NORMAL LIFE: That Was Spring

NORMAL LIFE: Free Hugs Campaign

NORMAL LIFE: The Day After The Eurovision

The 'day after' was a nice, blue day. The sun shone and, after breakfast, we went on a 25km cycle ride to let off steam. Fuming from the Russian victory at last night's Eurovision final in Belgrade, Serbia, we angrily pedalled our way towards Vuosaari, east of Helsinki. Passing the drunks in Kallio, the affluent in Kulosaari, the ever-sameness of the apartment buildings in Hertaniemi, we settled down at the bay-side cafe in Vuosaari and, as at breakfast, discussed the Eurovision one last time before knocking it on the head. It just happened to be bad timing that a large group of Russians had taken over the only grilling spot there was in Vuosaari which, I bet, angered alot of Finns passing by that day.

Belgrade had done a fantastic job, as admitted time and time again by an appreciative public. It's the show, however, that isn't what it used to be. Nationalism has taken hold in Europe on such a level that it becomes blatantly obvious at contests such as this. If we look at the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavs in isolation, what I don't understand is that if they wanted independence so badly, why are they now all voting for eachother? Is it that they're afraid that if they don't grant the Ruskies the high regarded douze pointes', that they risk having their gas cut off next winter as in the case of last winter's sudden power shortage in Belarus?

This year was meant to see a turnaround in the fortunes of the United Kingdom. Of course, we didn't expect to win, but to be eleven points down on last year's performance by four air stewards (remember Scooch?), you couldn't help but wander if we were being deliberated targeted. But it wasn't all bad. Officially, we did come last, but we shared joint last place with two other countries: Germany and Poland. I liked all the entries that shared the not so coveted joint 14-point position, but perhaps it is now official that my taste in music is so bad that I need a bit of brainwashing and should only vote for Eastern European countries from now on!

The United Kingdom dispatched Andy Abraham, a former binman, to Belgrade this year. He performed well and I was hopeful that this might mark the start of a turnaround. If anything, the show proves what racist shits the Eastern Europeans are. Yes, Andy is black, but he can sing and his dancing style gets your own feet tapping on your living room floor without you even realising it. I did not get the same effect from the Olympic champion ice skater accompanying Dima Bilan, Russia's contestant, as he belted out Believe, which was apparently produced by a US R&B star Timbaland.

With 272 points, Russia clinched this year's top spot, followed by Ukraine (230 points), Greece (218 points, picture on right), Armenia (199 points) and Norway (182 points). I actually like the songs from Ukraine and Armenia, which proves that I am not merely anti-Russian.

British people, despite the history of our nation, believe in fairness. Fairness should prevail and it's not that we are sore losers. Other suffered too from the night's viting. One shock from the evening's proceedings was the surprising, relatively high score of Norway (5th) when compared to Sweden's undeerved, dismal 18th position. Clinching a respectable 10th place was Bosnia & Herzegovina (with 110 points), with an absolutely god-awful depiction of what can only be described as an a excerpt from a children's program!

Where do we go from here? To get a more balanced view, I checked out the online blog on http://www.eurovision.tv/. There, people from all over had expressed concern. The presenter for the UK, Terry Wogan, who has been hosting the Eurovision for English-speaking viewers for more than thirty years revealed that he we was seriously thinking of quitting. One Portuguese viewer was disappointed by their achievement of 13th place, suggesting that Portugal should put out from the show. Several British fans posted similar messages, but from a different context: the UK is a main contributor to the costs of the show. Perhaps from next year, each country should pay a share proprtional to it's official population? Another fan cited the UK's alliance with America as a contributor to the end result and, for a change, I am thinking we should make some more friends in the US just to piss Europe off even more!

But there is some consolation for the British to be found on an Irish website, All Kinds Of Everything. If you check out the cumulative Medals Table, you will see that the United Kingdom ranks 2nd overall in performances over the years. I, myself, am not turning my back on the Eurovision just yet. If anything, it's an amusing nights entertainment. Two years ago, I took this show seriously. These days, I couldn't care less so it's questionable whether or not the start of the end has begun! Is it goodbye Eurovision?

NORMAL LIFE: Oz Countdown - 100 Days

How time flies, eh? I was just reviewing my work schedule when I saw a note indicating that today marks the one hundred days until I depart for my one year out in Australia!

Not a one-year-out as such, more like a planned one year away, but whatever it is, the days are like grains of sand trickling through my hands.

