Melbourne Cup Monday

The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s equivalent to the UK’s Grand National when it comes to horse racing. I am not into horse racing, but nobody in Melbourne can escape from it. The city becomes horse racing mad and odd looking hats are to be seen everywhere. The race is actually held on the first Tuesday of November every year and the best bit about it, especially if you are not necessarily into horse racing, is the fact that because of the cup all of Metropolitan Melbourne gets a public holiday, ostensibly to allow them to attend the race. Yes the city stops for a race. Unfortunately that leaves today, the Monday before the race as a normal working day standing in the way of a four day long weekend. Obviously you can take an annual day on the Monday if you want to do this, but usually you have to book it months in advance otherwise you’ll find lots of people have already secretly arranged it without anyone but the boss knowing, so they get in first and those that leave it too late have to come in to work so someone will be in to run the department. I have been working today, there are two reasons for this: the first being I forgot to organise it in time, and the second is that I don’t have enough annual leave to take it anyway after my recent trip to London, and I have to save what little I do have for Christmas.

So Melbourne Cup Mondays are always the same. The usually busy Monday morning commute is quiet – with maybe only half the usual number of people on the trains, the city is almost like it is on a Sunday afternoon instead of the usual weekday throng and everyone has a laid back attitude – knowing that they have a day off tomorrow. The strange thing about this holiday though is the way it only extends to those in the ‘metro area’ meaning people beyond the confines of the city limits have to watch on jealously as the city folk spend the day in the sun, having barbies and drinking too much Victoria Bitter and maybe even going to the races...