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Published: December 10th 2006
Melbourne Cup on TV
Oh..did I mention it is sponsored by Emirates Airlines from the Middle East.I am back after a length of time. We actually have had some internet problems the last couple of day. I have actually been waiting for good stuff.
I am going to start with something that happened about a month ago. It is called the Melbourne Cup. It really is the Australians excuse to take a 3-5 minute horse race and turn it into an all day party.
Here is an excerpt that describes the race... (www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/melbournecup/)
Melbourne Cup Day is Australia's most famous Tuesday. At 3.00pm AEST, on the first Tuesday in November, Australians everywhere stop for one of the world's most famous horse races - the Melbourne Cup.
It is a day when the nation stops whatever it's doing to listen to the race call, or watch the race on TV. Even those who don't usually bet, try their luck with a small wager or entry into a 'sweep'. A sweep is a lottery in which each ticket-holder is matched with a randomly drawn horse and prize money is paid out to the first three places plus a 'consolation prize' for the horse that runs last.
In Melbourne, Cup Day
Watching the races
there was a lot of anticipation waiting to find out who would win. My shopping buddy Linda is on the left. Sharon is on the right. is a public holiday for the Melbourne metropolitan area, and the highlight of the Spring Racing Carnival. The party atmosphere often means that champagne and canapés, huge hats and racetrack fashions overshadow the business of horse racing.
American writer Mark Twain said of a visit to the Melbourne Cup in 1895:
"Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me."
What this excerpt does not discuss in detail is the extent to which hats and fashion plays a part. My friend Linda Collins and I went shopping for our hats and outfits. She talked me into an outrageous pair of aqua blue boots. I was told it is all about the outfit and the hat matching. Well to coin a phrase…When in Rome.
We normally meet on Tuesdays to chat and attempt to do a craft or two like cross-stitching, knitting, or making jewelry. On this particular Tuesday, we dressed up instead.
The party was fun. The champagne flowed and the canape’s were fabulous. I was so focused on my outfit, that the most I contributed to
More beautiful ladies
we had a good time dressing up the food was microwave popcorn. We had our own sweep where the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners walked away with a bit of cash. Even the person whose horse came in last won a few kuai (Chinese for bucks). While my horse did not place or lose, I did win best dressed.
We also watched a segment from an Australian sitcom called Kat and Kim. Even if you can’t grasp all of the Australian lingo, it is quite a funny show. It is about a mother and daughter who seem to be stuck in the eighties. They go to the Melbourne Cup and of course drink too much champagne and do stupid things.
The party was a great change from the day to day routine. We also got a chance to “dress to the nines” and be silly.
Next segment is our trip to Sanya on Hainan Island in South China.
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anonymous
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Derby Day in the states
Diane, In the states we also have it. It is the Kentucky Derby! Derby Day. All of Louisville shuts down and most of Kentucky and part of southern Ohio. It is all about the hat and dress. Most women try to make their own hat or more or less decorate their own hat. Looks like you had fun.