In the Spotlight - Georgia, The Republic of (Updated)
Hazukashii
In the Spotlight – Georgia, The Republic of
By Ed “Hazukashii” Howell
23 September 2022 (Updated: 21 October 2022)
Georgia is one of four countries (along with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and a southern portion of Russia) that make up the region known as the Caucuses. The Black Sea lines the entire west coast of Georgia, as does Russia on the northern border. Turkey and Armenia are to the south, and Azerbaijan to the south-east. The capital city of Tbilisi (a.k.a. Tiflis) is dissected by the Kura River, which is considered the dividing line between Europe and Asia, and was once an important stop on the great Silk Road. The patron saint of Georgia is St. George, the same as England, which is displayed by both countries’ national flags of white background with red crosses.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Georgian Empire reached its pinnacle from the 10th to 13th centuries. This period is highlighted by the reign of King Tamar (a.k.a. Queen Tamar, Tamar the Great) from 1184 to 1213 . . . King Tamar was the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right. Throughout the past couple millennia, Georgia has been part of the Persian and Turkish Empires, and the Kingdoms of Iberia and Kartli. Annexed by Russia in the 19th century, Georgia had a short period of independence from 1918 to 1921 before being consumed by the Soviet Union. Upon the fall of the Soviet Union, “Georgia declared sovereignty on November 19, 1989, and independence on April 9, 1991.”
Georgia has one of the most unique languages and artistically written alphabets. Dating back to the 10th century, the currently used script is Mkhedruli that is characterized by loops, circles, and hooks. The Georgian cuisine is also quite unique, and has many delicious items to choose from. Some examples include pasta dumplings called Khinkali, and cheese filled bread called Khachapuri. Georgia is also known for their use of ornate goat and ram horns, called khantsi, for drinking chacha, a popular Georgian brandy, and wine. Speaking of wine, enthusiast’s might be delighted to know that the oldest evidence of the popular adult beverage, has been discovered in the ancient ruins of a settlement some 20 miles south of modern Tbilisi. Dating back nearly 8000 years, evidence has been found of chemical traces and the existence of wine according to a study published by the US National Academy of Sciences.
If you have read this far, you will surely know that the Hash House Harriers have also made their stamp on Georgia. Unfortunately, the origins of the only hash club, the Tbilisi H3, are as clouded in mystery as your mind would be after several shots of chacha. The Hash Genealogy has only a date of 1994 as the sole tidbit for the history of this hash club. In discussion with previous GM and current RA Stuart “Crash Test Dummy” Adair who has been an avid hasher over the past decade, and Pam “Lady Frankenstein” Kemsley, also a previous GM and one of the longest running members of the Tbilisi H3, they were both unsure of the history. They were only able to provide a few names of potential significance starting with Roy “World Wanker” Southworth (RIP). They also mentioned Gerald “Willie Nelson” Render, Carlton Bennett, and Chris Lane who may be the potential founder.
UPDATE: After additional research, more has been discovered on the history of the current Tbilisi H3. As far as we currently know, the original Tbilisi H3 was founded sometime in 1994, but had faded within a couple years. I was able to track down Gerald Render, who gave me a clue as to how I could track down Chris Lane. After tracking down Chris “Rock Rabbit” Lane, who had previously hashed with the Maseru H3 in Lesotho, he told me that by the time he arrived in Tbilisi in July 1999, there was no hash activity. Chris started the second coming of the Tbilisi hash with the assistance of Pam “Lady Frankenstein” Kemsley, Carlton Bennett, Eyvind “Rubberman” Alnaes, Bahman “Batman” Shafei, and Gerry “Willie Nelson” Render.
I am still looking for details on the founder of the original Tbilisi H3. If anyone has knowledge of the whereabouts of any of these hashers, please have them contact me so we can update the genealogy and history of this fine hash club.
On my recent visit to Georgia, I had the pleasure to join the Tbilisi H3 for a weekend of hashing to celebrate their 500th run. We met on Friday evening at Rose Revolution Square to board a passenger van for our ride out to the countryside. The venue was about an hour north of Tbilisi, at a lovely lakeside hotel. We had the whole place, so were free to wander about and get crazy. Trail started about 15 minutes from the hotel, and was an A to B affair through mostly farmer’s fields and forested paths. The hares (Lady Frankenstein and her husband Zura) asked for some assistance, so I gladly joined in to set an excellent 8 Km trail, which we set in the morning, and then ran along with the pack.
Trail had several checks, some checkbacks, and all was going as planned until about 100 meters from the end, when we encountered some neighborhood dogs protecting their turf (when we set the trail, we had passed by these dogs and did not get them too excited), but as the pack rumbled in, about a half dozen of us got to the dogs and slowed down, but Dan “Dildo” Smith from the Doha H3 ran ahead right into the dogs. The biggest one took offense and grabbed onto his leg, which resulted in a quick trip to the local clinic, 15 stiches, and a couple lifelong scars to brag about.
The Sunday hangover trail was mostly a walk around the hotel area, to a local craft cider bar way out there in the middle of nowhere. With the exception of the dog bite, it was a most excellent weekend with a bunch of fun hashers (7 of which got named during the festivities). The Tbilisi H3 is very active, and runs biweekly on Saturday afternoons.
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html