Having just finished planning a one-week holiday taking in Riga, Stockholm and Copenhagen and a sixteen day break to the UK in July which takes in Devon, Cornwall, North Wales and London, my attention is now focused on getting the finer details planned for Oz!

This means applying for jobs, sorting out the appropriate insurance for my possessions, finding somewhere to live...but it will be worth it because I always knew that 2008 would be a year like no other!

NORMAL LIFE: Second Semi Final Review [ESC]

This time, the huge, 23,000 capacity Belgrade Arena was filled to capacity, the atmosphere almost palpable. With fans from all over Europe waving flags like maniacs, the show began with a mini cabaret featuring various characters, most notably a winged Pegasus. The stage came to life, with hosts, Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović, emerging on either sides of the stage, the design of which is based on the confluence of two big European rivers, the Danube (in blue) and the Sava (in red). In line with the new rules for the Eurovision, the Finnish public were not able to participate in the evening’s vote, having been ‘separated’ from Denmark and Sweden to prevent tactical, neighbourhood voting.

The show begins with Iceland, my personal favourite from this years show. Euroband, consisting of duo Friðrik Ómar and Regína Ósk, sang This Is My Life. A fantastic performance, they were truly in synch with the cameras, obviously aware that a strong start to the show had to be made. The guy’s teeth, startlingly white, proved a bit of a distraction as did Regína’s under-arm fadoobas, but by god, what a fantastic song!! As the song drew to a close, the crowd’s delight was obvious. And I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Friðrik is gorgeous.

Sweden’s Charlotte Perrelli sang Hero, a credible pop number, with the usual minimal choreography typical of Sweden’s entries to Eurovision over the years. Slowly making her way down a series of blocks whilst wearing a silver string dress, there was something distracting about Miss Perrelli. I am not sure if it was the plastic surgery, or if a drinking session the night could be held accountable for the dark rings under her eyes. A good song, though, but no where near as good as Iceland’s.

Next up was Turkey with pop/rock band, Mor ve Ötesi. With their song, Deli, the band turned the stage into a platform for what I would describe as ‘noise’. I don’t go for rock generally so my opinion on this song is somewhat biased. A talented band, they are good with their instruments and have a certain chemistry onstage. Very different to earlier Turkish entries.

Ani Lorak, hailing from Ukraine, was next to hit the stage and what a performance. Singing Shady Lady, this year’s entry from Ukraine was a welcome change to last year’s ‘colourful’ entry. Ani had obviously borrowed Miss Perrelli of Sweden’s dress for the performance, but who cared? A fantastic effort, the choreography worked well with the track as did the lit up backgrounds and athletic dancers somewhat reminiscent of a Madonna concert. If I were straight, this lady could certainly make me a tits and legs man!

Lithuania hits the stage with the song, Nomads In The Night, by the long-haired and leather-trousered Jeronimas Milius. A very powerful performance, the singer has an incredible voice and this song would not be out of place in one of the more serious Andrew Lloyd Webber productions. Let’s see how it rates as the results come in.

Next up, Olta Boka represents Albania. Singing Zemrën E Lamë Peng, the young Celine Dion look alike entertained the crowd with a pleasing ballad. Working well with the cameras with wind blowing her hair throughout the number, the singer often sang to the sky as if really feeling the words of her song. A great performance, not that I understand anything she was singing, of course!

Paolo Meneguzzi, representing Switzerland, brought us Era Stupendo. The first verse and chorus took the form of a love song before an upbeat mood takes us into the second verse. The singer, dressed in a black suit and tie, flirted with the camera, maintaining a strong performance throughout. A great song, but will it get through to the final? I really don’t know! The evenings entries were all high calibre.

Next up was the Czech Republic with Tereza Kerndlová inviting to Have Some Fun. Eastern European pop at it’s best, the five scantily clad very good looking ladies on the stage were accompanied by an overweight DJ who really thought he was all that. I smiled when two of the five women launched in a Beyonce body-dance, jacking their midriffs somewhat out of tune with the music. Oh, deary me!

Next up was Belarus with Hasta La Vista. Singing in English, Ruslan Alehno belted out a likeable number reminiscent of soft 80s rock. Again, the singer was supported by four leggy ladies in the form of under-dressed backing dancers which led me to conclude that the Eastern European countries are still stuck a Buck Fizz time-warp.

