Phnom Penh Hash House Harriers

In the Spotlight – Czech Republic (Czechia)

In the Spotlight – Czech Republic (Czechia)
By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
27 Aug 2021

Located in Central Europe, the Czech Republic (a.k.a. Czechia since 2016) is a landlocked country, bordered by Germany to the north-west, Poland to the north-east, and Austria and Slovakia to the south.  According to the World Factbook, Czechia merged with Slovakia after World War I to become Czechoslovakia.  After several ruling parties failed, including annexation by Germany in World War II, Czechoslovakia fell behind the Iron Curtain of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).  After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party was "swept from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent [separation] into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia."

The first hash club to form in then Czechoslovakia, was the Prague H3 in 1984.  The founder was Dave 'Fantum' Lewis, and he was assisted by his wife Terri 'Shadow' Lewis, and Glen 'Hornblowes' Johnson.  Fantum and Shadow were international school teachers, and that afforded them the opportunity to live and work in many different locations around the world.  They were introduced to hashing in the late 70s while working in Indonesia, by Brian 'Clavdivs' O'Sullivan, the founder of the Rumbai H3 (founded 24 April 1978), in Sumatra, Indonesia. 

I was able to track down Fantum, and he told me that . . .  "We moved to Prague when hired to work at the International School of Prague [ISP].  We loved Prague but missed Hashing as it had become an important part of our lives.  By that time, we had attended Interhashes in Kuala Lumpur [1980] and Jakarta [1982]."  They wasted no time in getting a new hash clubs started in Prague, setting their first trail on 24 Oct 1984.  Those early trails were often prelayed, and ended at hashers homes.  Fantum also mentioned that "Glenn Johnson and his wife Karen were our neighbors and fellow staff members at ISP.  They were new to the concept of Hash but were instant converts." 

I was curious as to how difficult it may have been to start a hash behind the Iron Curtin, so when asked about it, Fantum told me that "Starting the Hash was relatively easy.  Due to restrictions of the time, only non-Czechs could join, but we had quite a number of foreigners who were eager for physical and social activity.  We did have one Czech, Eva Parun, PE teacher at ISP, who could join us because she had a foreign (New Zealand) passport."  The Prague H3 has been hampered due to COVID, and has been in hibernation for several months, but you can see more on their website.  [https://www.facebook.com/PragueHash]   

The next hash club to from was the Prague Once in a Blue Moon H3, on 25 Aug 2002.  Founded by Irena 'Bouncing Czech' Brichta, who added this new club while also hashing with the Prague H3, but unfortunately is no longer active.  More recently, the Brno H3 was founded by Damien 'Sloppy Stool' Smethurst on 16 February 2019, and is still active.  Sloppy was the chairman of the recent EUROHASH held in Prague in August 2021, where over 450 attendees gathered for some great hashing and enjoyment.  I found the countryside to be very much like Germany, with numerous trails throughout the forested areas, with rolling hills and amazing views that were open to access for running, hiking, and biking.

As a side note, Slovakia also has had one hash club, the Bratislava H3, that was founded by Matt 'Groin' Erickson on 12 Aug 1994.  Their runs in recent years have been sporadic, and often in conjunction with the Vindobona H3 out of Austria.  The last recorded trail I could find on their Facebook page was trail #342 on 9 September 2018.

For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html

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On on!

In the Spotlight – Azerbaijan

In the Spotlight – Azerbaijan
By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
11 Aug 2021

Part of joy of traveling to new countries, is not only to meet new friends and run the hash, but also the amazing things to see and do.  History has always fascinated me, and I have learned so much from my traveling experiences.  Just reading about things has no comparison to actually being there.  This trip was no exception, and there are many interesting aspects of Azerbaijan.  Located with the Caspian Sea to the east, Azerbaijan is bordered by Iran to the south, Armenia to the west, and Georgia and Russia to the north (There is also a small detached enclave to the west, that touches Turkey, and has been a flash point between Armenia and Azerbaijan).  The capital city is Baku, and one unique fact is that it's the lowest capital city in the world, residing an incredible 28 meters below sea level.  Azerbaijan is an oil rich country, and was the leading producer of petroleum in the early 20th century.  According to the encyclopedia Britannica, "Fine horses and caviar continue as some of the more distinctive traditional exports of the republic."  Annexed by the former Soviet Union in the early 20th century, Azerbaijan gained its independence on 30 August 1991.

