7 May – And I have no desire to mince words

Everyone has a birthday – except for Carola – so when one comes along that has a particular significance (that is because we’re in their country), my eye is drawn to it for these articles.

Today it’s the turn of birthday girl דפנה דקל/Dafna Dekel. She’s one of an élite bunch of people who have sung in our favourite show and hosted it too. What a girl! Naturally, in 1999 when she could laugh at the acts taking part, she wasn’t alone. But as the one with experience, she could sympathise when Spain came last, and Estonia equalled the sixth position she reached in Malmö. And she has the honour of getting Yugoslavia’s last ever maximum. Here she is singing about, erm, what was it again…?

Dafna is 53 today.

!יום הולדת שמח, דפנה