Another Year To Wait Until Eurovision 2020

What can we say, except that Saturday night and our most favourite televisual event of the year, the Eurovision Song Contest was just tooooooooooooooo tooooooooo wonderful for words .......... it was everything we hoped for and more. It was emotional, but there again it always is, not only for the contestants but also for us, there are always a few muffled sniffs.  All I can say is thank goodness for the very ample mugs of Horlicks presented to us before we each wended our way to bed from Hugh's "man that does", before he finished his evening shift. I am sure they helped us all massively to calm down after all the rampant excitement of the evening.

   

What no pictures? Sorry but no, as we are still very much guests of Hugh at Le Chicken Coop, where internet access, as it's out in the wilds, isn't that brilliant at the best of times ...... and, to be honest, it would just look downright rude if we started to pore over our laptop while Hugh is entertaining us in his usual flamboyant Hello Magazine type way, so, if it's OK with you, we will be posting our post Eurovision analysis and our weekend together when we get home ........ 

This Week We Are Mainly Living The Eurovision Dream

What can we say, last might was just brilliant. 

Darrell made us special Eurovision cocktails using an intoxicating infusion of liqueurs native to some of the countries taking part in this years competition with a just a splash of Vimto and a hint of Umbongo and has promised something similar for Thursday night. There was also Maltesers, Kit Kat Sensations and a couple of Twix on heat ice to keep our energy levels up.  

Anyway, some of the songs we loved from their promotional videos were a little disappointing in real life .......

..... like Mrs Serbia ..... I am afraid we don't rate her anymore, she promised much but alas is no longer our tip for the top, although she qualified for the final.

As for Australia, who got through and now heavily tipped as a favourte to win the whole thing...... we just don't get it and only got our vote for the most anoying song of the night, acrobatics or not!

Portugal, as we predicted,  did not disappoint but for all the wrong reasons ......... and did not quaify for Saturday night, no great loss there.

Mr San Merino, we thought was very out of key but still got through!  Perhaps he was supposed to sound like that, or was it the affects of Darrell's Eurovision cocktails playing havoc with our auditory systems?

Anyway, ten acts got through and the other eight or so are probably now packing their bags and bidding farewell to Tel Aviv as you are reading this.

But now, we have the second semi final to look forward to, we think it could be a very close run thing as there are no entries that we think are just blatantly too awful for words.

Well perhaps for Angelina Jolie who seems to have stepped down a little from her humanitarian efforts and begging Brad Pitt to go back to her by representing Moldova with a song called Stay!

We very much like Azerbaijan's "Truth" because in our opinion it has one of the catchiest tunes in the contest and we also think that the singer Chingiz has a certain allure and charm that some ladies will very much appreciate.

Albania, though not really our cup of tea is nevertheless very dramatic and a strong contender that will definitely go straight through to Saturday's Grand Final and then probably get in to the top ten at least.

Our Eurovision dark horse of the year is without question Denmark's "Love Is Forever". It has a very fresh feeling to it, is incredibly cute and is a million miles away from all the power ballads and overly choreographed and costumed entrants.

The young lady also sings in two different languages which is never a bad thing in Eurovision. We think, if it gets through, it should be in the top five of the Grand final.

Well, here's to a fabuuuuuuulous Thursday night and then our wonderful, wonderful, much anticipated Euro weekend with Hugh a la Chicken Coup, where we really hope one of his man that does's boozy chocolate trifles is on the menu.

Eurovision Look-a-Likies?

Yesterday afternoon Nigel just happened to pass Derek’s Hair Studios, our most favourite hairdressers in Evesham, for whom time appears to have stood still ………

……. and he couldn’t help but stop to take a closer look at the model photographs carefully arranged in amongst the always seasonal window display ……

……. and realised that one or two of them could easily pass for contestants in this years (and indeed many, many past) Eurovision Song Contests as they had a certain familiarity about them. 

It seems that Monsieur Derek hasn't had much call to reproduce the young ladies style below as we've never seen anything remotely like it during our three years in Evesham, but let’s be honest, it would certainly not go a miss on the Eurovision stage.

However, from Nigel's chance remarks when he got back to The Towers has spawned a new game for us to play during the Eurovision proceedings, as devised by Darrell ……… "Spot the Derek Look-a-Likie" to spot which contestants most resemble one of Derek’s models. What are we like?