As part of the Caucasus region, along with Armenia, Georgia, and southern Russia, Azerbaijan has been host to many regional hash events, primarily INTERCAUC (or INTERCOCK depending on who you talk to), rotating hosting duties every three years with Georgia and Armenia.  The first INTERCAUC was held in 2002, and continued steady for nearly 2 decades, with the last one being held in May 2019, with over 80 hashers from Qatar, Georgia, Norway, UAE, Singapore, Belgium, Italy and the UK, and was also the 1000th Running of the Baku H3.

The history of the Baku H3 is fuzzy at best, and after much research and talking to many local hashers, the best I could come up with is, that the Baku H3 was born out of a random group of people holding informal hash runs on a random basis in the summer of 1996, according to Robert 'Sir Snickers' Radley.  From that amalgamation, Sir Snickers (who came to Baku from the Accra H3 in Ghana) teamed up with Richard Price to officially form the first iteration of the Baku H3 around October 1996.  After 2 years of steady hashing, the hash eventually faded for about a year, until another group of nameless and faceless hashers started up the second iteration of the Baku H3.  Sir Snickers goes on to say, "I had very little to do with hash No. 2 as I was often working, though I did very occasionally run. Several of us left when the hash became a bit silly. and drew too much attention to itself at a time when running was 'NOT DONE' other than on The Boulevard. I was hauled into a police station when running on Nobel Prospect and given a long lecture which I pretended not to understand."  This second iteration lasted less than a year.  Finally, sometime in the summer of 2002, the third and current iteration of the Baku H3 was formed by Ben 'Sir Moonboots' Hodgson, assisted by his wife Phyllis 'Stoned Banshee' Lyon, and Suzie 'Teletubby' Cornell.  Teletubby was the central figure of the Baku H3 for nearly a decade, but has recently retired and returned to the US, while Sir Snickers still pops in from time to time for visits and to attend hashing events.  There were no records kept from the original Baku H3, so Moonboots randomly started this third Baku H3 on run number 100, and commenced from there.

On my recent visit to Baku, I enjoyed a blazing, and when I say blazing, I mean HOT, trail.  At the time of the start, it was 106 degrees Fahrenheit (42C), and by the end the temps had dropped nary a degree.  We had 10 hashers on trail, and the start was a bit of a mess.  The hares planned to set trail from one park in the city, but posted the location of another park.  As we stood waiting for the hares to arrive, highlighted by texting back and forth with the GM, saying "we're here, where are you?" and getting a response of "we're here, where are you?" . . . the hares finally realized their error, but it was the pack that paid the price.  The only solution was for the hares to extend trail start from their park, to the park we were in, thus adding an additional kilometer to the day's excursion (Did I mention it was 42C/106F degrees out?  Reportedly the hottest day of the year so far.)  All in all, the trail ended up being 11 Kms long, and while there was one actual drink stop at 9 Kms, the pack had to make an impromptu water stop well before that. 

Finally making our way to the end of this A to B trail, the pack wasted little time breaking open the beer cooler, and drowning our weary bones in several pints of the local piss.  A short but energetic circle commenced, the hares were appropriately punished for their efforts, and fun was had by all.  We then shuffled our way back into town to HOPS, the hash pub, and continued to rehydrate our dried-out livers.  It was a great day, in an equally amazing city, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.  I highly recommend Baku as a travel destination.  The food is good, the beer is cold, and the Baku H3 as a great trail running hash club.  If you do go, you can also join various hashers who gather for an informal 'Thirsty Thursday' run, and if you are really lucky, current Baku H3 GM 'Putin Pussy' or former GM 'Peanut Bladder' may also join you for a drink on the town. 

