Ladies and “Gentlemen” of the Guangzhou Hash,

WINTER IS COMING.

Brace yourselves. The mercury has fallen to a bone-chilling, soul-shattering 29 degrees. Grown hashers have been seen reaching for a second T-shirt. Somewhere in Tianhe a man put on socks with his sandals and nobody even blinked. The air conditioners grow restless and the fans have stopped spinning. The ancient Cantonese prophecy has come to pass: it is now “a bit cool in the morning.”

And so, by decree of the Great Frozen North (Conghua), the pools will soon close their gates. The lifeguards are packing up their whistles. The inflatable flamingos are migrating south. The chlorine is being laid to rest with full military honours.

But before the long dark season of wearing a light jacket, the three Wardens of the Last Summer, Hunkaspunk, Laziji and Just Nila, summon you to one final heroic stand: THE FINAL LAP OF THE POOLS.

One more trail through the hills. One more glorious plunge. One more beer, drunk poolside, in defiant memory of summer. Bring your trunks, bring your courage, and bring your thermal underwear (optional, and frankly worrying).

Future generations will ask where you were when the pools closed. You will look them in the eye and say: “I was ON ON.”

Summer is dead. Long live the Hash. 🥶🏊‍♂️🍻

On On!