Adoring Husband and Dirty Old Man drove over to Torbanlea early in the morning to take our gazebo and set it up on the grounds in a good position.
They were surprised by the lack of security. They drove straight in and found the best spot on the grounds. It was right beside the track, close to the amenities, across the path from the beer tent and the bookies tent and under a tree for shade!
They set up the gazebo and lined it with folding chairs and a folding table and Dirty Old Man hid his esky under a chair and blanket.
Then they came home.
The rule this year was 'no eskies'. It was advertised that way.
To me, 'no eskies' means no eskies, no food and no alcohol. So Adoring Husband and I, who are good law abiding citizens, took no esky.
Our friends, who are obviously NOT law abiding citizens, ALL either took eskies OR snuck alcohol in their folding chair bags or handbags or some other way.
They all got away with it because there was no checking at the gate!
Luckily, Adoring Husband and I had free passes, given to us by a local business, which entitled us to free food and free alcohol in the corporate tent.
This was lovely for Adoring Husband who spent a bit of time in the corporate tent which was set up in the centre of the race track. He got his share of free food and drink.
I stayed at the gazebo and drank water all day, by choice, but the only gluten free food available was German Sausage.
The first race of the day almost ended in disaster - I guess the jockey probably thinks it was a disaster, considering that he was thrown from the horse and he broke his arm and some ribs!
While the ambulance took him off to hospital, the race meeting could not continue until the ambulance returned so they had to re-arrange the schedule and 'fashions of the field' was presented much earlier than planned.
The remaining races seemed to go off without a hitch, thank goodness.
Later in the day, there were tug'o'wars on the track. Males and females. One male wore a dress for the occasion and it wasn't a pretty sight ... but it was a lot of fun!
I was surprised by how many people really put in the effort to dress as if they were at a big Flemington or Randwick race meet. Beautiful dresses and fascinators, men in suits, ties and hats and there also didn't seem to be a big problem with alcohol this year.
Usually, by the end of the day, there are drunk people asleep on the ground or being dragged by their friends out of the area, or physically fighting each other. Most people were very well behaved this year.
There were lots of activities for the kids too. Candle making, face painting, blow up castle, rock climbing wall, a merry-go-round and a circus workshop to learn circus tricks including juggling.
So it was a lovely day spent with good friends who all behaved themselves and didn't get too drunk ... although a few of them were going to the local pub after they dropped their gear off home, so I imagine there may have been some sore heads this morning.
It was Adoring Husband's birthday today. He spent it mowing the lawn, searching for paperwork for our oven which has decided to set it's alarm off and it can't be stopped unless we turn it off at the main power board. Luckily it's still under warranty, so it will be fixed.
Then he played with the campervan for a little while. He cooked dinner and then did the dishes.
Nothing special - but I figure a new campervan and a new car are pretty good presents for a 55 year old man and of course, he is the luckiest man on the planet to have ME for a wife :D
Last thing this afternoon, I poked my head out the front door to be greeted with this ...
... so I grabbed my camera and ran outside with bare feet and no glasses to capture the moment before the sun quickly disappeared over the horizon.
Time to take my law abiding self off to bed.
Nite all.
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