2022

Your webmaster was away from the village this year at Melbourne Cup time so cannot report directly what happened on the day.  However there is a report and some photographs on the Living choice Facebook page for Alloura Waters.

To have a look click on the blue link below;

https://www.livingchoice.com.au/residents-back-a-winner-at-alloura-waters/?fbclid=IwAR1fi5jGpPCTy5BLqpCt0qYuJWXW_lHTzVtz_puIMutnTM05hZPY7_33c2s

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2021

After the cancellation of our usual Melbourne Cup event last year due to Covid restrictions we had hoped that this year would be better. It was only slightly so. Unfortunately, Covid restrictions were still with us and we had given up all hope of having a Cup event for the second time.

At the last minute we came out of a long covid lockdown and restrictions eased to the point where we were able to hastily cobble together a very much scaled down version of our usual Cup Day celebrations ,which was certainly better than nothing. In fact we had 70 or 80 residents who turned out to enjoy a sausage sizzle BBQ, an open bar, a simple sweep and good company. It is claimed that this was the first major attendance event for the year although Happy Hours have been running for some weeks now with limited numbers.

The bar did a roaring trade and it did not take too long for residents to get back into the swing of things.

The inside of the Centre was well occupied and in order to comply with covid distancing rules there was a sizeable overflow outside into the courtyard and pavilion areas. It was really too nice a day to be indoors anyway.

Nancy and Kerry did a great job handling the sweep which was much simplified compared to previous years. We only had one type of sweep ticket, being $2 each. Everyone seemed quite happy with this arrangement.

In the meantime Paul, Michael and Brenda were working the BBQ’s and serving up sausages in bread, once again for $2 each. And they were delicious. Michael and Brenda also donated several fruit platters for afters which went down a treat.

But of course, the main event of the day was watching the race on the big screen. As usual there were many cheers of delight by the sweep winners and some grumbles from the rest.

The overall verdict???

Well, Covid tried to close us down again but the Alloura spirit shone through this time and we all had a great day. We will be back next year bigger and better…

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2020

Unfortunately, Covid-19 restrictions resulted no Melbourne Cup activity in our Centre this year. Let us hope that next year will be kinder to us all…….
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2019

This years Melbourne Cup luncheon was held indoors again, the weather was a little dull with showers threatening.. But as usual this did not stop us having a good time and a sizeable crowd turned out to enjoy a nice lunch and watch the race on the big screen.

The bar crew were on hand to help everyone have a good time. And it was not long before the crowds arrived.

The caterers were hard at work and provided us with a yummy lunch of cold meats and salads and a choice of desserts.

Of course there was a raffle to raise some funds and we had two lucky winners….

Of course there were fascinators in abundance.

And the hat parade was well attended.

And the best hat prize went to……….

Rebecca had to share the winnings with Gillian. Trescha and Sally were the judges.

Having spotted the bottles of wine as prizes these “Likely Lads”tried to get in on the act but were quickly dismissed.

Oh, and yes of course there was “the race that stops the nation”, and a little bit of money was won on the local sweeps!!!!

And that was the Melbourne Cup for another year.

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2018

The village webmaster was away from the village and was not able to attend this function, so this years report is rather minimal. But everyone seems to have had a great day…

Once again, the Social Committee did a great job setting up the Centre for the day and decided to remain indoors rather than chance poor weather.

Our Bookies expertly ran the sweeps and Mavis was one of the big winners on the day

YUMMM!!!!

Of course lunch is a major part of the day and the caterers ensured that we were well fed.

Village staff were quite happy to join in the fun.. Love the hats boys!!!!!

The best hat competition is always strongly contested with Diane being one of the lucky winners??? (I think)… Does the label on that bottle look a little dodgy????…..

And here is a selection of photos of residents that enjoyed the day…

See you all again next year

2017

It seems that we are very much at the mercy of the weather each year and our Melbourne Cup events alternate between indoor and outdoors events. This year the forecast was not in our favour so it was decided earlier to hold the event indoors, although on the day the sun shone brightly. While remaining indoors does cramp our style a little bit with not as much room to spread out, our Social Committee still did a great job of setting up the Centre for the day ahead and they squeezed in over 100 residents for lunch.

