Hashers,
No announcement for the Hash this week as it's Boat & BBQ Hash for pre-registered Hashers only. The boat is now fully booked to max capacity.
We will inform the registered of the meet time and location in due course.
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On on!
In the Spotlight - Horse (Frederick "Horse" Thomson)
In the Spotlight - Horse (Frederick "Horse" Thomson)
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By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
8 Feb 2022
There are many unattributed references to Horse on the internet, as many hash websites practice the old mantra of plagiarism is the most sincere form of flattery, but most accounts actually go back to work done by John Duncan in the 1970s, and Mike "Father' Lyons and Tim "Magic" Hughes in the 1980s. Many of the accounts came from those who knew him on the hash, prior to his final departure from Kuala Lumpur in 1951. Horse was a founding member of the "Hash House" Harriers. Hash House is emphasized, as at the time, it was just another Harrier club of the day in SE Asia (it would be another 24 years before the HHH would begin to become the worldwide phenomenon it is today).
If you search the WWW, you will find a multitude of listings for Horse Thompson, but Horse is officially listed in the Mother Hash Black Book as THOMSON (HORSE), no first name, and more specifically, no P in THOMSON. Some old accounts also make reference to the names HORSE, TORCH, and G, as early references to hash names, but that is also incorrect. These nicknames were just names they picked up amongst their mates from daily life (as best I can tell from copious hours of research, hash names originated in Jakarta in the mid-1970s).
Why "Horse" you may ask? That nickname originated in his boyhood school days, stated Ralph Wadsworth, (Honorary Secretary of the HHH in 1963, and Joint Master in 1964), and was due to him having what could best be described as a face with equine (long) features. Like most of the other founding members, Horse was a British expat working in SE Asia. In his professional life, Fredrick Thomson was a manager at Malayan telecommunications, which in the 1920s & 30s was telephone and telegraph.
Before arriving in Kuala Lumpur, Horse lived and worked in Johor Bahru, the capital of the state of Johor, Malaya (the name was changed to Malaysia on 16 Sep 1963). Johor Bahru is located approximately 350 Kms south east of Kuala Lumpur on the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia, just across the Strait of Johor between what was peninsular Malaya and Singapore, both of which were part of Malaya in the 1930s (Singapore did not gain its independence until 9 Aug 1965). Horse is quoted as stating, that he had run paper chases in Johor Bahru as far back as 1932. He had also run similar type events in Malacca (aprox 150 Kms south of KL) as part of the Springgit Harriers (this is where Gispert was said to have first run paperchase events). Horse also claimed to have run pre-HHH type events with another club in Taiping (aprox 250 Kms north of KL). They were all referred to as mixed (allowing women to run), and some even brought their dogs on trail. The runs were often on Sunday morning, and were followed by a curry tiffin lunch.
Horse was recorded as participating on the first run with the newly formed Hash House Harriers, and is listed as one of the first Joint Masters from 1938 (the founding date in 1938 has been disputed by Torch Bennett, as being in the summer of 1939) to 1940, and then again after the war in 1951 before his eventual departure from Kuala Lumpur.
Various accounts state that Horse was first allowed to leave Malaya before the outbreak of hostilities on the peninsula, and subsequently joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), who posted him to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Japan launched an assault on Hong Kong the same day (8 Dec 1941) that it began occupying Malaya. Horse was taken as a POW, but after a period of time managed to escape. Teaming up with other rogue forces, they were recaptured, and Horse was shot in the neck during the encounter. He was returned back to Hong Kong where he recuperated from his injuries, but it left his head with a slight lean. He was released after the war, and returned to KL to resume his civilian life. He also rejoined the hash in 1946, when Torch got things going again.
In 1951, Horse retired from his career in Telecommunications, and moved to the Philippines where he managed a sugar cane plantation for many years. Interestingly, he was said to have been fluent in Hokkien. Hokkein is the Chinese dialect which is native to Taiwan, and also spoken by the majority of Chinese in the Philippines, according to Wikipedia. Later in life, Horse occasionally turned up on various hash events, most notably at Interhashes in Sydney in 1984, and Pattaya in 1986.
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html
On on!
In the Spotlight - Paraguay
In the Spotlight – Paraguay
By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
24 Feb 2022
Paraguay is one of only 2 landlocked countries in South America (the other is Bolivia), and is bordered by Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the northwest, and Argentina to the southwest. Asunción is the capital, and is located on the south-western border near Argentina. The most common travel destinations outside of Asunción are the Iguazu Falls, which are located where the borders of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil intersect. These majestic falls are surrounded by the Iguazu National Park, and they are considered one of the new natural wonders of the world. There is also the World Heritage site of the Jesuit Mission that dates back to the early 17th century. Paraguay is also home to one of the world's most powerful, hydro-electric dams at Itaipu, which in partnership with Brazil can produce more electricity than 12 nuclear power plants.
