Such a Disappointment

One of the things we (ok, I) really missed while in NZ was the wonderful annual ritual of glitz, glam, sequins, silliness and suspense that is the Eurovision Song Contest.
The year before we went was possibly one of the best ever with Lordi's Hard Rock Hallelujah winning (though our favourite was Lithuania's We Are the Winners for extreme silliness). Even the UK entry that year was pretty comical with Daz Simpson's Teenage Life...
Last night, we watched in great anticipation having heard marvellous things of the Azerbijan rock opera entry and generally expecting the usual level of special entries and fun.
Like pulling teeth. It was so boring. Just pop song after pop song. Thank goodness for Latvia's sense of humour and Spain's...weirdness to brighten the evening.
Anyway, the biggest problem was this whole tactical voting thing. The UK song was actually pretty good this time round. Not being biased. Normally, the UK entrant can't sing, is bland, blah blah blah. Not so yesterday. But did the poor guy get any votes?! Well, one or two, but he came last. Joint last, with Poland.
And it just wasn't funny any more. Yes, we know the Balkans and the Baltics will all vote for each other but it has just become too ridiculous. Knowing exactly who everyone is going to vote for takes any fun out of the competition.
To top it all off, El Tel was firing definite warning shots (as Husbink puts it). If there is no Terry Wogan commentry next year, Eurovision will definitely not be getting my vote.