Rain deterred a few punters, but the plans of the determined remained true. The day had arrived where two nations stop to witness a herd of horse’s hoon around a track, competing for prestige and lashings of cash. Yes it was Melbourne Cup time again.

My beginner’s betting luck lasted one race, so confidently I doubled up for the next and the following one, but it was the booze making the decisions now. $45 down I called it a day and focused on socialising and there were plenty of opportunities. It was here that my luck rekindled, to my glee I won the best male dressed; I collected my champagne prize and shared it out.

After the last race at Ellerslie Racecourse everyone comes together at The Curve Lounge, and regurgitates their day to all and sundry. It’s here also where my wish came true and I was allowed to dance freely without being told off and sniggered at.

With aroused spirits we taxied to the Viaduct to amalgamate with those who couldn’t con the day off. Pasha was the place, connected to Green Room and Euro by one hellofa long marquee. It wasn’t congested but had some very interesting people to chat to.

Basketball was a sport I flirted with at High School. Now, with The Breakers’ current success in the Aussie NBL, it’s about to leap-frog soccer and into 3rd place in my preferred sports to watch ladder. Last week again saw us win in nail-biting fashion to inch further up the table. This week we tackle the Wollongong Hawks at The North Shore Events Centre, email me asap if you’d like to go, I have a few spare tickets.

Big Boys Toys was launched by an Aston Martin driving Martin Devlin to a crowd of around 200. After a well rehearsed 1 minute speech he blasted the TNT and the games began. Being able to circulate the stands 2 hours prior to the public opening was blissful, we were hand-shown all the highlights and were treated to fabulous treatment by display owners eager to please the media. Things that impressed me were sitting in a $500,000 Lamborghini for 5 minutes all buckled up, cruising on the 4×4 Segway, seeing the Moon Joos promo girls in their black cat suits and the pole dancers in the Girl-zone. Weighed down by 5 grand goodie bags and a hearty breakfast I meandered off to work.

Planes, trains, boats, buses it doesn’t really matter, when you get a bunch of merry party people together on the same transporter good times are a sure thing. I put on a boat party, called Blue, last Friday, and 140 guide-getters boarded the 3 storied Ocean Eagle catamaran not really knowing what was in store. After initial hiccups with wharf security and local bar owners, taking offence to me handing out complimentary drinks on the dock outside, we were off to a good start. That was till I realised that Gordon had probably broken his foot jumping from the wharf down to the gang plank, luckily he was rather tipsy so the pain was suppressed, and the Eagle soared on.

The DJ’s rocked, and the boat didn’t. Everyone bonded well, some a little too well with bathrooms being occupied for far longer than anyone could possibly require. Bubble Bar held the after party, and with other guide-getters joining us it was the busiest Bubble had ever been. Snowy spun ideal tune after ideal tune, we partied on, chopping back Stoli Skittle shots. The last planned venue rendevous was SpyBar, which housed the stayers until well after dawn.

It wouldn’t be a successful hullabaloo without an impromptu crack-on at someone’s house. Luckily it was a blissful day so with shirts off, and shot glasses poised, we set out to see just how far we could go. We actually went pretty far, ending up in Hamilton at Vilagrad Winery for the Sundown dance party. What a stunning spot. It was odd not knowing many people, but after a couple of vinos it didn’t matter.

I had the best Sunday in months. Without a hangover I did some maintenance on the house, visited Takapuna market then stopped by a friend’s house to see how they fared after a night out celebrating Jodine’s birthday. They were all in tremendous shape, so I caught up, plugged in the decks and away we went.