Australia 2017 - Day 62 – 25th April

Day 62

Anzac Day 2017

This was my first Anzac day in Australia and I was determined to experience as much as I could of it so I was up at 4.00 as was Justin and we drove to Dee Why for the Dawn Service to be held along the Beach Front as night turned into day.

We arrived at around 5.00 and I was amazed at the number of people that were there already.  We managed to park in the Lagoon car park and crossed over to the beach.  The restaurants were already open serving coffees to the hordes of people descending on the town and then we took our place in front of one of the large screens erected for the service.

The service was opened by marching bagpipes and started promptly at 5.30.  There were readings given, hymns sung, wreaths laid and all in all it was very touching.  It lasted over an hour but that was not too long and the sunrise as a backdrop seemed very fitting.

When the service was over we went back home for breakfast and got ready for the second part of the day. Twos Up at the Kirri Billi club in Sydney.

Justin and I got there at 12.00 and had a lunch of chips and beer while waiting for the others and for the main event to start

Twos-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated "spinner" normally throwing two coins or pennies into the air. Players bet on whether the coins will fall with both heads (obverse) up, both tails (reverse) up, or with one coin a head and one a tail (known as "odds"). It is traditionally played on Anzac Day in pubs and clubs throughout Australia, in part to mark a shared experience with Diggers through the ages.  In this case, it was played with three coins so there was always a head or tails winner so bets were place between players as to whether heads or tails would win.

The game is traditionally played with pennies – their weight, size, and surface design make them ideal for the game. Weight and size make them stable on the "kip" and easy to spin in the air. Decimal coins are generally considered to be too small and light and they don't fly so well. The design of pre-1939 pennies had the sovereign's head on the obverse (front) and the reverse was totally covered in writing making the result very easy and quick to see. Pennies can often be observed being used at games on Anzac Day, as they are brought out specifically for this purpose each year. Anzac Day is the only day of the year that this form of gambling is allowed to take place over a restricted 3-hour period.

After a most enjoyable afternoon I ended the session about $100 up.

We then met up in the restaurant with Jill. Keith. Adam and Nick with little Arlo and we all had a meal before taking the train back home after a very full and tiring day.