Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Race that stops a Nation!

Melbourne Cup is THE biggest racing date on the Australian calendar! It is a horse race held in Victoria on the first Tuesday in November. It is said that the whole country comes to a stop at 3pm: Thus the name "The Race that stops a Nation"


The race only lasts minutes but all around Australia women dress up in gorgeous dresses and high heels with feathers in their hair and champagne glasses in their hands. This year I was working so no glamorous dress or sparkly shoes for me! Instead it was uniform as normal and a gathering of nurses, patients, admin staff, porters and visitors around the hospitals tv in the main reception, cheering wildly for 3 minutes and 23 seconds!

The kids got out of school 15 minutes before the race started so I dashed out and grabbed them, returning in time for the starting gun. The kitchen girls had brought out a spread of nibbles and I brought a special cake I had made and decorated after the kids had gone to bed the night before.













When Rhiannon saw the cake she said "Mum, we have toy horses just like those ones in our toy box at home!"

5 comments - click here to leave your comment:

  1. The way you describe the women dressing up sounds similar to our Kentucky Derby, the first horse race in the Triple Crown. Women and men are dressed to impress with glamorous and sometimes extravagant hats being the tradition.

    Very clever with the horses on the cake!!

     
  2. Love the cake! You are a very fun and artistic cook.

    I've returned to baking out of a box...

     
  3. Yummy! So creative!

    Oh, you've got me laughing out loud with your comment on my blog, Gina! I'm going to have to hear these naked confused old men stories!

     
  4. I remember being very young and my Dad letting me pick a horse and he would put the bet on for me!
    On Tues i bet $31 and i won back $31.70. Oh well at least i made a profit :-)
    I was unglamoursly (is this a word???) standing in the kitchen washing up while the race was on.
    Love your cake... yum.

     
  5. Gina, you're a genius - where do you get your energy! :)