For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html


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On on!

Erections on 29th August

Hashers, see the message below from our illustrious GM, Smelly Codpiece.

Dear Fellow Hashers

Erections for the new committee will be made on the 29th of August 2021. We look forward to receiving new applications from anyone who would like to join the committee, and to hearing their ideas as to how the Phnom Penh Hash could be better operated.

Committee positions available are as follows:
   GM - Grand Master - currently Smelly Codpiece
   RA - Religious Adviser - currently Flaccido Domingo
   Hash Cash - self explanatory - currently Loan Shark
   Hash Fash - in charge of t-shirt designs, etc - currently Cheap Date
   Hash Stats - keeps a record of attendees, hares, etc - currently Sucking Fag
   Hash Flash - the Hash Photographer - currently Beaver Shot
   Hash IT - our tech wizard - currently IT Can't Paint
   Hare Raiser - tasked with making sure we have hares each week - currently Get It Done Up The Bum
   Hash Haberdashery - in charge of T-shirt and merchandise sales - currently Paparasa
   Hash Brew - in charge of beverage organisation - currently Um Coming
   Hash Bash - organises Hash Parties! - open position
   Hash Choir Master - tries to teach us new songs - open position
   Hash Scribe - writes a short piece summarising the week's hash - open position.

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On on!

In the Spotlight – Setting the Record Straight

In the Spotlight – Setting the Record Straight
By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
25 June 2021

Over the years, I have seen many historical references made about the founding and early days of the Hash House Harriers. John Duncan, Mike Lyons, and a few others drafted up accounts that circulated widely in the 1970s and 80s, and unfortunately still do right up to the present day. They were best effort assumptions made on the limited amount of information that these early historians had on hand. Fear not, even Mother Hash still gets it wrong on some facts.

In the 1980s, Tim 'Magic' Hughes undertook a massive effort of researching, and discovered better and more detailed information. Magic published the quintessential book on hashing titled "On-On!" 1938-1988, A Golden Jubilee. This book dispelled many of the earlier accounts that had been circulating. Continuing to update and research, he was the chief authority on the early history of the HHH up until his untimely passing in 1998.

Likewise, William 'Tumbling Bill' Panton collected and cataloged the existence of hash clubs all over the world for about 40 years, beginning in the 1970s. Assisted by a few tech savvy hashers, the whole listing of clubs has been placed online as the HHH Genealogy Project.

Other hash historians produced very informative publications, including ZiPpY, Flying Booger, and Amnesia, that continued to refine the information and publish it for the benefit of hashers worldwide. Shakesprick originally set up and maintained a website called Hashapedia, but is now repackaging all that collected history, and more, and publishes an excellent On On – A History Magazine of the Hash House Harriers. This magazine is dedicated to showcasing various accounts of history of club's actions in more recent times, primarily over the past 50 years, when hashing began to seriously spread out to each continent.

I have been reading all of these historical accounts over the past 4 decades, and have always been intrigued by the details. After retiring from the military, I started to get more serious about digging into all the documents I could find, and have spent the past decade reading, researching, and writing about the origins, as well as other details of hashing around the world. So, without further ado, I would like to dispel many of the false accounts of HHH history.

1. Gispert, and the other founders were British military officers posted to Kuala Lumpur. Another version is they were officer living in military barracks. – FALSE: Actually, they were British expats, working in Kuala Lumpur at the time. The only one that specifically had any military affiliation was Gispert, both he and 'Torch' Bennet worked together for Evatt & Co as accountants. Many of the founders did live in the club chambers, that were part of the Royal Selangor Club, but these were not military barracks. Gispert participated in weekly Monday evening drills as an officer in the Selangor Battalion of the Federated Malay States, but this was only a unit for volunteers.