Latvia comes on stage, with the amusing, swash-buckling Wolves Of The Sea, marking the start of a thankfully temporary decline in the night's proceedings. Whilst entertaining, band Pirates Of The Sea, were dressed up as pirates with a Captain’s wheel taking centre stage. With lyrics like “With a hii hii hoo and a hii hii hey, we‘re hoisting the flag to be free”, do they really expect to be taken seriously? I shouldn’t speak too soon as history proves that anything can happen at Eurovision.

Kraljevi Ulice & 75 Cents, hailing from Croatia, entertain us with Romanca. Opening with a seated geriatric, the stage features a host of characters and props including a lady in red prancing about like an idiot and an antique gramaphone which the old guy simulates rapping with. Give me strength! The song itself was a pile of shit and, again, I was wondering what other candidates were cast aside to allow for these to represent Croatia.

With DJ, Take Me Away, Bulgaria’s Deep Zone & Balthazar bought a largely instrumental track to the show. The first minute or so featured some agreeable club music by a DJ whose turntables were actually on fire! A tall blonde, dressed like a good-time girl in Wild West style (red dress, stockings and suspenders, you know the type!), urged the DJ to take her away. I prayed to god: please, take her away!

Denmark’s tall and lean Simon Mathew comes onstage looking quite cute in grey trousers, white shirt and braces. With All Night Long, he launched into an upbeat number, a cross between jazz and poppy barbershop music. I didn’t like it, but the crowd certainly did.

Diana Gurtskaya, of Georgia, comes onstage looking like a young sun-glassed Sofia Loren. It was only after the show, surfing on http://www.eurovision.tv/ that I learned that she has been blind from birth. The song, itself, was a run-of-the-mill slow pop track. Diana tells us that #Something’s gotta change, something’s gotta change!# and I am sensing that it is her song the needs to be bloody changed. And while the song doesn’t change, their outfits do with the six performers onstage suddenly abandoning their black clothes for white. The clothes were impressive, but the music wasn’t.

Csézy, from Hungary, wowed us with Candlelight. Reminding me of Andie McDowell, Csézy’s performance of this wonderful ballad was very pleasing, certainly in the top ten of the night’s performances. It was only my change that I found this remix on YouTube.

With a song called Vodka, Malta’s Morena, bought pop back to the stage. A lively track, Morena managed to get the crowd on their feet, telling us that password was VODKA! Morena continued the tradition for upbeat Malta entries, but this year’s contribution was perhaps a bit too raw for my liking.

Cyprus is next up with Evdokia Kadi singing Femme Fatale. Opening the song with the tinny sound of a mandolin, the song progresses into a tango affair with Evdokia dumping her all-over- body silver designer dress for a petit orange string dress. The four onstage male dancers then proceed to serenade her, much to the crowds delight. Not my kind of song, but nevertheless entertaining.

Tamara, Vrčak & Adrijan, hailing from Macedonia, bring a relatively boring track to the show. With Let Me Love You, the chorus’ become mini rap sessions with one of the male dancers resembling a cheesy Don Johnson from Miami Vice fame with a loose suit. A god-awful attempt, they really should have stayed at home!

Vânia Fernandes, representing Portugal, sang Senhora Do Mar (Negras Águas), a heart-felt ballad. A wonderful song to end the show on, the operatic track wasn’t able to differentiate itself from the other songs in this evening’s show. Towards the end of the song, however, I was amazed at how good the harmony was between the singer and the five backing singers. Who knows, maybe they will just scrape a place in the final.

My favourite entries from this evenings show were Iceland, Sweden, Ukraine and Albania.

THE RESULTS

As the results were collated, I was rather surprised to see that all of my favourites from the evening's show had been granted a place in the final. So, in addition to my faves above, Croatia (amazingly!), Georgia, Denmark, Latvia, Turkey and Portugal will feature in this Saturday's final. Immediately after the show, a lottery was drawn to determine the running order of Saturday's 25-song final (see here).

Good luck, Iceland!

NORMAL LIFE: First Semi Final Review [ESC]

Last night's show at the massive Belgrade Arena was spectacular. The atmosphere was somewhat lacking in the half empty venue which, apparently, can seat 23,000 spectators. Despite this, the show went on in what is one of Europe's largest venues. ´

Starting at 10pm in Finland, I watched nineteen performances. Some made me cringe, some made me laugh, a few had potential. What struck me, however, was how many entries this year had reverted back to the use of their mother language which, in my opinion, is quite right. This puts the vision back into Eurovision.

