Stop the nation – the race is on!

Today is the day of the ‘race that stops the nation’ although it really only takes place in Melbourne at Flemington Race Course.

I remember when my husband and I worked in South Australia, the govt dept would put on an afternoon (late lunch) barbeque and we’d all watch the Melbourne Cup on a TV set up outside and it was a good excuse for no work for a few hours.

Now we live in Melbourne we see it somewhat differently.

Unfortunately the 20-something set have made it not a very enjoyable day for many. They get drunk, are obnoxious and make the day unbearable for anyone who sits near them.

One of our daughters works in the thoroughbred industry, and has dreamed and breathed horses since she was about 3 years old. When she turned 16 my husband was given tickets by a client of the company he works with to sit in the boxes above the finish line so we took Christine with us – she loved it.

The following year we went with all our daughters as our eldest was studying bridal and formalwear and she made many outfits to go in the Melbourne Fashion Carnival. We had fun at that and went again the following year but where we were sitting on the lawns by the rose bushes and not too far from the finish line, the groups of young people around us were almost impossible and one of our daughters got hit on the head by a flying beer bottle. We elected never to go to the race again.

I note that they’re now restricting the numbers of people going and tickets have to be pre-bought. I hope they’re being more mindful of the amount of alcohol being consumed there as well as those who are intent on trashing themselves make the day a sad one for those around them.

Who wants to sit near where people are puking or swearing their heads off and being loud-mouthed? Not me and it’s certainly not a family day any more. We used to love the picnics on the lawn but wouldn’t recommend it for any young family these days. Watching it on TV is the closest we get and we just enjoy a day off as it’s classed as a public holiday here in Melbourne.

A shame really as it can be a great day (and the weather really is lovely here today) and the experience we had in the boxes that day of my daughter’s 16th showed a nicer side to the day for us. But it would be costly to be part of that set each year!