Tempe Triumph: The Pub That Saved the Day!

Run No: 2486

At: : Tempe Hotel Carpark

735 Prince’s Highway, Tempe

On Inn: Tempe Hotel

Hare: Chimney

RUN REPORT by Chimney

Although the pack was blissfully unaware of it, the scribe and the hare-raiser were actually both aware that the Tempe Hotel was the 3rd of 3 pubs in the same week that CHIMNEY had advised them his run would be setting out from.

The first, which both the walkers and runners trails passed  near by to, was the Riverview Hotel, who messed things up by insisting on a $50 per head non-refundable deposit, payable in advance, booked through a ‘group booking department, in order to guarantee a setting of 20: get tae f*ck!

The second, the Montague in Marrickville, was gonna be a bit too far away from the Cooks River to be able to offer any greenery or urban bush, or anywhere to enjoy a bucket post-run. Plus trains haven’t been running to the ‘ville for at least 18 months.

And so a third, ultimately very successful, option was found in the never-before-visited-by-the-Larrikins venerable old (but newly refurbished) Tempe Hotel, just a 5 minute walk up the Highway from the aforementioned price-gouging Riverview Hotel, who were delighted to welcome 25 or so hashers, had a lovely quiet pub garden (if one excludes jets regularly taking off or landing overhead!), a reasonable car park and bucket spot and were the answer to the hare’s prayers.

The runners  and walkers trails combined had taken 3 hours to set in the morning, and while it looked like the heavy dark clouds that were hanging over the pub at the ‘money shot’ spot, 200m from the end of the combined trails might spoil things by dumping rain on the copious chalk and gyprock markings laid around the suburb, fortunately things stayed dry, and infact the sun was shining when the pack of about 20-25 assembled for the 6.30 start..

Not having run or walked with the pack it’s hard for a hare to accurately describe any events, but a number of runners  who’d arrived by train were able to trace the arrows back to Tempe station for some twists and turns over and beneath the railway line, and beside the river in and around Kendrick Park, near Fatima Island, after which the walkers and runners trails merged to cross the highway and then work their way around 3 sides of the interesting and attractive Tempe Recreation Reserve, which forms a square shaped peninsula between the Cooks River on one side, the Alexandra Canal on the other, and the confluence of the two at the head of the peninsula.

It was after covering 3 sides of the peninsula/reserve that the W & R trails separated: two fiendishly long on-backs seemingly tricked a number of runners, including usual-walker BRENGUN, who regaled the hare at the bucket with some of the engineering marvels that had gone into the construction of 2 parallel mini ‘Coathanger’ bridges across the canal on the new Airport Drive, after which both trails headed for some wetland and urban bush, on the west and east sides of it, respectively, before meeting at aforementioned ’money shot’ “On-Bucket” spot, which was one of the features that cause run-reporter NEXT WEEK – (a welcome returnee for a while from the Sunshine Coast, along with former S2H4 GM ALL FOURS)-  to award the run an unexpected (and perhaps unprecedented?) Ten Out of Ten: said money shot has been submitted along with this report for publication! 

So, despite only BALLOON taking the anticipated 60 minutes, with many hashers -of both the R & W persuasion- pitching up at the bucket at the 40 minute mark, the run appears to have been deemed a success by one & all. Yay to that!

In lieu of RA Mongrel, who was apparently in Melbourne, GM FRANKLY stepped in as Master of Ceremonies, and Down Downs were awarded to CHIMNEY and NEXT WEEK; to CURTSEYING (for kamizaki avoidance of pedestrian lights to cross the busy highway, just before the end (.. dobbed in by BRENGUN!); and .. for some reason I wasn’t quite clear, some liquid-free ‘imaginary’ Down Downs were also awarded to, I think, GLITTEROO and her daughter Maggie, both of whom are returning home to Rochester, NY in Trumpistan at the weekend after enjoying an Antipodean sojourn entailing both hashing and Mardi Gras volunteering; and perhaps sundry others but alas no notes were taken by this temporary scribe.

Not sure how long or short the runs and walks were, but they took 15,000 steps to set and the hare is feeling every one of those steps today on Wednesday!

An alfresco setting for Dinner in the Garden was a definite success, with the Tuesday Chicken Schnitzel being popular, and I think it’s safe to say I might use this pub again, but next time take folks across the river to run around Wolli Creek and perhaps Turrella, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

All up, a top run & walk  (so I’m told), at the edge of, but happily still just inside, CODPIECE’s hashing compass, from a hash-friendly venue with some surprisingly interesting geography.

On On

Chimney