The hosts, Jovana Janković and Željko Joksimović proved to be a bit of an odd couple. Jovana was feminine and gracious and therefore likeable and credible. Her counterpart, Željko, came onto the stage wearing white sneakers. How common, eh?! Might as well have given him a Burberry cap too!

The show kicked off with a performance from Montenergo, with Stefan Filipović singing Zauvijek Volim Te. Very dated, the show came across as a variant of Finnish tango combined with soft 80’s rock. Adding to the dated feel was awful backing dancers, four women doting on the singer as if he were the last man on Earth! Awful!

Next came Israel’s Boaz. A high-pitched intro left you waiting for a woman to come on stage. Instead, a lean, healthy looking man emerged who proved to have a good range, a very very talented singer. Despite the unnecessary distraction of the backing dancers and the fact that I did not understand a word as he sang The Fire In Your Eyes, I thought it was a good performance.

Unlike Estonia. A nice, but brief beat intro gave way to three Captain Birdseye look-alikes giving a cheesy rendition of an early 90s London Boys hit, the name of which I can’t remember. The trio, Kreisiraadio, sang Leto Svet. Three slim leggy blondes in the form of backing dancers were a welcome distraction from the three fat, ugly bastards constituting the singers! Yuk!

Moldova proved to be something else with Geta Burlacu singing A Century Of Love. And it wasn’t a good something, I can tell you that much. A mandolin and trumpet intro leads us to a woman standing on a sofa and belting out a ballad whilst clutching a teddy bear! Whilst the song was sung in English, it’s melody was a bit lacklustre if not non-existent.

San Marino was up next and Miodio performed Complice. An unoriginal pop/rock number, my immediate conclusion was a big, fat French ‘non’! Once again, they had overdone it on the props with a stupid woman dressed in what looked like an oversized, fluffy dressing gown prancing about in the background, ballet style. What's going with the props this year?!

Belgium proved quite comical. Well-publicized that the singer would be singing in an invented language, how would the public ever know? While Ishtar carried off the song, O Julissi, quite well, I couldn’t help but notice that she looked like a Finnish sweet known as Marianne. Dressed in a white and red striped dress, the made-up language number was almost choral, the best part being the violin! I wanted to scream: “Shut up! Just shut up!”

Next up was Azerbaijan, making its first Eurovision appearance. Reminding me of last year’s Vampires Are Alive by DJ Bobo, Elnur & Samir entertained the crowd with Day After Day. Resembling good and bad with costumes of an angel and a lesser goth, the show was too theatrical to be considered credible. A nice rock beat with great composition, the melody was a little bit weak.

Slovenia proved to be an eye-opener. Rebeka Dremelj opened her song, Vrag Naj Vzame, resembling a female version of the incredible hulk. Such was the lighting that she was luminous green, but her track progressed into what could become a potential dancefloor filler. Halfway through her performance, she stripped down to a petit purpose shirt and lime-coloured skirt, endlessly seeming to belt out the same words: #Lada ya lada!#

Norway bought with it a stage full of blondes ladies – one blonde singer, three blonde backing dancers. Maria performed her run-of-the-mill ballad, Hold On Be Strong, a desperate plea of #Why won’t anyone take a chance on me?#. Having overplayed the blonde card might just get the male members of audience voting though, but ‘non’ from me!

The Polish entry had me rubbing my eyes to make sure that I could believe was I was seeing. The over-tanned, leggy Isis Gee (who looked very much like an over-moisturised version of actress Lisa Kudrow) performed For Life. Whilst the plastic surgery may have been a bit too obvious under such harsh stage lighting, she was a strong performer, scaling the stage, reaching out to her audience. It was then, at the climax, that you saw those dazzling whiter-the-white teeth that nearly overexposed the TV screen! Otherwise, a brilliant performance, a potential finalist.

Ireland proved to be the most comical group of the night, even more so than the three Captain Birdseye look-alikes Estonia had dispatched to Serbia. Dustin the turkey, a puppet no less, starts the song Irelande Douze Pointe with references to #Mad acts and drag acts, and Terry Wogan’s wig..# Whilst the lyrics are very entertaining, the track is a cross between Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny and Gina G’s Just A Little Bit with some notes ripped from last year’s entry from Ukraine. Non!