The Most Wonderful Night Of The Year …….. After Christmas Eve (Of Course)

OMG, OMG, it’s here, well almost …..  on Saturday. .....our most favourite televisual event of the year, the Eurovision Song Contest, this year from Tel Avi, we might just burst! 

As per tradition, we will be spending the weekend with Hugh a la Chicken Coup, his Worcester bolt hole, where he is able to get right away from all things luvvie and feather boa. 

However, in the glorious build up to Saturday night we have the semi finals tomorrow and Thursday night and we do not intend to be found wanting ……. yes, we’ve been doing our homework and listening to non stop Eurovision entries since the start of the month. What are we like, if not fanatical enthusiastic?

So….. from tonight’s semi final we very much like Serbia, The Czech Republic and Estonia and feel that they should all be assured safe passage to the finals on Saturday, especially Serbia,  who, if not, questions will need to be asked in the European Parliament.

The same, in our opinion, cannot be said, for either Portugal or Australia, if they get through it will be a travesty.  Let’s just say that Portugal’s entry "Telemoveis" is..... erm ……… different and although they're  nothing really to do with the song, perhaps the costumes and ebullient dancing may not strike the required cord with quite all the panels of international judges!

As for Australia’s entry is concerned, "Zero Gravity"  it’s all a bit same old, same old, …….. a Frozen  Elsa look-a-like young lady raised high above the stage in a huge illuminated crinoline type frock with a strange woman on a stick swinging menacingly behind her, only seems to cause her to warble in a most alarmingly fashion. Nul points we thinks and not a cats hope in hell of reaching the final! 

As Nigel so succinctly put it …… no one will/can ever do it like Conchita Wurst again, nor should they ever try. But there again, what do we know?  The Maltesers are on ice .......we'll be back on Wednesday to see whether our Derek Acorah type predictions were right or wrong .......and make our predictions for Thursday nights semi final,  see you then!

Nigel Finds …….

The saying goes ne’re cast a clout ‘till May be out ……. and although it might almost be the middle of said month, there is still a nip in the air in the evening and first thing in the morning, so make no mistake our woolly winter vests will certainly not be cast aside, ceremoniously or otherwise, until the stroke of midnight on 1st June.

And, with this in mind, when Nigel stumbled upon this rather fetching and extremely warm looking  pink bobble hat on the nursery run the other day it was obvious that little ones were also still feeling the nip, so he made doubly sure he left it in a prominent position in order that it could be easily found should anyone come looking for it. 

On the same day the little fella also came across this rather naked and contorted doll, to be honest he found the nakedness a little disconcerting …..  especially considering the aforementioned nips. Again, Nigel put the disenfranchised body in an obvious place, atop the litter bin  to hopefully be reunited with its owner, although, he said he had an quell the overwhelming urge  to just pop back home to find some clothes to cover its modesty …… but he had resisted.

The good news is that when Nigel went by the next day both items appeared to have indeed been claimed by their owner (hopefully rightful) ……. result!  Happy reunions all round.

No Real Need To See Fiona Bruce ........

The Antiques Roadshow has a lot to answer for ……. Nigel had taken a closer look at the £1 charity shop swan Darrell had bought him a while back and thought he could just about pick up some numbers and letters on the bottom of it

I am afraid he got himself a little over excited asking if we could go to said roadshow with said swan to ask the very fragrant Fiona Bruce what it was “really” worth.

Darrell had a look and thought he could pick out some numbers and letters out too, thinking that it could be possibly Sylvac and worth a bit more than he had actually paid, but rather than Nigel going to ask the very Fragrant Fiona in person, he decided instead to look it up on e-bay for confirmation …….

…….. and yes, Nigel’s swan was a genuine small Sylvac posy planter No. 1127 and yes, it was worth a little more than the £1 Darrell had originally paid for it, somewhere between £4.50 and £12.00 perhaps. Nigel it has to be said was pleased as punch, even though he didn’t need to go and see Fiona now, he was the proud owner of a real life antique and that was more than enough for him and even if he did have to wait quite some considerable time for it to increase in value to make us all rich.  What is he like?

Seriously Not For Us ……

Now, we all absolutely love a strawberry, in fact we can never get enough of a proper English one in the summer months and it has to be said that both Nigel and I greatly appreciate it when Darrell includes the odd slice of beetroot in one of his wonderful artisan salads ……….