Paraguay gained its independence from Spain in 1811, but according to WikiTravel, "Paraguay has had a very troubled history. Being one of the richest countries in the 1800's (and the only one in the Americas to have railway transportation at that time...before the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70). Paraguay, facing the allied forces of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory." This resulted in a century of what you could call, shall we say, women sharing the few men that remained, to (copulate) repopulate the nation. In current times, Paraguay's economy is primarily agricultural, and it is listed as one of the most economical countries to live in based on its very low cost of living.
Paraguay also has a history with the Hash House Harriers. There have been three hash clubs, all in the capital city of Asunción. The first Asunción H3 was founded in August 1992 by Jürgen "Old Rock" Ruder. It took a while to get his story, but I was able to track down Old Rock, who will be 82 years old next week. He does not do email, but was able to enlist my old Friend "Little Adonis" (current GM of the Hannover H3 in Germany), to get the following information for this article. Old Rock began his hashing life in Rangoon, Burma back in 1980, shortly after the second Rangoon H3 formed. Very much enjoying the hash, he took what he learned back to Germany with him, and founded the Hannover H3 in 1984. Fast forward nearly a decade, and Old Rock makes the first of three 3 trips to Paraguay (between 1992 and 1996) as an engineer for the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Raw Materials. Although he enjoyed his work, there was something missing. Connecting with some local embassy personnel (including the Marine Guards at the US Embassy), and along with a few of his colleagues, he founded the first Asunción H3 in August 1992. Old Rock stated that they ran their trails outside the city in the sprawling fields surrounding the capital. They consumed lots of beer in circle, while singing songs like Father Abraham, and could often be seen drinking out of their shoes. Departing for the first time in December 1992, Old Rock assured that the club was in good hands to keep it going for his eventual return in the summer of 1994, just in time to celebrate the 50th run. Saying farewell after his third and final visit in January 1996, the hash was still very active, continuing with their biweekly schedule, but without his leadership it appears to have faded out after his departure.
The second iteration of the Asunción H3 was founded by another old friend of mine, Steve 'Burnt Sox' Royster and his wife 7 Minutes. In conversation with Burnt Sox, he explained the club he founded like this . . . "Picture it: seven intrepid souls facing another weekend in landlocked Paraguay, left to themselves for entertainment, descended on the Botanical Gardens on July 22, 2001, with one common purpose - beer. Over the next 54 runs, the ASSuncion Hash House Harriers - later tamed to the Asunción H3 - would chase hares and beer all over the city, to quench our thirst and better our souls." This club lasted for about 2 years, until Burnt Sox and 7 Minutes departed. Little did he know, that it would be 18 years before another hash club would form in Paraguay.
The third iteration of the Asunción H3 was founded by Eric "Ban the Cock" Jost and Harma "Double Dutch Mountains" Eilander on 5 Dec 2021. They have both been avid hashers over the years, but after moving to Paraguay over a year ago, they felt something was missing, so a new hash club was in order. While chatting with Ban and DDM at Eurohash in Prague, he told me about his desire to start a hash club, but just needed a little push. So, I made plans to visit Paraguay to prod him along. Coordinating my visit, I dragged MaBouche over from Brazil, just in time to participate in the first trail of this new hash club. There was a modest turnout of 9, but several other local friends of the founders promised to join up on future runs. When Burnt Sox (founder of the previous AH3) learned a new hash club was forming, he happily exclaimed "7 Minutes [and I], the ASS H3's founders, are thrilled to see the pack taking to the streets and parks of Luque once again. We wish this third version of the ASS H3 much beer and many shitty trails. On-on!"
Many thanks to all the contributors (and Little Adonis for transcribing Old Rock's recollections) for the drafting of this bit of hash history. Checking in with the current Asunción H3, they are still going strong, running trail number 6 today. The pack continues to grow, as they explore the many interesting areas in and around the capital city of Paraguay. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, and will be looking forward to making another trip there soon.
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To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gotothehash/0b3601d82995%24c6bb76f0%24543264d0%24%40gmail.com.
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On on!
Sign up for the Boat and BBQ Hash - March 6th
Hashers,
If you's like to join us for the Boat and Bbq Hash this Sunday, please fill in the form now. Please do so asap as we are already at 45 of 60 spaces taken.
On on!
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