Hmmm…. I find it astounding what hats can actually do.
Seems they have a magic where you can wake up in a chateau in France and find yourself making hats with the Queen’s milliner, or fly you over seas and deserts and drop you onto a podium in Dubai.
Or unexpectedly find yourself in a Victorian country town with the Melbourne Cup in your hands.
Sounds like crazy dream, yet very real.
Recently I was invited to exhibit my hats and race wear fashion at a reception at the Bridgeward Grove Olive and Art Farm Gate near Bendigo.
The whole occasion was organised as part of the final leg of an international and Australia wide tour of the very famous Melbourne Cup.
It seems the cup lives a life all of its own. A kind of celebrity life style. It is very well travelled and this year alone it visited New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Korea as well as a great number of places across Australia. In Seoul, it met up with a brother of the royal cup family and joined in on the celebrations of the Korean Cup.
During its journey around the world the Melbourne Cup attends many events such as receptions, charity dinners and cocktail parties.
It is warmly welcomed wherever it goes. With crowds of people waiting in anticipation of its arrival.
While waiting, you can enjoy local art exhibits, a country music band (I really liked it!), a glass of wine or a cup of tea with homemade biscuits or buy produce from local farmers.
Local schoolchildren were given a home work task and the Melbourne Cup was the topic.
Actually, I discovered many new and interesting facts from this board. For instance, I learned that the first Fashion on the field was started in 1961 and that the British model Jean Shrimpton shocked Flemington by wearing a miniskirt and not wearing stockings in 1965.
When the Cup arrives, it is differently the center of everyone’s attention. Finally, the Cup arrives! Hooray – Hooray!
In its honour, it is welcomed with didgeridoo playing and both the old and the young alike give speeches proudly standing next to the Cup.
The Cup and its story is told to the audience.
If my memory serves me correctly (which might not be the case after two glasses of champagne!), the Cup was made from gold mined in Queensland. It weighs 2.3 kg and cost $200 000. It has three handles, one for the jockey, one for the trainer and one for the horse owner. Sorry, I could not find the right angle to take a photo of all three, somehow only two handles were visible at any one time!
Like all celebrities, the Cup is invited to participate in a photo shoot.
And of course, like all celebrities, everyone wants a photo to be taken next to the Cup. So do I!
Later that evening, in a puppet show, guests are told the tale of how the famous song Waltzing Matilda was written.
Somehow, I always thought that it was a kind of love song. Maybe because I just enjoyed the tune without listening to words. Perhaps because the women’s name Matilda is repeated again and again. So, it was a new discovery for me that it is actually a very sad song without a happy ending. Perhaps, it is better I forget what I learned this evening and I only remember Waltzing Matilda as a love song…
Eventually the party is over and it is time to go home. From the day, I am taking with me a whole new set of impressions, the experience of holding the famous Melbourne cup and a giant jar of tasty, local pickled olives…
Thank you Julie and Ruth Howard for inviting me. I hope to see you again one day.
