In the
beginning........ was the hair on the palms; the desire to run
semi-naked through the country under the light of the silvery full moon;
the deep thirst that can only quenched by several pints of 5% real ale.
By the time Alan Drew was eight his parents realized he wasn't going to
change.
As Alan
grew up he fell in with more and more questionable company. Eventually
he found himself hanging out with a group called the Essex Hash House
Harriers. Their taste for beer and running made him feel almost completely
at home, but still something was missing from his life. 1988 saw Alan,
along with Willie Cum, hashing through the wilds of Colorado. What they
found completely blew their minds. Full moon running, black T shirts,
live hares, songs, fun, friendship, spontaneity. Alan had found his spiritual
nirvana
On
returning home Alan found that the ESSEX HHH might have heard of all these
words but weren't really sure where they went in a sentence. It was time
to move on. In 1989, answering an ad in a local rag, Alan met up with
Ringpiece to discuss creating a breakaway group. After kicking around
a few non-starters Alan outlined what he had found in USA, and how it
could be adapted to work in England. Monthly runs under the moon, different
location to bring in people from other hashes etc. "You are such a smartarse!"
said Ringpiece " How about calling ourselves the First U.K. Full Moon
hash.........FUK fm?" From one conversation came the foundations of FUK as we know it and a
new name for Alan.
The
inaugural run was set for the full moon in February 1990 but, as is the
way of things, had to be postponed to the following month. Life ain't always easy.....and on March 10 (the big day)Smartarse's wife gave birth
to their second child. Ever the expert of multi-tasking Smartarse 'trimmed'
the evening visit to the hospital to indecent shortness before dashing
out, stopping only to change costume in a phone box..(whoops, that's another
super-hero)....to join 15 other like minded hashers at the birth of his
other 'child'. The FUKFM had arrived. Since that wonderful day a growing
band of enthusiasts will gather in a pub car park - generally somewhere
in North London, Herts or Essex - under the light of the silvery, ready
to drink, run, drink more and generally enjoy life.