Hair of the Dog social - 2026Fri 2 January 2026
ESOC members were quick out of the blocks again in 2026, and as is traditional kicked the year off in style with the Hair of the Dog shenanigans - a wee bit of orienteering to clear the heads, some indoor games, food and socialising!
The orienteering event was cunningly planned by Will and Jules and comprised a 45 minute score format with controls dotted all over the Inch Park. Controls were split into groups; the 10 point controls were to be gained first followed by a quick F1 style pitstop to confirm completion with Janet C, with the remaining controls then free to be gathered, some of which were 20 points but others were a mystery ranging from 0 points to 99. To further add to the mayhem there were 2 roving controls (1 with Santa hat and 1 with sprout headwear), which were worth 40 and 30 points respectively.
It was a cool and clear day, but with no wind was pleasant once warmed up and underway. The overall winner was Kirstin S who got all the controls well inside the time limit and was first to finish. The leading junior was Adam R who also completed the mission and got all the controls. Group winners were new members Ingrid and Anna E - congratulations and well done all!
We next moved indoors to the warmth of the Inch Park Community Sports Club and enjoyed splendid soup, bread and a buffet - many thanks to the super hard working kitchen team - before commencing with the games and prizegiving. First up was an indoor control description hunting game put on by Helena to be enjoyed by the juniors. Next, as it traditional we played 'the Newspaper game' where we split into three teams ably captained by young members. The 'newspaper' was a copy of the magazine CompassSport and Walter tasked the teams with finding the page numbers to specific aricle titles as quickly as possible. The game was fun and encouraged a team spirit amongst the club members of all ages competing together.
Next we moved onto the Teddy Bear Olympic races, which highlighted who had spent the past year endlessly winding up toilet rolls and who had not! The competition was split into juniors and seniors with a cup competition style knock-out draw. After heats, quarters and semi-finals it all came down to the finals, but not before disaster struck the brown teddy whose string snapped as it crossed the finish line with a rapid Alastair H at the helm! After a short interlude, some head scratching, and emergency teddy bear repairs (aka re-tying the string!) we restarted and Alexis G won the junior title and Robin S the seniors. The overall final, in a best of 3 heat format for the prestigious cup and plate was won for the first time (after a good few years of trying!) by Robin S, who also acts as perennial draw organiser. Well done Robin on all counts.
Thanks to the members, too many to mention who helped in lots of different ways to a fabulous start to the ESOC orienteering year!
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