Cup Day prompts more sickies than flu epidemic

IF EVER there was even more evidence that Melbourne Cup day should be a national holiday surely it was Tuesday.

When the reporting jobs were being handed around Tuesday morning, I had quite unselfishly volunteered to accompany one of our photographers for a run through Toowoomba’s CBD pubs during the running of the great race.

Naturally, newspaper reporting is all about bringing the news to the people and the best way to accomplish this is to be among the people and so with notebook and schooner in hand, I made my way through a packed inner-city bar and TAB.

Just like Christmas or Easter, having to work on days like Melbourne Cup can be stressful for a reporter.

For a start, you’re the only one working (and sober) while everyone around you is having a great time.

I had ventured down the road to the courts on Tuesday morning and couldn’t help but notice that the District Court, which is in town for two weeks, had no cases listed for the day.

Now, it’s not the first time a day of District Court had no cases listed but, call it an old journo’s scepticism, I thought it a little coincidental.

My suspicions were further raised then when I walked into this particular bar and noticed there were more than a few of Toowoomba’s legal fraternity making up the numbers in the crowd.

One group, seated at a table in front of the big screen included a leading barrister, a real estate guru, a retired police superintendent and a shy and sensitive tax accountant.

Now, in order to obtain such a prized position in the bar, these guys

‘‘ I, ON THE OTHER HAND, BEING IN FULL WORK MODE, WAS NEITHER RELAXED NOR LUBRICATED.

had obviously attended the venue early and, the Cup being run at 2pm, were more than a little relaxed by the time we walked in.

I, on the other hand, being in full work mode, was neither relaxed nor lubricated.

“Gee, you look like your father these days,” the real estate guru breathed on me as he grabbed me in a customary bear hug.

Now, given that my dear old dad has been dead for 15 years I couldn’t quite see how this was a compliment.

However, I knew it was said with affection so I smiled and moved on, thinking it best to keep moving or risk falling victim to beer swilling, body hugging middle-aged punters.

As the photographer snapped photos of happy punters, my eyes wandered to the next table where four of my mates were equally enjoying themselves.

All of these mates have jobs, yet none was in his work clobber and going by the rate at which beverages were arriving at their table, I think it was long odds that they would be returning to the office post-race.

“Am I the only one working today?” I protested, prompting laughter from every table within earshot.

It was the superintendent who suggested: “You know, Melbourne Cup Day should be a holiday, no-one works anyway.”

“Well, no-one but me,” I complained. I also agreed with the retired Super that Australia has a lopsided public holiday roster with regular days off in the first four or five months of the calendar as opposed to the latter half of the year which has few.

“Surely, they can swap the Queen’s Birthday to Melbourne Cup Day,” he suggested, to my agreement.

As I’ve said in this column before, I don’t think there is any reason to move Australia Day away from January 26, but I certainly wouldn’t be averse to Melbourne Cup Day being renamed Australia Day.

After all, what other day of the year is there when all of Australia is together… if only for five or six minutes?

Trouble is, whether it’s January 26 or the first Tuesday in November, hapless newspaper journos will be working anyway.