Melbourne Cup Day

It's Melbourne Cup Day! Held on the first Tuesday of November and only in Victoria, it's a public holiday today. The rest of Australia gets an unofficial afternoon off, I heard, as no one's in the mood for work anyway and all eyes will be on the TV for 'the race that stops a nation.'

We're happy to mark our first Melbourne Cup Day with a BBQ at one of our friend's place. It is a great day for the Melbourne Cup race. The sky is cloudless and the sun shining bright. It wasn't so yesterday, where it was cloudy and windy. The forecast for the rest of the week is gonna be rainy and cold too. Over here, I really respect the weatherman. They are ALWAYS accurate. Given the very erratic weather that Melbourne is famous for, the weather report is something you'll pay attention to when planning outdoor activities.

I have totally no idea what the fuss about Melbourne Cup is all about. The prize of the Melbourne Cup is $5.5 million and besides the jockeys, apparently all Australians are very excited about the event, many of them betting on the horses, just for the fun of it. Our friend's cousin's husband had bet on this horse called 'Okaylah'. He's got a Singaporean wife, so that explains it. We wondered if the jockey or that horse is Singaporean too.

So in between chit chats, stuffing ourselves on BBQ steaks, chicken wings, potato salad, bee hoon, sausages and attending to the kids, I caught glimpses of the event at Flemington Racecourse being broadcast live on TV. Much of the glamour of the event is also contributed by the ladies, who will strut their stuff, in extravagant styles and hats. Many look very graceful and glamourous, that it, until they start yelling for their horses, like some addicted gamblers or when they get drunk on too much champagne.....;)

Thanks to the Cup, many Australians, like us, have got a good excuse for a nice afternoon of socialising. Minus the tall feathered hats and high heels, of course.