Hats off to you!
I’ve just arrived home from Canberra after having spent yesterday at ALIA National Office catching up on a few things. It’s a public holiday today in our Nation’s capital (though I think they may call it something like “Family and Community Day” rather than Melbourne Cup Day!). Naturally a number of staff had taken yesterday as a leave day to give themselves a long weekend and the office was “person-ed ” by skeleton staff. To make the day fun a lunch had been arranged and hats were de rigueur. Consequently I left here at 6 yesterday morning with my hat and date chocolate and almond torte strategically placed in the car (and for those of you who know me, yes, I’m still dragging that recipe out; it is after all a cake that will survive the 3.5 hour drive).
Sitting in the sunshine in the ALIA courtyard I was reminded of the many Melbourne Cup lunches I’d shared with colleagues over the years, always staggered to allow for rosters; the plethora of sweep tickets on your desk all allocated to different family members including pets; the mad dash to the TAB by someone who purports to know what they’re doing to put some bets on; the phone call that always comes just as the race is about to start and the “is that it?” sensation once it’s all done and dusted.
I hope your lunch was fun, thanks to the team at ALIA for allowing me to be part of their celebrations. As for the race I think I’ll be watching it, hat-less, with Holiday (my black Labrador) and a small something I picked up in the bakery in Boorowa on the way home.
Cheers
Jan
Jan Richards, ALIA President