2. Gispert was an Australian. – FALSE: This mistake was derived from the report that Gispert returned to KL from Australia when the Japanese invaded the Malay peninsula in
1941. While all of that is true, the fact is, Gispert was only on leave with his wife and his 4-year-old son, Simon. They lived at 28 Circular Road, after his wife and son moved to KL. Wife and sone had recently joined him from their home back in the UK. Prior to that, he lived in the Selangor Club Chambers. Evatt & Co paid a small stipend for family members, but his wife and son were unable to join him in KL due to company policy, restricting family members until the employee had worked abroad for at least 10 years. Gispert reach the 10-year mark sometime around 1940/41.

3. The Hash House Harriers, founded in 1938, was a totally new concept. – FALSE: There were actually several Harriers clubs in SE Asia in the 1920s and 30s, with reports of similar type paperchase and party reported. 'Horse' Bennett claimed that hash type activity had occurred with the Springgit, Malacca, and Johor Bahru Harrier clubs, as far back as 1932. There was even a Kuala Lumpur Harriers club that was popular in the 1920s and early 30s, and likely did as well.

4. The Bordighera H3, in Italy, was the second ever HHH club. – FALSE: This hoax persisted for over 20 years, before a series of events occurred, that brought its downfall. Reported as being founded in 1947, by former war prisoners that had served in SE Asia, and hashed before the war, the Bordighera H3 ran in the Italian Riviera for over a decade. Amnesia's very detailed analysis determined that none of the individuals mentioned ever existed, confirming this to be a major hash hoax perpetrated as a gag by Robert "Bwana" Walker. Bwana never admitted it, or refuted Amnesia's research, but has now unfortunately passed on. So, his secret has passed on with him.

5. Hong Kong hasher Phil Kirkland coined the term: "If you've half a mind to join the hash, that's all you'll need" in 1978. – FALSE: I have to admit, that even Magic got this one wrong. In his Golden Jubilee book, he cited an article in the Los Angeles Times, which obviously also got it wrong. I recalled Flying Booger mentioning something about this, so looked up his article, which refuted, but did not clear up the mystery. And neither will I, but what I do know is . . . While reviewing a stack of old hash books, I found that very statement on page 2 of the Melbourne H3 100th Run Magazine. That hash took place on 24 March 1974. There is no specific attribution, but is thrown out as if it were a common statement of the day. Now, if it was Phil Kirkland who was throwing that statement around in the early 1970s, it may have some credence, but as of this moment, the phrase will remain unattributed.

6. Monday is the traditional hash day. – FALSE: Originally, the hash met on Friday nights, as Gispert participated with the Federated Malay States Volunteers on Monday evenings. This may rub some the wrong way, but I am going make the statement that Mother Hash really ended in Dec 1941. Several accounts state that hashing resumed in 1946, founded by some of the earlier participants, primarily 'Torch' Bennett got things going again. Torch put in a claim for the lost hash mugs, a tin bath and two old bags and received a small sum. Run No. 1 was a trot around the race-course in August, 1946. It was not until after the rebirth club reached 1000 runs, on 12 March 1966, when they collectively decided to add the initial 117 runs from the original Hash House Harriers club.

7. The original 1938 charter of the Hash House Harriers. – FALSE: The original charter mentioned on many websites, was written in 1950, by Irish accountant, Frank D. "Don" Kennedy. Don was the On-sec for the Hash House Harriers at the time. According to the 'Black Book', Don did not become a member of the Hash until 1949, and according to Magic, the club registration process was all conducted after WWII.

The problem with writing an article like this, much like those mentioned above, is other new details being uncovered that refute or otherwise provide new details. None of this is an attempt to fault any of the early historians. This is simply an effort to set the record straight, with the best information on hand . . . but with the vast number of old websites still floating around on the internet, these false histories will live on for many more years. In time, some other hash historian may dig up new sources that refute what I have stated above, and I am all for that. On On.

Find attached a PDF version of this article, which includes links to the data that supports my arguments. 

For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html

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On on!