Andorra brightened the mood with a potential gay nightclub dancefloor filler. Gisela sang Canaova, a number filled to excess with cheesy lyrics, which might just cost it a place in the final. A good performer, Gisela was dressed for the act - a headpiece that would be the envy of a fifth teletubby if ever there was to be one (never say never, it happened to the Beetles!) and a body-squeezing metal bodice showing off her best attributes!

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Laka sang Pokušaj. Looking like Kelly Osborne, she immediately lost out on the looks front, and I thought that was as bad as it would get. She was soon joined by a fellow singer who reminded me of Charlie Chaplin. Meanwhile, in the background, there were three brides knitting! Laka pretended to hang up some laundry and, after a quick, hyperactive dash around the stage, I was left wondering if they had even read the brief to the show! The song, by the way, was, in the words of pop mogul Simon Cowell, utterly atrocious!

Armenia did well for, let’s say, Armenia. No, really, the song had promise, starting quite weakly before moving into what I can only describe as bongo country. An entertaining song, danceable, a good performance, leggy Sirusho bought us Qele, Qele! If I ever met her, I would be inclined to say: "Away, away!"

The Netherlands did very badly this year, playing safe with a song riddled with salsa beat. A good attempt, but no! For information, the singer was Hind and the track was Your Heart Belongs To Me. I say: you can have my heart if you go away and leave me alone!

Finland came onto the stage with heavy rock band, Teräsbetoni, belting out Missä Miehet Ratsastaa. I am not a fan of rock, but Europe still has a strong rock following. The group of four, trying to replicate monster band, Lordi’s victory back in 2006, put in a good effort. Somehow, they overdid it with the indoor fireworks and the pyrotechnics and I was left with my ears ringing!

Romania shipped a romantic duo to Serbia this year in the form of Nico & Vlad, singing Pe-o Margine De Lume.. The male member of the duo, with a talent for opera, started off the song quite strongly, being joined onstage by his female counterpart dressed in leather, perhaps an inappropriate choice for a ballad. A powerful performance, perhaps better suited to the stage, which left me in some kind of approval.

Russia gave perhaps the most dramatic performance with singer Dima Bilan, singing Believe, crawling on the stage floor for most of his allocated three minutes of time. The music was a little bit too hollow to accompany Dima’s strong voice and, emerging from the floor at the front of the stage, he made his way to the main part of the stage only to be joined by a male ice-skater providing unnecessary assistance. The closing scene was a bit cliché, reminiscent of 70s cabaret, featuring a violinist, the singer and the obviously gay ice-skater replete with god awful hairstyle!

Greece’s entry consisted of weak lyrics along the lines of #Can you see me? Can you feel me?# A good performance by Kalomira singing Secret Combination, the performance featured the customary butt-shaking, belly dancing routine during the bridge of the song. This track might appeal to the masses, but a yes from me? Non!

And so the show ended. It wasn’t until this morning that I caught up on the results. This year, the voting system has been changed, after last year's fiasco in Helsinki where no western European countries progressed to the final. Semi-finalists have been divided into two groups based on their usual voting preferences in an attempt to lessen the impact of "neighbourly" voting and allow a broader range of countries to reach the final. Traditional voting allies Greece and Cyprus have been split up, while the Baltic, Scandinavian and former Yugoslav countries have been separated.

After last night's show, I reviewed my notes and had thoroughly enjoyed the performances of Israel, Slovenia, Poland, Armenia and Romania. Checking out the results online this morning, I was pleased to see that Israel, Poland, Armenia and Romania had all qualified for Saturday’s final. While my favourite, Gisela from Andorra, was out, I was equally surprised to see that Finland was in!

The following countries will join host country, Serbia, the UK, Germany, France and Spain on Saturday: Greece, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovina (amazingly!), Finland, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Poland and Norway. Another ten countries will qualify on Thursday for Saturday’s 25-song marathon! Keep your eyes peeled for Iceland on Thursday, my favourite!

NORMAL LIFE: Belgrade Calling!

Tonight will see the broadcast of the first of two shows comprising the semi-finals of this year's Eurovision Song Contest, live from Belgrade, Serbia. I'm still stunned that the overweight lesbian being groped by lots of hot blonde ladies won in Serbia last year, but I guess that is old news.

Looking forward, that means that there will be three shows dedicated to this year ESC: tonight, Thursday and Saturday. I don't know if this is to keep the audiences locked into the channels that will broadcast this throughout Europe, maximising on the revenue to be made from the telephone voting or if the chosen venue just didn't have the capacity to accommodate all 43 participating countries in a single semi-final.

