Quite what sort of a tagline that is for a singing competition, I don’t know, but nevertheless, this year Germany is inviting us to check for a pulse as all eyes turn to Düsseldorf for the 56th Concours Eurovision de la Chanson, as those crazy continentals say, unless they’ve twigged that one tends to have a much better chance of garnering a decent score if one switches to English for the night, in which case they’ll be saying, as well they should, that it’s time for the 56th Eurovision Song Contest. Continue reading →

…or something along those lines, anyway.  Not that it’s the sort of mantra one would associate with this author in general, of course (rare are the days when I can, hand on heart, claim that all, if any, of the aural arse-gravy excreted from my mouth is in any way better than the silence it interrupted, but we’ll let that slide for the now), but it has become something of an – albeit accidental – theme for this much-neglected journal.

And so it is that, with a gnats’ semibreve short of a year having passed since my words last darkened this particular doorstep, the floodgates are once more opened for, not all that coincidentally, pretty much the exact same topic on which we dwelt all those months ago. Continue reading →

So, it’s that time of year again. A (sadly Ireland-less) Eurovision Song Contest this Saturday – 8pm, my place, as usual (Abnib Events ‘n’ all that, if you’re that way inclined).

Tuesday’s semi was, I have to say, nothing to write home about, although it was nice to see Azerbaijan qualify with a surprisingly strong first ever Eurovision attempt. From Tuesday’s qualifiers alone they’re my favourites, although tonight’s semi looks to have a far stronger line-up so all that could change. Continue reading →