……. but together…… in a drink? I think not! I am just sooooooooo thankful that Nigel decided against making a considered purchase when he spotted it on the shelves of the Poundstretcher up the road.  I can assure you, not a single drop would have passed my lips, no matter how persuasive his argument had he suggested basing one of our renowned reviews on it. For me, on this occasion, the fashion for the unusual fusion of flavours has overstepped the mark, into just plain disgusting.

Emotional Charity Shop Shopping

Nigel’s Tewksbury rendezvous and reunion with The PE and Finance Ladies was, how shall I put it, .... emotional, but after a round of hot, buttered toast and a pot of tea at The Royal Hop Pole everyone finally managed to catch their breath and were then eager for Nigel to introduce them to the charity shop pleasures of Tewksbury.  It did not disappoint ……

…… especially as Nigel had also found a pop up toy sale in the town hall where the PE Lady made the first purchase of the day, a baby doll, the perfect size for her mum to knit clothes for and then raise funds for charity. We love the PE Lady’s mum …… and her knitting!

However, at times Nigel found The PE Lady’s bag not a little disconcerting ………

….. so in the end, when The PE Lady was absorbed in looking at something else Nigel tactfully tucked the little rogue arm in her bag so it didn’t look quite so erm ……sinister.

From all accounts they all had a wonderful time …….. some items were ruled out almost instantly as being just a little too flamboyant for nomal life back at home ……

……while others were admired greatly ………

...... but sadly, despite much consideration, no one really had anywhere to put and display them to their best affect in their respected homes.

Nigel didn’t find any treasure, but everyone got robustly excited when The Finance Lady found a holy water wall font that they all knew Darrell would go mad about for his decor ideas and for just £1.99 it was duly purchased.

After several hours, a cream tea, a bag of chips and much catching up all that was left to do was for Nigel to deliver The PE and Finance Lady to The Towers to Darrell and I  ………..

....... where the pent up excitement was ...... forget palpable and tangible ....... it was at fever pitch!

Nigel Is A Guest Of The Royal Hop Pole, Tewksbury.

As Nigel’s rendezvous with the PE and Finance Lady was timetabled for early to facilitate a charity shop shopping trawl, Darrell decided it best to book Nigel a room for the night in Tewksbury at The Royal Hop Pole …. as mentioned in Charles Dickens Pickwick Papers (The Royal Hope Pole, not Nigel’s stay!!)

The reviews were good and let’s just say it did not disappoint especially in it’s position to the charity shops, its romantic allure and it’s historical pedigree …..

…… which gave it its little quirks.  Nigel’s found that his room was on the top floor with it’s very own staircase leading up to it, which for Nigel was like he'd been put in the Presidential Penthouse Suite.

However, said stairs did have issues .......

..... as Nigel's door opened directly onto them, so he made doubly sure he had all his wits about him and was doubly cautious when leaving the room.

Inside the room he had real life old beams ………………..

….. and you can’t get any more historical or romantic than that.

If our beloved Derek Acorah had popped in on Nigel during his stay, goodness only knows what spiritual entities he could have picked up pouring from those rafters and with whom Nigel could possibly have been sharing his room with.

There were rules to be obeyed too, but not ones that were too onerous, however rather than have the embarrassment of having the alarms go off during his ablutions, Nigel took the precaution of putting a spare towel along the bottom of the bathroom door to prevent any unintentional steamy leakage and showering in his pants just in case there was an “evacuation”, ....... you can never be too careful in historic hostelries!

The light fitting in his room, Nigel felt, was somewhat disappointing for such surroundings, he was sure Darrell would have installed a far grander antler type affair or at least some sort of minor chandelier.

However, it was on the floor below Nigel's room that gave the Royal Hop Pole it’s real X Factor ……….

….. with it’s very own medieval banqueting hall (but sadly no longer used as such)

…… just how historically brilliant is that?  Nigel said he could almost smell the roasting suckling pig and again Derek Acorah would have had a field day, perhaps even telling Nigel what the many suckling pigs had been served with and what was served for pudding afterwards.  Nigel was most impressed.

He was also impressed by the staircases  which all appeared to have a tendency to lean, with no lift Nigel thought it might be advisable for guests to stick to beverages of a non alcoholic persuasion despite it also being a public house! What is he like?

The Royal Hop Pole did not disappoint downstairs in the bar and restaurant areas either……..

The chimney/fire place must have offered many a cold and weary Dickenson traveller warmth and comfort in the past ........ and as for Father Christmas, coming down such a chimney must have bought soooooooooooooooo much pleasure! Happy Days!