Love, Poetry and Revolution - Saturday 13th May 2023

Late night last night, so a late start to today.  We decide to have breakfast in a local Baltic bakery/café, a fifteen minute stroll from home in the sun.

After a relaxing breakfast we headed home.  Next stop gardening. I cut the grass whilst Q trimmed the hedges and strimmed the edges. I dug up some old woody plants after which we decided to call it a day. A day. When we stepped back we were impressed with the results. The garden is much tidier and looks bigger.  Hopefully Bagheera will like what we've done.

A spot of lunch (very small amount) preceded a trip to the shops.  We're getting some food in for tonight, and beyond.  For the first time in recorded history I am going to watch the Eurovision final, live on TV. Q is a big fan, which I am not, but on the principle of 'try anything once', I'm giving it a go.

It's over, I've seen it, and I didn't burst into flames. I'm sure you're really interested to know what I thought of the experience.  I did cheat a little by reading the papers during the programme, but nevertheless I stuck it out to the end. Cards on the table.  There's not a single song that had enough going for it that I'd want to listen to it again. Ever. The best three songs were (in no particular order) the Belgian one (it'd work OK in a club), with a serious nod to Boy George, the German one (the question is did they water their style down for Eurovision, or is that as much 'edge' as they have), and the one by Voyager, the Australian band. (I might have liked that more, but I really don't like Prog Metal much, so somehow it failed to hit the spot. The Finnish one started well, and seemed as though it might have some steel to it and then it went downhill. The Croatian song was amusing (or at least the performance was), but how it got more points than the German one, I'll never understand. As for the rest, it was a case of the bland leading the bland. I was trying to recall something (a key change, a note, a repeated line, anything) memorable about the Swedish winner, but honestly can't recall anything other than that the singer was lying between to boards. Mel G doing what was allegedly milk-churning was a highlight, though what it referred to, I have no idea.  Some of the performances seemed to be designed to make up for the music in some other way, but... Will I watch it again, another year, maybe, but I will have reading material to hand. Sometimes the company beats the occasion.

TFBSZ

Free Love / 'Dans Le Noir' / (Single)


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