In good heart

What a cracking meet. Wonderful atmosphere with a good crowd of supporters and a good number mounted. What makes this so? Super hosts, a glass or two and super sausage rolls. Our hosts must have been up since silly o'clock rolling pastry!!! There is something about a welcome that makes a meet and once again the EKHwWS benefitted from a tremendous  welcome - thank you "K"s.

Despite the hardship of dragging ourselves away hounds were soon laid on to find the first trail and some super music followed. A great day thanks, once again to super hosts, great landowners and the fact that we remained dry!!

The Stern

• Who was reminded of their bitternlessness?
• Hormonal terrier - ring any bells?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

Beyond wet!

It was blowing a hooley and raining, raining, raining but despite this our hosts provided a splendid meet - thank you. With all four Masters out and mounted they set off for a day in the forestry. Unfortunately other duties called your correspondent away.

Photographs

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These and a few more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

Oops

The boys keeping dry

A little moist

A much milder day with no frost and the welcome at the meet could not have been warmer: a huge "thank you" to our hosts. Tray after tray of delicious food and generous drinks were brought out with military precision by a very distinguished squad.

Today in particular we owe a big thank you to Shoot Captains and Gamekeepers for allowing us through with out trails, hounds and horses. The main shooting season may nearly be over but there is still  just over a week to go for most game-birds and keepers will be busy making sure that they are able to provide good sport until the very end - perhaps especially for the Beaters' Days that tend to be focussed in these last days. It is always good to celebrate co-operation between country sports.

The Stern

• Of whom was it said that he "is never knowingly under-drunk"?
• From the same lips "here come the serious folk" was aimed at which supporter?
• Who, as the field moved away, said to one of the photographers, "nice picture of bottoms" and who followed it up with "well there are some nice bottoms"?
• Who determined that as it was their birthday they were entitled to wear a somewhat non-regulation pom-pom?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

 

  

A Beautiful Frosty Morning

What a joy! Bright sun, good company and a pack of hounds - what could be better on a January morning? 

An ad hoc meet, but generous to a fault (thank you) was followed by a day watching hounds trying to make the most of elusive trails. On the bookshelves near where this is being written there used to be two books, both about the nature of scent and hounds: one written in the last century and one in the century before. Both set out to be informative and authoritative and both concluded that there are no absolutes when it comes to ideal conditions. It is, in no small part, that uncertainty which makes watching hounds work endlessly fascinating.

The Stern

How had a cucumber amused some ailurophobics earlier in the morning? 

While some now ride past the cameras with rictus, who has taken to poking out their tongue?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

Too wet for trails so - we go to the beach!

The EKHwWS were not alone in taking advantage of the beach today. Well done "J" organising thgis jolly.

The Stern

Who arrived first - albeit not at the meet?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

A Jaunt Around the Kentish Countryside

The day was bound to come - this was the day (and probably not the only one).

Readers should never become bored by the repeated eulogising of our farmers and landowners - they are cracking folk who have allowed us over their land despite the softness of the ground. To have missed just one day so far this season is remarkable but we knew that the point would come when the ground just wouldn't take a mounted field as well as hunt staff.

So it was that a good sized field met in a car park, unboxed and set off using bridleways and roads in the glorious winter sunshine. The added attraction of a pub at the halfway point even drew a couple of foot-followers and there everyone enjoyed a piping hot cocoa, coffee or tea - thank you "M". Well yes one or two enjoyed something with an alternative way of warming the cockles.

A huge thank you to the subscribers who organised this jolly - brilliant and all the more so for taking some of the weight from the Masters who spend so much time opening country for our trail-hunting days. It was good to see three of them out without a care.

The Stern

Who once became separated from the field in this area and could not recall the way home? (In fact they put the reins across their horse's neck and the clever chap took them home.
Which afternoon route-finder left the pub having chosen the non-cocoa alternative and an empty saddle flask?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

What a Cracking Meet!

There are a good number of country pubs that stand out, many that have closed and then there are the five star pubs. It was at on elf those we met this morning. As ever it was good to see some new faces at the meet even if some were a little obscured by their cameras.

However it was sad to see some malinformed musicians who had been persuaded that this was something that deserved their well-intentioned attention. Oh the power of deception for some political end.

A good sized field enjoyed Jerry-sized stirrup cups before setting off in search of the elusive trails.

Hounds are beginning to work together thanks to the huge effort pot "S" and his family bit anyone who is impatient needs to understand that the process of building a Pack rather than a pack is not an overnight job!

The Stern

• The hunt has been contacted by the producers of Big Brother asking for volunteers. Who is your suggestion?

Photographs

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These and many more may be found at The Gather's new webpage: HERE

The Best Way to Start a New Year

At last: a morning that felt like a hunting morning - white frost, sun in the sky and an always well supported meet ahead.

A small group of protestors had gathered and the leader of Ramsgate Vegans spent his morning proclaiming his veganess and asserting that the horses and hounds were slaves. This does seem to your correspondent to be somewhat insulting to the tens of thousands of human beings who died in chains and their own filth while being forcibly transported to the sugar plantations. As a chap with a dachshund in his arms said after listening to the rant yet again, "Meet my slave." The only possible response to this was, "Goodness, a dachshund that talks." The dog's slave smiled knowingly.

While several of the protestors were vociferous in their dislike of those of us who hunt there was at least one who took himself away from the melée and stood, politely holding his poster, happy to engage in conversation - he was there because his conscience said that he should stand up and be counted. He did not rant or rave, he eschewed the bad language used by either side, made no attempt to hinder proceedings - was just there to quietly proclaim his position on the issue. We fell into conversation about music, made no attempt to "convert" each other and parted without rancour or bad feeling on either part. A quiet man of principle - tips cap.

More than 30 mounted left the High Street to a huge cheer of support and as many, if not more on foot, joined them at the first covert where hounds were cast to find the line.

It is a glorious sight, thirty and more mounted crossing the country. Perhaps at the first fence some of the jumping was not quite so glorious but with just one joining the Tumblers' Club before getting up with a broad smile and re-mounting, no harm was done.

Photographs

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