Eurovision

We had a small gathering over at ours for Eurovision on Saturday night, in my view one of the highlights of the year. We would have liked to have invited more people but our living room is smaller than in our rental flat and we only just managed to squeeze the handful of people who were present in. Next year, we may have to do something different, and plan it a little further ahead - due to our garden we kinda left this to the last minute.

Having a smaller number was an advantage from the point of view that we could hear the songs more clearly as well as Graham Norton's excellent commentary. I feel he has really grown into the role vacated by Terry Wogan and has proven to be an inspired choice to take over the mantel. Some of his sardonic remarks were hilarious and it was great seeing him surprised by the exploding confetti in his commentary box.

The result was interesting. I can understand why the Austrian entry won but I really don't think it was the best song of the contest. It was a generic Bond theme type ballad but compared to the Netherlands, which was really just 'Every Breath You Take' it was a worthy winner. It was a shame the rock tracks didn't fare so well but generally, as usual, the best songs finished towards the top. The Austrian entry was a nice song though and sent a message of tolerance and acceptance across Europe, one which was highlighted by her victory speech. I think it largely won though for the novelty fun aspect of the singer, albeit a sense of fun with a serious point behind it.

The Austrian entry did well despite the usual tired accusations of "political" voting. I don't doubt this goes on but not to the degree ascribed. It only really affects the bottom end of the table too - the better songs always tend to be at the top in the contest and this year's top five received points from the vast majority of countries. It was interesting that Brits were screaming about "political" voting before giving ten points to Malta, a former British colony which did not record high points from anywhere else. The difference between the popular vote and the jury vote was interesting too, with Brits (and I suspect many Poles living here) giving the Polish entry top rating while the jury put it right at the bottom. I can't help but think that's an argument against popular votes as it was less a song and more a striptease.

Anyway, the whole evening is just a bit of fun and the standard of songs at this year's contest was exceptional. There were only a few poor ones and one, Iceland's, which I think may have been the best entry since Latvia's Wolves of the Sea in 2008 or 2009. We munched on a load of nibbles and afterwards watched the hilarious Chin Review, another YouTube delight introduced to me by Stray Jim. We were up until 3am having had an exceptional evening - we hope to repeat it again next year.

Oh and as for the British entry - it deserved to finish higher than 17th but I think the performance was a little flat and there were more memorable tunes. Being last probably didn't help either. Still Molly deserved to be on the left side of the board as it was this country's best entry in years.