I received an email a couple of weeks ago that set my thought path off on a different tangent – but one I have been down before.
It was an invitation to a mere mortal like me to attend a race meeting at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club, and lift my social standing.
It went like this, “Escape the ordinary (Wurtulla, I am guessing) in style for this long weekend, immerse in pure joy of a day at the races.
“Dine out in your Noosa-inspired attire for a social racing extravaganza. Spend a race day in the lap of luxury with a long lunch on the lawn at the Noosa Cup,” blah blah blah.
How awesome does that sound?
At first, I thought it must have been written by the same guy that, some years back, said that Noosa Tourism had to be careful not to damage its brand by promoting the Sunshine Coast, with Visit Sunshine Coast, as a whole, rather than the special place up there that is going alone.
There was only one problem with all of the above.
The invite was for an event at Caloundra, not Noosa, as they don’t have a suitable venue to run such a prestigious day, so they all had to come south.
And I was wrong. It was actually a strategy that came from the hard-working souls at the turf club, to go along with the Caloundra Cup and the Mooloolaba Cup.
So, in fact, it wasn’t emanating from the hallowed beaches of Noosa.
Of course, it didn’t stop me thinking about what the Noosa folk would bring with them if it was their idea – white shoes, straw boater hats, parasols, an array of German cars, a few celebrity chefs and the fine fare of Noosa towed behind. And, of course, all the horses would be Victorian thoroughbreds.
There would probably be a limo or two full of AFL greats, possibly some rarefied air, and maybe they planned to have pods, or bubble suits, while they were down this end of the coast.
Last time I wrote about this, there was a suggestion that Caloundra might become the new Noosa, as a development company was promoting to Victorians eager to get out of their bitter winter and ordinary premier.
Caloundra, the new Noosa, now the venue for the Noosa Cup – it’s all starting to make sense.
It is a good idea the turf club has though, but maybe Mudjimba could be the new Noosa. It has carparks and half as many roundabouts to negotiate, a beautiful beach, a river close by and an AFL ground that is hardly ever used.
It has an airport and it has an island to look at that is not owned by Richard Branson and you don’t have to be a millionaire to visit.
Perfect.
The Mudjimba Cup certainly is more my style.
Ashley Robinson is a columnist with Sunshine Coast News and My Weekly Preview. His views are his own.
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