Home (and Eurovision!)

London, baby! (Even got a black cab in there!)

I’ve just been home for ten days, and it was great – and unbelievably tiring. In those ten days I managed to fit in five choir rehearsals (three different choirs), a trip to the cinema (the new Star Trek film is really good), a visit to my godson, a meeting with my supervisors, the most productive week I have EVER had in terms of my PhD (with several very late nights up studying, but well worth it) and the Eurovision Song Contest (viewing, not taking part yet). I came back to the Faroes absolutely shattered.

It was nice to be home again for a little bit – although I kept accidentally referring to the Faroes as ‘home’ (‘When I get back home, I can...’) which didn’t go down too well with my mum... But then she did it too (‘We can post that when you get home...’) so we’re even.

Now it wouldn’t be mitchenstein if I didn’t say something about Eurovision, although I would just like to point out that not being able to vote in the Faroes wasn’t my reason for coming home.

So let me just say that I thought it was the best Eurovision yet – the songs were much better and the staging was jaw-dropping. It was great to see the ol’ United Kingdom doing so well!

But the night belonged to Norway, and in particular, Alexander Rybak:
The dancer closest to Rybak looks like he’s been dropped.

So I’ll finish with a few comments:

1. The French entry made me feel sick. Wouldn’t you clear your throat out before singing?

2. The Russian entry was the worst thing ever. And not just on TV (hat-tip Chandler).

3. I thought Iceland were really good – but I reckon quite a few Icelanders were glad the Norwegians were there...

4. No Terry Wogan! Finally that moron’s out of the picture. Graham Norton was so much better. The funniest line of the night was when the woman from Montenegro was giving her country’s points (‘That’s either a national dress... Or a horrible dress’). But you had to be there.

On my way home, I had a few hours to spend in Copenhagen – unfortunately it was really hot (not usually a problem, but I was dressed for the Faroes), and all the shops were shut as it was some public holiday (Ascension Day, I think). But it was nice to have a look around:

And somebody has obviously spent a lot of time and effort on these trees by the Danish Parliament (unless they grow like that), so I thought they deserved a photo: