Good Friday & Hot Cross Bun Recipe

Good Friday is a religious and national holiday in Australia, and is held on the Friday before Easter Sunday. On this day, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

What do people do?

In Australia, Good Friday is the start of a four-day weekend and falls during the Easter school holidays. Many people take a short vacation around this time, often within Australia. Others take the opportunity to spend time with their family or friends.

Traditionally, people eat hot cross buns on Good Friday. These are small, bread-like buns flavored with spices and raisins or currants. Some modern recipes add cocoa to the the dough and replace the dried fruit with chocolate chips. All hot cross buns are marked on the top with a cross. The cross is sometimes cut into the top of the bun and sometimes made with a different, paler dough. Some people eat hot cross buns just as they are and others split them in half, toast them, spread them with butter, jam or cream and eat them warm.

Hot Cross Bun Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 x 8g sachets dried yeast
• 1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk, warmed
• 1/4 cup (60g) caster sugar
• 4 cups (600g) plain flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 60g butter
• 1/2 cup sultanas
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup (50g) self-raising flour
• apricot jam, warmed and sieved, for brushing

Method

Step 1: Soak dried fruit in boiling water for an hour

Step 2: Whisk yeast, milk and caster sugar until the sugar dissolves. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Step 3: Sift plain flour with cinnamon, mixed spice and salt into a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub in butter.

Step 4: Stir in sultanas, cranberries (craisins), eggs and yeast mixture. Turn dough onto floured surface. Knead for 10 mins. Put in large greased bowl. Cover. Leave in warm spot for 3/4 hour.

Step 5: Punch the dough down. Knead until smooth. Shape into 12 balls. Put into 30cm x 20cm greased baking tray. Set aside 1/4 hour.

Step 6 :Preheat oven to 200°C. Combine self-raising flour and 1/4 cup (60ml) water. Pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 10 minutes.

Step 7: Reduce oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 15 minutes. Brush buns while warm with jam.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick’s Day is an annual observance that is popular in Australia on March 17. This event serves as a tribute to Ireland and one of its patron saints, St Patrick.

Background

Many Australians remember the Irish settlement and culture on St Patrick’s Day. The Irish were among the first Europeans to settle in Australia. They comprised a portion of the convict settlement population in the late 1700s. More than 300,000 other Irish settlers (not convicts) migrated to Australia between 1840 and 1914. Many Irish immigrants came to Australia to escape famine in their homeland. About 30 percent of Australians are believed to have some Irish ancestry today.

One way of preserving Irish traditions and customs in Australia is celebrating St Patrick’s Day each year. St Patrick is one of Ireland’s patron saints. He died on March 17 in or around the year 493. He worked as a missionary in Ireland and it is believed that he banished “snakes” from the country although the term may have referred to druids or pagan worshippers.

Symbols

Many people wear the color green on St Patrick’s Day. They may also wear a symbol of Ireland, such as a brooch in the shape of a four-leaf clover or a harp. Images of leprechauns or a pot of gold are seen in promotional material for St Patrick’s Day. The Irish flag and balloons in flag’s colors (green, white and orange) are also visible during events, activities and in promotions on the day.

What do people do?

Many Australians come together on St Patrick’s Day to celebrate Irish culture and remember St Patrick’s life and achievements.

Come celebrate the Irish way with The Comm's St Patrick's Day Super Sunday Session.

- Travis Holland is playing from 3pm
- Green Beer
- St Patrick's Day Drink List
- Irish Guinness Pie
- Leprechaun Photo Stand
& of course the most Irish Bar Staff in Roma!

Horse Racing Bet Types - Multi Bets

MULTI BETS

DOUBLES
Daily Doubles and Extra Doubles requires you to correctly pick the winners of two TAB nominated races at a meeting

E.G. You have a $1.00 Daily Double and take number 2 to win the 1st leg (Race 5) and number 6 to win the 2nd leg (Race 7) and they will both need to win for you to win your bet. Double dividends are calculated by the amount of total money in the pool at race end and a dividend is then declared after the race is run.

RUNNING DOUBLE
The Running Double requires you to correctly select the winners of any two consecutive races at the one race meeting e.g. Race 2 winner and Race 3 winner.

TREBLE
Treble is picking the winner of three separate races.

E.G. You have a $1.00 Treble and take number 3 to win the 1st leg, number 6 to win the 2nd leg and number 9 to win the 3rd leg. All three bets will need to win for you to win your bet.

QUADRELLA
A Quadrella requires you to pick four winners from four races nominated by a TAB at the one meeting. A Quadrella differs from an All-Up in that the dividend is determined by dividing the amount of money in the dividend pool amongst successful investors, as opposed to an All Up that transfers your winnings from one race to the next.

The minimum investment for a Quadrella here is 50 cents, however all dividends will be displayed for $1. Flexi and Mystery Quaddie betting are also available.

To calculate the amount you need to spend to couple more than one horse in each leg simply multiply the number of selections in each leg together.

E.G. You want to have a $1.00 quadrella with 2 runners in each leg . This will cost you a total of $16 (i.e 2 x 2 x 2 x2) to get a full 100% return.

ALL UP BETTING
Also known as an Accumulator or Parlay. An All Up allows you to select one or more runners to win or place on different races and all of your selections are required to be successful for the All Up to win.The payout is worked out by multiplying your initial stake amount by the odds for each of your selections.

E.G. You have a $1 all up on on four races at a meeting.. Number 2 (Race 2), Number 4 (Race 4) number 6 (Race 6) and number 8 (Race 8).

Assuming all runners win...
Race 2 - $1.00 on number 2 @ $4.00 now you have $4.00 which goes all up.
Race 4 - $4.00 goes on to number 4 @ $3.00 now you have $12 which goes all up.
Race 6 - $12.00 goes on to number 6 @ $4.00 now you have $48 which goes all up
Race 8 - $48.00 goes on to number 8 @ $2.00 and your total return is $96.00

Horse Racing Bet Types - Trifecta & First Four

TRIFECTA
This bet requires you to select the 1st, 2nd an 3rd place finishers in order.

E.G. If you have a $1.00 trifecta on the numbers 4 to win, 5 to come second and 8 to run third then they would have to finish in the order 4-5-8 for you to win.

Triectas can be also be done as Boxed, or Standout bets as per Quinella bets.

BOX TRIFECTA
These are offered in denominations as low as $1 per unit, a $1 trifecta box of horses 1-3-5 would include six $1 combinations at a cost of $6 and would payoff if the order of finish were 1-3-5, 1-5-3, 3-1-5, 3-5-1, 5-3-1 or 5-1-3.

To calculate the cost of a trifecta box, multiply the number of horses you would like to box by that number minus one and by that number minus two, and then multiply it by your bet amount.

E.G. If you wanted to have a $1 Box trifecta with 4 horses the $1 trifecta box would be calculated as follows: (4 * 3 * 2) * $1 = $24 (24 $1 combinations.) If any three of your selections fill the first 3 placings then you would win the bet.

Below follow the calculated costs of $1 trifecta boxes:
· $1 trifecta box of 3 horses = 6 possible combinations = $6.
· $1 trifecta box of 4 horses = 24 possible combinations = $24.
· $1 trifecta box of 5 horses = 60 possible combinations = $60.
· $1 trifecta box of 6 horses = 120 possible combinations = $120.
· $1 trifecta box of 7 horses = 210 possible combinations = $210.
· $1 trifecta box of 8 horses = 336 possible combinations = $336.
· $1 trifecta box of 9 horses = 504 possible combinations = $504.

STANDOUT TRIFECTA
A runner selected to finish first (a standout) is combined with two or more other runners to finish second and third in any order. You can also standout a single runner to finish second or third if you wish.

E.G. If you had a $1 standout Trifecta on number 5 to win and numbers 1, 2 and 3 to run 2nd and 3rd then number 5 would have to win and the other three would need to fill the 2nd and 3rd placings for your bet to win.

FLEXI BET TRIFECTA
This bet allows you allows you to still specify the number of runners you wish to back but you can also specify what amount you would like to invest based upon your budget. The payout you receive will be a % of the winning dividend based upon the difference of the normal cost of a boxed Trifecta and the amount you chose to invest.

E.G. You want to box 5 horses in a trifecta. This would normally cost $60 however you only only wish to invest $15. If your selections win then you will receive 25% of the Trifecta dividend which is based on your bet of $15 divided by the normal cost of $60 = 15%. If the trifecta pays $2400.00 then you return $600.00 which is 25% of the trifecta dividend.

