Holiday weekend recap #2

Day 2, Saturday dawned sunny and mild. Unbeknown to each other, Gg, Fd and I separately went out around 7.30am to find a store to purchase the papers. Each returned within minutes of the others with enough papers between us to fill a library.

Rs, Ll and Mt were up and lively shortly afterwards and between them set about preparing a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. As we ate we compared notes as to who had been able to sleep during the night, who had been up and about in the early morning and whose snoring was the loudest. I'm a bad snorer from way back and usually tie with Fd for the noisiest.

Gg is a bit of a racing fiend who likes a bet or three on Saturdays and he scoured the papers for the horses he would follow that day. I have no interest in gambling but decided I would place a bet purely for entertainment purposes. I checked the papers for a name that appealed given that I had no desire to determine the form of a horse. Within moments I saw a horse racing in the second event at Randwick Racecourse (ironically in Sydney) named Little Sai Wan. This surely was an omen as Little Sai Wan (photo below) was the name of the Royal Air Force communications base in Hong Kong when I lived there from 1977 to 1980 whose leisure facilities we Australian Government workers were allowed to use as a recreation club. I decided I would bet on that horse.



All of us, except Mt who decided to remain behind to read the papers, set off for a walk in the general direction of Broadbeach with the intention of finding a TAB to lodge our bets. It was beautiful walking along the boardwalk past various surf beaches admiring the bodies, tans and other features of the beachgoers. At Broadbeach we came across the Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club (photo below) whose restaurant menu was on display at the entrance. We decided the menu looked sufficiently interesting to make this our dinner venue for the night and we booked a table for eight (intending to invite Rt and Jy to join us as well). I called Rt to let him know of our plans and left a message for him and Jy to join us if they wished.



Conveniently we found a TAB across the road from the SLSC and placed our bets. I bet 'each way' on Little Sai Wan; that is $5 for a win and $5 for a place. My horse was racing in the second event which was only minutes away and we watched the television as Little Sai Wan gambled around the course "racing comfortably near the rear" according to the commentator. The horses descended upon the finishing post in a whir that was quite confusing to me but the upshot was that Little Sai Wan improved enough in the straight to finish in third place. I won $7.50 for the placing meaning an overall loss of only $2.50. Not exactly high roller club gambling but I was pleased with my intuitive gambling selection.

We returned to the apartment where we lunched on leftover salads and the like from the meal we enjoyed the previous night.

During the afternoon we repeated our walk of the morning, to go window shopping at the Pacific Fair centre. Mt, who was with us this time, purchased a pair of New Balance sneakers on discount at the Rebel Sports Store.

We returned to the apartment for a further round amateur cocktails in preparation for the evening entertainment. Mt kept an eye on the football which had commenced at 3.30pm, the start of about seven hours of football screening on televisions in our line of sight at the apartment and later on at the SLSC. Rt returned my call to say that he and Jy would meet us at the club for dinner.

Following showers and further rounds of cocktails, we drove to the SLSC. The dinner and the club were a disappointment. We had hoped to be on the balcony visible in the photo above but were placed at a table inside the clubhouse surrounded by poker (slot) machines and numerous television screens displaying live broadcasts of that evening's National Rugby League, Australian Football League and English Premier League matches. The club was packed and very noisy. More significantly, the meals although impressive in quantity were at best modest in quality.

After their meals, Gg, Rs and Ll could not resist the poker machines which they attacked with zombie like intent.

Finally noise and gambling losses forced us from the club and we farewelled Rt and Jy before returning to our apartment for a nightcap, further giggles and gossip and at long last bed.