Eurovision

It's been and gone for another year, and it's not something that I've watched for a considerable while now seeing as how my household is television-less. Maybe it's on the wireless too? Not Radio 1, that's for sure, but I've never looked. It could of course be that it's made its way to Radio 3 by now, seeing as how they've almost abandoned the classical music lover entirely.

It is a great source of entertainment though, and it's curious that only the Brits seem to appreciate its true awfulness. Terry Wogan seems an irreplaceable element in the evening's entertainment, so it's sad to hear that he's thinking of stepping down. Any successor is on a hiding to nothing, that's for sure. They'll not be able to play it straight, and it'll be difficult to find a different angle for humour.

Actually, not having a TV diminishes the pleasure of the contest not one iota. It takes only one single Wogan quote (this year he described an act as like 'the four brides of Frankenstein and a man with a washing line') to make me laugh out loud.

It's disappointing that the UK never applies itself seriously to finding an act that really lives down to our expectations of Eurovision (well, some would say we do), rather than simply going for the irredeemably naff.

Other bloggers have been very good on Eurovision. The one I enjoyed most was Rachel from North London, although Norm struck a slightly more serious note over on the wonderful normblog. Norm offers the usual excuse (we only really used to watch it for the children) with the almost plausible (we only watched 'about half a dozen songs' this year) before he deals at length with the unfairness of the voting system. I rather suspect that he watches the programme avidly from beginning to end, despite his denials. Given the surreal nature of the contest, it is difficult to see what a 'fair' voting system could possibly add to the already ludicrous.