Our Bookies this year decided on a change of “uniform” and opted for a “Jockeys Silks” look. Some residents were not convinced that they had got it right.

Our outside caterers had been hard at it all morning in our kitchen preparing fresh salads and it was not long before they were serving up a delicious lunch of four cold meats and salad.

This was followed by a selection of desserts, “Death by Chocolate” or “Pavlova”

Of course the actual race, shown on the big screen,  was the main highlight of the day.

Another highlight was the annual hat parade which had some very nice prizes on offer. There was some serious competition among the ladies.

And our office staff can always be counted on to join in the fun and judge the hat parade competition.

To finish off the day of course the lucky winners rushed over to the bookies for their sweep payouts.

Once again a pleasant day was had by all..

Thanks to the Social Committee for all of their hard work…

** See you all again next year **

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2016

We had a lovely sunny day with mild temperatures this year for our Melbourne Cup Luncheon so we were keen to make it an outdoor event once again…

As usual, the Social Committee ladies did a great job setting up the tables and arranging the Centre for around 110 residents who were coming for lunch..

The first place to visit on arrival was of course the bookies table where there a firm guarantee was given that every sweep contained at least one winner. No wonder the tickets sold like hot cakes..

Once that was out of the way everyones thoughts quickly turned to lunch. We had outside caterers attending to our lunch needs and they did a great job with with a wide selection of cold meats and delicious salads. This was followed up of course with yummy sweets, Death by Chocolate or Lemon Meringue Pie were the choices

 

No thats not fair, Carol did not shout out like that, she had someone else shout out over the public address system instead.

YUM YUM!!!!

And then it was time to think about the hat parade and who would win.

And here are a few of the other contenders.

The lineup..The judges are going to have a hard time selecting the winners.

But the boys were not going to be left out….

Just time for another quick drink before the race.

Race time

Time to heed inside to watch the race on the big screen.

And after the race was over there were some winners and some losers.. the lucky ones headed over to collect their payouts.

But no matter if we were a lucky winner or not, we all had a good day with good company and good food.

See you all back again next year.

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2015

It was that one day of the year again and time for the race that stops the nation. Well… we never actually stop here at Alloura Waters…. in fact we got well into party mode..

Most of us try to dress up for the occasion….

UUMMM!!! Not too sure about that Gary..

Leonie, our Door Greeter, was ready to steer people to their tables…

Our Bookies were once again ready to run a range of Cup sweeps..

Ok Bill, good idea.. Of course it does not take much for our residents to get into the swing of things and have a good time…

Apart from the race, a highlight of the day was a spit roast carvery luncheon provided by outside caterers and what a great job they did..

Not to be outdone by the Flemington lot we also traditionally hold a ladies hat parade and competition for best hat.

Here is a selection of the attractive ladies hats;

The competition is  usually gatecrashed by some men also trying to get into the act…

And the winner was…..

Just to keep the household peace Helens husband, Ken, was also awarded a prize for his efforts..

After the race many went away happy with their winnings in the sweep while others graciously accepted their loss.

It is rumoured that one of the bookies actually told every buyer that he had been keeping the winning ticket in the sweep just for them, trying to encourage sales…  He may have been telling porkies!!!!

But a good time was had by all and we will be back again next year to do it all over again.

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2014

Kevern, Garry and Wayne, our bookies

 Pre-Lunch socialising 

 Waiting for Lunch

 

 Lunch was a real treat 

 and worth waiting for 

 

 Our hat judges arrived in style for the  fashion parade 

 

 Parade

 

After Lunch and  waiting  for the Race to start

 

 

Having a real good time 

After the race….. Profit or Loss ?

Judges and the Hospitality Boss review the day

 

And all too soon another Melbourne Cup day was over…..