...And now we take a break from our regularly scheduled complaining about housing in Australia.
The first Tuesday of every November marks the most significant annual cultural event in Australia. It's a horse race known as "The Melbourne Cup" and, as you may have guessed, it is held in Melbourne. The race consists of 24 thoroughbred horses carrying 24 small men around a grass track for a bunch of money. The race is such a big deal that it is a public holiday (ie. day off of work/school) in the state of Victoria. Even in Western Australia it's big deal. At my office my company ordered food for about 500 people, set up live TV feeds on all of our floors and gave everyone a free hour off. Elsewhere, people took the day off of work and chose the event as an excuse to drink a little earlier in the day than they normally would.
Prince Charles and Camilla were in attendance at the race. There was an embarrassing moment when the horse handlers tried to lead Camilla into one of the chutes. Fortunately, an international incident was avoided. Otherwise, there was quite a bit of pomp and pageantry, complete with gaudy hats and loud clothing. The race itself, although short, was actually pretty cool to watch. It's quite a display of raw power.
The other big deal about the Melbourne Cup is the betting that takes place. Almost everyone places a bet on the race, either through the formal gambling channels or via an office pool. We had an office pool also with the top prize being $80.
Speaking of betting, gambling is very much a national pastime in Australia. There are commercials on TV and radio encouraging people to bet on sporting events, there are strip malls with betting outlets all over the city and of course there is the lottery. Gambling is a big part of the culture here. As a matter of fact, today is the draw for the largest lottery prize in Australian history: $100 million. As I write this it was just announced on TV that there were 4 winners across Australia that each will receive $28 million. Not bad. You can get a lot of gaudy hats with that kind of cash.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, in preparation for our move on Wednesday and Thursday we bought a fridge, washer and dryer. Rentals in Australia don't generally come equipped with what they call 'white goods', although, our last home did. So, we are basically ready to move in. We can't wait. Just in time too. The weather is starting to warm up and the pool is beckoning.
No comments:
Post a Comment