FIRST FOUR
First 4 requires selection of the first four finishers in correct order.

There are four different types of First 4 betting - Straight, Box, Standout and Multiple First 4's.

Straight First 4
Requires selection of the first four placings in a race in the CORRECT order.

Box First 4
This bet allows your selections to finish first, second, third and fourth in ANY order. Boxing four selections gives you 24 combinations with which you can win First 4.

Standout First 4
One runner is selected to finish 1st (ie a standout) and is coupled with three or more runners to finish second, third and fourth.

Multiple First 4
A multiple First 4 is where two or more runners are selected to finish 1st, with a number of other runners to finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th.



Horse Racing Bet Types - Quinella & Exacta

QUINELLA
This bet requires you to select the first and second place finishers, in either order.

E.G. If you have $2.00 on numbers 4 and 6 to run the quinella then either horse can win or run second (4-6-x or 6-4-x) but they must both finish 1st and 2nd for you to win. Quinella dividends are calculated by the amount of total money in the pool at race end and a dividend is then declared after the race is run.

BOX QUINELLA
A Box Quinella allows the ability to choose as many runners as you like from the same race, however two of the selections must place First or Second in any order. It also costs you more for your initial outlay as there are more runners.

E.G. If you have a $1 quinella on numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 then first you need to calculate the cost for boxing 4 runners.

To box a Quinella for $1

3 Runners - $3.00
4 Runners - $6.00
5 Runners - $10.00
6 Runners - $15.00
7 Runners - $21.00
8 Runners - $28.00
9 Runners - $36.00

To box 4 runners the bet will cost you $6 and if any of your four runners finish 1st or 2nd then you win your bet.

STANDOUT QUINELLA
The Standout Quinella is when you specify a group of runners that you think may come first, and a group that may come second, specifically in that order.

E.G. If you had a $1 quinella with number 2 to win and numbers 4, 5, 6 and 7 to run second then number 2 has to win the race while the other four have to run second for your bet to win. It will also cost you $4 to place the bet as there are in effect four Quinellas which are 2&4, 2&5, 2&6 and 2&7

EXACTA
This bet requires you to select the first and second place finishers, in that order.

E.G. If you have a $2.00 Exacta on numbers 8 and 2, then number 8 has to win and number 2 has to run second for you to win your bet. Exactas traditionally pay more than Quinellas but they are also harder to win as they have to run 1st and 2nd in order.

BOX EXACTA
The formula for calculating the cost of an exacta box is (horses in box x (horses in box minus 1) x dollar amount of bet). A $2 box of two horses would be (2 x 1 x 2) = $4. A $2 box of three horses would be (3 x 2 x 2) = $12. A $2 box of four horses would be (4 x 3 x 2) = $24.

As you can see the cost of the exacta box increases greatly with each additional horse. Also remember that you can wager a $1 exacta box. This reduces the amount of your wager by 50% but also reduces your earnings by 50%.

To box an Exacta -

3 Runners - $6.00
4 Runners - $12.00
5 Runners - $20.00
6 Runners - $30.00
7 Runners - $42.00
8 Runners - $56.00
9 Runners - $72.00

Horse Racing Bet Types - Win & Place

Horse Racing Bet Types are many and varied. Below details the most common horse racing bet types below.

WIN AND PLACE

WIN
Win only or "Straight Out" is a bet placed on a runner to win only.

E.G. $10.00 a win at $5.00 returns $50.00 if your runner wins.

PLACE
Place only is a bet placed on a runner to run 1st, 2nd or 3rd subject to field size.

Eight or more runners will pay 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Five to Seven runners will only pay 1st and 2nd.
Less than Five runners will only pay First.

E.G. $10.00 on a place bet at $2.45 returns you $24.50 if your horse places

EACH WAY
An each way bet is actually two bets: (1) a Win bet (like above) and (2) a Place bet (like above). For example, a bet of $10 Each Way is a Win bet of $10 and a Place bet of $10. That is, $10 Each Way is a $20 bet in all.

E.G. If you have $10 each way on a horse paying $10.00 for a win and $2.50 for a place you will outlay $20.00.

