@ Psuedonymous. Thanks for the response. It is an unusual expression with a bit of a mixed etymology. As a kid I used to see brewery drays delivering in south Londom and the local Steptoe was still using a horse and cart in my teens. Apparently road rage killed off Youngs Brewery(Wandsworth S.London) horse deliveries just over 20 years ago. I still have a couple of pairs of hames, the mice destroyed the collars years ago. Having made a hash of hames in the past,it brings back memories
Apologies for disrupting the thread,my curiosity overcame me.