11 February – From the grain to the leafbud and from the flower to the fruit

France. A country with a very illustrious history in our favourite TV show. Five wins under their belts, four of them occurring under no longer used scoring systems.

That is because back in 1971 everything changed. A new voting structure, preview videos, and a natty little venue in Dublin called the Gaiety Theatre. We saw a tiny principality win and another tiny country prop up the other end of the scoreboard. About half-way was today’s birthday boy Serge Lama (né Serge Chauvier), singing about his garden. Well, gardening is one of those untapped resources of songs. Maybe Carola could come back, singing about her gladioli. Or Sergey Lazarev and his snowdrops. The possibilities are endless.

Serge is 79 today.

Bonne anniversaire, Serge!