If runner wins you return $125.00 ($100.00 for win and $25.00 for place).
If runner runs a place you return $25.00 (Zero for Win and $25.00 for Place)

FIXED ODDS
Fixed Odds is a set price at which the Win portion of a bet will be paid at the fixed price as determined by the bookmaker.

E.G. $100.00 a Win at the Fixed Odds of $4.20 will return you $420.00 and if the horse drifts out to $4.50 during betting then you missed the best price, however if it firms into $3.90 then you got the better price at the time.

OTHER WIN & PLACE TERMS DEFINED:

STARTING PRICE (SP)
The Starting Price is an average of the on-course bookmaker's prices taken at the start of each race. These prices are not known by punters at the time of betting.

E.G. If you have $100.00 on a runner to win at SP and the final Starting Price is $3.30 then you return $330.00. If during betting the horse drifted out to $4.25 before firming again then you only get the SP price and miss the best price offered.

BEST FLUC
Best Fluctuation or Top Fluc, is available up to 30 minutes prior to jump. Bets placed prior are guaranteed to be paid at the top official on-course bookie fluctuation as determined by the Bookmakers Pricing Service (BPS). the Win portion will be paid at the best official Bookmakers' price. For Win/Place wagers, the place portion will be paid at a price equivalent to the Tote Place dividend declared in the state in which the race is run.

E.G. You have $100 a win on a runner at Best Fluc and during betting the fluctuations are as follows $4.20 | $4.50 | $4.40 | $4.70 then the Best Fluc is $4.70 which returns you $470.00.

What is a Footy Tipping Competition?

A tipping competition can takemany forms. The basic idea is to pick the winners from a week's or season'sgames in a given sport. There can be many variations in the way a competitioncan be run, it really does depend on the person organising the competition andhow they would like it to run.

If you wish to enter a tippingcompetition you will usually be charged a nominal entrance fee. This fee isnormally returned in full to the competitors in the form of winnings. Mostcompetitions will pay a prize to the weekly winner (the person with the highestscore for each week) and a larger prize will be awarded to the highest placedcompetitors at seasons end. It is up to the organiser as to who gets what andwhen, so check with them to find out the rules of the competition and how theprizes are awarded.

Joining a tipping competitionmay at first appear a bit daunting so the following definitions attempt todemystify some common tipping competition terms for you and hopefully encourageyou to join in and enjoy your tipping competition. 


Some Terms you may come across:

Pick or Tip - The team you are going to choose orhave chosen for a given game. A correct pick is when you have chosen the winnerof that game, an incorrect pick is used when you have chosen the loser.

Margin - The difference in score between thewinning team and the losing team of a given game. Can be used as a tie-breakerwhen more than one person have the same number of correct picks. The first gameof the round is quite often used when choosing a game for margin.

Tie-breaker - A means to distinguish between two ormore competitors who have finished a round or a season with the same score.Will often be the margin between two teams though it can also be the highestscore of the round.

Highest Score of the Round - A form of Tie-breaker where thecompetitors pick the highest score, in points, of a given game of the round.

Fixture - Also known as the 'Schedule' or'Roster' is the listing of games, order and the teams playing in the sport inquestion. When referring to the fixture in a tipping competition you need to beaware of whether it is a ‘weekly fixture’, where you need to pick the games foreach week. Or if it is a ‘seasons fixture’, where you need to pick the winnersfor the whole of the season up front.

Home and away teams - All teams will have a ‘home ground’ inthe competition e.g. the Brisbane Broncos home ground is the Suncorp Stadium.When looking at the fixture for the week teams will be listed under a home oraway banner. Teams have a better chance of winning when playing at home as thisis where they have a greater supporter base.

Venue - The sports ground at which a game isbeing played.

Round No - The round number designates the weekin which the games are being played in relation to the first week of theseason.

Count-back - At seasons end if two or morecompetitors are tied for first place the count-back method may be used. Whatthis entails is going back through each of the competitors weekly scores to seewhich has the highest number of (NRL) weeks where 8 winners have been picked.If this number is the same for the competitors in question then you can do thesame for 7’s, 6’s etc. until a winner is found.

If you are looking for a Footy Tipping Competition to belong to: Come down and join our NRL tipping comp @ The Commonwealth Hotel Roma.

Round 1 starts Tursday 7th March 2013.