Some folks never learn.  If I were an athlete I would stretch but as a running enthusiast I skip it to my detriment.  This time, as happens every 1-1½ years, I’ve got pressure on my Sciatic nerve causing continuous pain down my leg and muscle spasms in my lower back.  I have prescribed beer, codeine [...]

The Botley Road Kebab Stand is known for its fine chicken kebabs and decent falafel, but I fancied a bit of shoarma so got a doner meat and chips at the end of my run.  This chilli sauce was grand, the salad ( I just had tomatoes, cabbage and chillis) was fresh, the doner light [...]

I don’t have a hashing problem, I can quit anytime.  Last night I went to the start and didn’t hash, so get off my back. The Oxford Hash was running trail from Oxford Brookes University and I had never been in a campus bar there so jumped on the opportunity.  Two ales available and the [...]

This is a pretty standard Greene King franchise pub, and by franchise I mean it looks indistinguishable from any other pub of it’s sort.  Pity, as the structure is really nice and the staff attentive.  But, they also appear to have firmly corporate training and the decor screams that it was picked from a very [...]

The Longwall is a bog standard Beefeater pub, attached to a Premier Inn (sort of the Travelodge of Britain).  That said, it is cheap and if not cozy it is comfy.  I got a Carling because I was thirsty 3 miles into a 6 mile run in the ice and snow, because they had no [...]

The Library is usually closed when I find myself on Cowley Road but the Oxford Hash was celebrating Gispert’s Day (70 years since he was killed in the Battle of Singapore) by starting the evening’s trail there and the confluence of so many good events was too much to resist; also, I had a late day [...]

I was a little early for the hash so I decided to end my first run of the evening with a little food.  The Bodrum had kebabs on the menu but I really wish I had got the fish…the doner was gristly and chewy but the chips were a delight–crisp with a fluffy center.  The [...]

At Gloucester Green adjacent to the bus station there is the Old School, more an overpriced Chinese restaurant than pub but worth a visit to explore the architecture (don’t worry about disturbing the diners, there’s never anyone in there).

Pubs were closing rapidly in Jericho this time last year but the Bookbinders is back in business and the Radcliffe Arms is now the Rickety Press.  There was nothing wrong with the Rad, but the Rickety Press has a bit more charm, more comfortable seating, and Arkell’s beer…they even have my beloved Pilsner on tap, [...]

Pre-Christmas lunch with hashers has become a regular event the last 5 or 6 Christmases and this year a group from Oxford met up at Far From the Madding Crowd, which was nice since so many of them were not going to the hash tonight.  Unlike most previous episodes, I was still able to do [...]