They’re not making me happy today

I’ve just come into the press centre, where the Norwegians were playing a bit of folkloric music sounding very like the sort of thing they’ll be playing in the accreditation tent in heaven just after I die – “Well, I was definitely *supposed* to be an A2, but if I’m not on the computer I’ll wait. For two million years, you say? OK, I’ll have a cushion as well.”

Fortunately, Alvedansen is better than that. Very very innocent, simple performance, inasmuch as you can be innocent when you’re wearing very sheer white dresses and you’ve got Carola‘s wind machine cranked up behind you – note perfect again, so they got through several run throughs. Not the winner, but certainly the winner of the first quarter.I know that there are some interesting people reading this, so Terry, if you should happen to be one of them… please be aware that they’re rehearsing some VERY tight segues between ends of postcards and starts of songs, and you won’t have a lot of slack time to be witty after they conclude.

Spain is a note-perfect, relaxed performance of a song that’s getting broad thumbs down generally. It’s one of those strange things where there are obvious places where it builds up, and has a traditional Eurovision Key Change … and yet it doesn’t ever get any bigger. If active passivity is what Europe is after the girls have a chance, but if they want some positive reason why they should pick up the phone, they’re not going to find one out of Las Ketchup. Except possibly to order a pizza.

Phil and Franko have just disrespected the nation of Malta and are now sitting besides me. That doesn’t sound encouraging for Malta, really!