Oliver Reed`s death recalled... with drinks

The third anniversary of Oliver Reed`s death in Malta was yesterday marked by the Hash House Harriers - a running club for, wait for it, drinkers - who raised a glass to the memory of the British actor.

Reed appears to be the icon of many British drinkers for being an avid boozer himself. He died aged 61 while drinking with his wife and friends at The Pub - which is today also called Ollie`s Last Pub - in Valletta`s Archbishop Street.

Reed was in Malta for the shooting of the blockbuster film Gladiator at the time. In his later years, his acting was overshadowed by his drunken binges.

The group yesterday embarked on a pub `run` in honour of Reed because he was a "big drinker and so are the Hash House Harriers".

Sporting T-shirts with the words `Ollie`s last bash hash`, a member of the group described the Harriers as a "group of drinkers with a running problem".

The Oliver Reed Travel Club was organising a trip to Malta to pay tribute to the actor when they learnt through the internet that Malta had its own Hash House Harrier club, set up by Briton Michele Wilson, who has been living on the island for the last three years.

Ms Wilson, who has been attending Hash House Harrier events worldwide for the last 20 years, decided to amalgamate the two events and organise a trip for members to Malta.

The group of Hash House Harriers - mostly Britons - yesterday united for a drink at The Pub before running to Marsamxett landing, for another drink at Cockney Bar, after which they crossed to Sliema by ferry for another beer at the Magic Kiosk and yet another at the Cockney Bar on their way back to spend the rest of the afternoon at The Pub.

Although sport and alcohol may not normally be associated with one another, for Ms Wilson, who has "hashed all over the world", it is a "wonderful combination".

`Hashing` is way of life, she said.

According to another Hash House Harrier, known as The Penguin - each member has a nickname - the organisation promoted social interaction, which was easier with a couple of beers in the belly. Moreover, exercise was essential before drinking, he maintained.

Reed was honoured as a "serious drinker", he said, adding, however, that "we do not drink as much" when it was pointed out that the actor died during one of his frequent binges.

There are around 3,000 clubs worldwide - from Lebanon and Liberia and the Seychelles - numbering almost a million members, who meet over and over again at their running-drinking events around the globe.

The first Hash House Harrier club was set up in Malaysia in 1938 by a number of expats.

Since 1999, the Malta club has attracted around 300 people for events of the sort. Crew and officers on US and Royal Navy vessels, berthed in Malta, have often found out that Malta had its own club and running-drinking events have been organised for them.

Ms Wilson said the club could generate tourism, particularly if Malta were one day to be the venue for an Interhash event, which attracted around 3,500 drinkers.

Reed`s loss seems to have touched the hearts of many a British drinker and another group yesterday also gathered at The Pub where the actor had consumed his last drink to pay tribute to their "saint".

Wearing T-shirts with the words: `Oliver Reed, King of the Hellraisers, Lost in Action 2nd May, 1999` and urging fans to keep the flag flying and `Join Oliver`s Army`, they said Reed`s death inspired many to go out and drink to him every May 2.

Ken Prentice from Sussex, together with his friends, were fans of Ollie "as a person", rather than an actor. Last year, they drank in Ireland, where he was buried, and will be travelling to Guernsey, where he spent much of his time, on the fourth anniversary of his death.