The Melbourne Cup is coming up, and this is a plea to the media to try and avoid all those cheesy cliches they usually roll out when the big event is held each year. I don't want to be a wet blanket here, but I can't see the attraction in stopping the country for a horse race and a lot of people who really can't afford it losing a lot of money in betting.
Having said that, I acknowledge that The Cup is an Aussie institution, and in a country where such home-grown national events are rare we should make the most of it.
Coincidentally the Reserve Bank is to make its decision on interest rates an hour or so before the big race, and all the pundits are saying that rates will be cut. So please, can we have no newspapers printing cornball headlines like "The rate that stops a nation"? And kindly refrain from the inevitable bank bashing if the banks don't decide to pass on the rate cut.
That way we can get through the event without cringing in embarrassment or groaning to death.
