20 September – The flowers have yet to bloom in the garden

For some, Eurovision is just a sideshow. These performers are already massive stars, and they take the Golden Ticket to burnish their credentials as the best when they might not need to.

Cue today’s birthday girl שרית חדד/Sarit Hadad (née שרה חודדטוב/Sarah Hudadatov). She has been voted Israel’s best female singer of the 2000s. That’s no mean feat in a country that’s know for its singing. In 2002 she was already an established star, and the IBA chose her internally to go to sunny Tallinn. So she heads off north and finishes twelfth. These days that would still be the left-hand side of the scoreboard. Nevertheless, despite probably performing under expectations, our favourite TV show was not the be-all-and-end-all for our Sarit. Still, I’m sure she’d secretly love to try again.

Sarit is 42 today.

!יום הולדת שמח, שרית