Eurovision

For the last 10 years or so we have devoted an evening a year to the exquisite torture that is the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest is always something of a mystery, our favourite songs rarely do well, and the voting seems to bear no relationship to the quality of the songs.

Daniel (far right) had the wonderful idea that we should have a meal together before the show, and cooked Azerbaijan Pork in celebration of the contest being in Baku. This was, to be honest, the highlight of the evening and Daniel's cooking received douze points from me.

When I was young I used to listen to the Eurovision Song Contest on the radio - we had no television - so the contest seemed to be about songs rather than spectacles. The voting was by jury, and people sang in the languages of their countries. There was some sense of celebration of diversity.

I think the Contest, as a contest of songs, may have peaked in 1971 and 1972. Even though I only heard them a few times, the winners from those years made an impression that stayed with me. Now through the magic of youtube I can get to see what the show looked like. The staging was minimal, nothing spectacular happened. People sang songs.

In 1971, Séverine won for Monaco with Un banc, un arbre, une rue.

In 1972, Vicky Leandros won for Luxembourg with Après toi.

Songs from 40 years ago. Makes me feel quite ancient!

Interestingly, Yves Dessca was involved in writing the lyrics for both songs. Other credits go to Jean-Pierre Bourtayre and Klaus Munro. Perhaps we could persuade them to collaborate for 2013.

Next year the contest will be in Stockholm. I think Daniel is already planning a Swedish menu.