DEC 2011 - TASEK LAMA

RUN NO. 2261
DATE: 20 DECEMBER 2011
SITE: TASEK LAMA - XMAS RUN
HARES: NEVER WRONG/HEULWEN
FRONT HORN: RYVITA BACK HORN: JENNI OF THE BLOCK


As we arrived at Jalan Teraja by the Radisson Hotel, jockeying for car park spaces were observed with a few local walkers watching with curiousity.

A couple of hens had gone to the wrong end of Tasek Lama but soon were reunited with the coup before the horn sounded and we all headed up Bukit Salelah. It was quite a different scenario as we passed many locals or were passed which was a change from only a group of ladies sauntering along the trek. As the walkie talkies got to the radio mast we were greeted by some macaques with their oranged coloured babies. (upon research it appears it was the natural colour of their babies as some of us were intrigued by the colour).

Extract from Jungle Drum:
"PLENTY OF MONKEYS IN BRUNEI.
To those of us driving to work or out on the river, monkeys are a familiar part of the Brunei Darussalam landscape. Borneo has two distinct groups of monkeys - on the one hand leaf monkeys and the peculiar proboscis monkey, and on the other hand, macaques. Leaf monkeys spend all of their time in trees, whereas macaques can sometimes be seen on the ground.

The long-tailed macaque ( Macaca fascicularis) is the monkey most commonly spotted on nature hikes or drives to the office. Its call, krra krra, gives the monkey its Malay name, kera. The long-tailed macaque is also called crab-eating macaque because it is common in coastal forests including mangrove and beach, and along rivers where it can easily catch and eat crabs, frogs, or insects. But macaques love other foods as well such as ripe fruit. Macaques therefore live sometimes close to humans where they soon lose their shyness and can become arrogant and even aggressive.

The leaf monkeys that can be seen most easily in Brunei are the silvered langurs. They tend to be most well-behaved, being naturally shy, not inquisitive and never showing aggression, certainly attributes for which the macaques are not noted. They are entirely dark grey and have a distinct crest of hairs on the top of their heads and around their faces, giving them a pretty appearance. Their infants have a surprising bright orange colour.

Silvered langurs live in small groups of five or six and are mainly found in coastal forests, where they feed on leaves, shoots, and fruits. They are also seen in riverine and swamp forests. They appear to co-exist well with the macaque and have been seen feeding on the same branch on a number of occasions. They appear to be more confident in groups, and are less likely to leave their feeding area to 'escape' the intrepid observer.

The silvered langur could, at least until the end of the 1992, be regularly seen close to Panaga, in the swamp forest to the rear of the G4/5 housing area. At present, we have no confirmation of their presence there.

Both the leaf monkeys and the macaques look quite sizeable with a head and body length of up to 60 cm for the macaques and up to 75 cm for the leaf monkeys. They are very light in weight, though, even the taller males rarely exceed 7 kilograms.

© Panaga Natural History Society (PNHS)"

We plodded along (walkie talkes) as I am sure the front runners ran! the familiar trails and at the top went down left and through a part of Tasek Lama not usually used by many. The steps were very corroded and luckily although we have had lots of rain previously, the evening was fine and the trails not too slippery. We caught up with Glamour who actually finished the run. I stayed with Glamour till we got to the tarmac and headed for home. The park was very busy with walkers and families enjoying the facilities. Never Wrong was at the start of the run checking out the sign-in sheet. Four were still in but they were soon out by 6.45 pm, including Tina who had not done her first complete run sinice her knee injury April last (2009).

We then all headed towards Never Wrong's place for the shout up and everyone was dressed for the occasion, looking very relaxed by the pool. A lovely punch was served and JM Jan started the shoutup welcoming Ryvita's mum who is visiting from Sweden and will be in Brunei till February. No hashit was given although the pool was most inviting for a group hashit! Soon Secret Santa arrived and Readymix was the first to sit on santa's knee - strangely no one else sat on Santa's knee and gifts were dished out for all. Dinner of roast turkey with all the trimmings and yummy desserts was served with a few carols being sung by a small group of boisterous hashers, The evening soon concluded before the rain arrived. Thank you Possum for the xmas coolers! and Thank you Never Wrong & Heulwen for being great hostesses. Until next year, keep safe - on on

NEXT RUN: SPG 378 SUBOK, KG SALAMBIGAR - OPP RUBBISH TIP
HARES: GI Jane/Gung Ho

Saturday, December 17, 2011

RUN NO. 2260 - 13DEC2011- LUCKY GARDENS

RUN NO. 2260
DATE: 13 DEC 2011
SITE: LUCKY GARDENS
HARES: Peahen/Eastern Promise
FRONT HORN: Hash Hound BACK HORN: G I Jane

Tune: O little town of Bethlehem

Oh Lucky Gardens was the site
Where eager hens stood by,
To venture on another hash
Adrenalin was high.
Then in the distance calleth
The ever beeping horn,
The hopes and fears
Of a truly great run
Were met right here tonight!

Tune: Jingle Bells

Dashing through the mud
Squelching as we sway
Scrambling up the hill
Chatting all the way! ( that's probably why I have no idea who found the checks, sorry!)
Crossing over streams
Keeping spirits bright
Oh what fun to slip and slide
On the paper trail tonight!

Jungle belles, jungle smells ( or that could be me!)
Jungle all the way
Oh what fun it's been to hash
With my fellow hens today!

Then it was time to gather for the shout up. JM thanked the hares Eastern Promise and Peahen for a picturesque run. She also thanked front horn (Hash-hound) and back horn (GI Jane) who had apparently both volunteered for the task.

Two first time guests were welcomed, Kathryn's mum and Satu Lagi's sister in law. This was followed by great jokes from Possum and Dizzy. There were no announcements this week. No hash shit again either as apparently it's still missing! However JM assured everyone that some members have very long memories and there would be a mass hash shit in the New Year! Finally, many thanks to the hares for the delicious rotis and vegetable curry.

NEXT RUN: TASEK LAMA - From Bukit Salelah (Next to Radisson) Xmas run
HARES: Never Wrong/Heulwen - Dont forget present for Secret Santa

Friday, December 09, 2011

RUN NO. 2259 RIMBA - 6DEC2011

RUN NO. 2259
DATE: 6 DEC 2011
SITE: RIMBA
HARES: Ryvita/Melissa/Hash Hound
FRONT HORN: Mrs Pingu BACK HORN: G I Jane

It was a clear day, no sign of rain, unlike a week ago, when it was raining cats and dogs!!
When I arrived at the former hash site near the Rimba compound (we hadn’t run there in a while), a few cars were parked there, all wondering where the run was. Luckily someone headed further down the road and turned back to inform us.

Before we headed off we were informed that it is a 5 km run. At 5.15 pm sharp, all of us followed the front horn along the road, back to the compound and turned left just before the entrance. We followed the paper all along the fence, a bit up, down, through some rubble, some mud, saw the nearly finished housing project (this had been abandoned for a long time; so good to see it made up) until we finally arrived at the entrance to the jungle trail. Not far along, the first check was called and everyone headed in different directions to try and find the on – paper. It took a while until someone called, in the end it was a back – check.

Further we went through different vegetation, some areas with ferns, some with shrubs, a few ups and down, but not too strenuous. Second check was a back - check again, found by Readymix, I assume, as she headed off in that direction. Thereafter I lost track of any other checks. I still remember plenty of trips on the trail, some thorns (not too many), some logs and trees blocking the path. We came out after 50 minutes and only ran appr.
3 km, but had a good workout.

It took a while until everyone was ready for the shout-up; also it was getting quite dark. The hares would get the usual down-down. We had one new guest from the Czech Republic, who got a down – down, too and one new member was confirmed.

It was Domestic Goddess 64th Birthday; Congratulations, you really have done well!!!!
Some jokes were shared before our JM brought up the hashit issue. Oh no, it’s missing, so who ever was a nominee has been lucky this time around. But for sure, it’s not been forgotten.
Our thanks to the hares for the delicious treats, the baked potatoes and condiments were really tasty.

NEXT RUN: Lucky Gardens
HARES: Peahen/Eastern Promise