My personal fave is Iceland (see video here) and, for the record, the UK entry is NOT that bad this year so anything above 25 points would be nice, citizens of Europe. In other words: get over it [the Iraqi conflict]!

Good luck, Iceland, you're fantastic and you're gorgeous!

NORMAL LIFE: That Bloody Banjo!

It is getting a bit predictable now. The banjo I am about to moan about is, in fact, a guitar and, while it's user may be talented, I am quite averse to the live music culture. In fact, I find it unbearable.

At literally every work event, there is a colleague who would like to mark the occasion with a spot of guitar strumming and singing. Quite frankly, talented or not, I wish he would stop! At a rather large gathering of colleagues last week, I was (not!) surprised to hear the sudden start of my colleague's guitar in the distance.

Bloody bajesus!, I thought to myself. What is this? The Sound of Music? Is my colleague a descendent of the Von Trapp family?, I wondered. In many respects, Finland is still very much a folksy country. It wasn't until after the Second World War, you see, when Finland moved on from being a peasant society to a fully-fledge industrialised one. And, when a guy like this gets his guitar out - in an office filled with computers and well-educated professionals - and starts singing like a hillbilly, you feel that there's still alot of work to be done.

The guy is in his early thirties, but he is sooo maalainen (born from the countryside)!

NORMAL LIFE: Helsinki's Spring Flowers

NORMAL LIFE: When Queens Use Queens English

During lunch the other day, while my colleagues and I were discussing how challenging it was to get marketing material approved using the firm's current processes, I got some 'indirect feedback' regarding my English.

Intended as criticism, I heard from a Finnish colleague that one of our American colleagues thought I should refrain from using what she described as Queen's English! I was stunned by the stupidity of the feedback, before gushing with pride.

Throughout the nearly seven years I have been living abroad, I have stuggled to retain my English by reading countless publications and magazines. It is, after all, the only way to maintain one's grammer and vocabulary.

If I could meet with the yank face-to-face, I would ask her, if she had a choice, would she use Queen's English or Bush's English?! In fact, this kind of feedback bought back memories from my previous employers who, behind my back, berated my grammar skills! What do theyknow?

If anything, I am tempted to study English at a higher level. Rest assured that this Queen (being gay, I mean) will continue to speak the kind of English the world understands and not an ignorant nation's dialect!

KYLIE: KylieX2008 Dazzles Europe

Just one week into the European leg of her latest tour, KylieX2008, Kylie Minogue has already entertained audiences in France, Belgium, Germany and, for the first time ever, the Czech Republic. With a total of 52 tour dates - and a reported half a million tickets sold - featuring costumes from Jean Paul Gaultier, Kylie belted out an range of hits, old and new.

According to reports, Kylie is in great shape, fitter than ever before, and the show promises to exude creativity of the highest standards possible in a live show! Kylie.com, the home of her official website, claims that the show is 'groundbreaking, breathtaking and visually stunning', hailing it as Kylie's greatest show yet! Is it even possible to top her Fever and Showgirl tours?


Meanwhile, back in the UK, Kylie is enjoying Chart success in the form of her 32nd Top 10 hit. Back in February, when Wow was released in the UK, Kylie had already released In Your Arms in Europe. It was in the UK, however, where In Your Arms went straight to Number 10 straight after it's release on May 5th.

See the setlist of KylieX2008 here

See pictures from the opening night in Paris here.

NORMAL LIFE: Eurovision 2008 - My Faves!

I was really productive at work on Friday last week - all day, I was surfing the web, browsing the forty-three entries constituting this year's hopefuls of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Favouring the gayest tracks each year, the video on this entry are my faves! All eyes will be on Belgrade, Serbia, for the semi-finals on June 20 and June 22, with the final on Saturday, June 24. Click here for info on this year's show!

This Is My Life by Euroband, from Iceland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQm7dFO4E1Y

Casanova by Gisela, representing Andorra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h31qzKZ-9KM

Disappear by No Angels, the entry for Germany

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35hSMHaUw8E

Hero by Charlotte Perrelli, for Sweden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWFm0648qig

Even If by Andy Abraham for the UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1DEp-nfwDk

NORMAL LIFE: Check Out Lisbon

Finally, the trip to Lisbon is now online! A four day trip with Alan, one of my best friends, during which we visited the fairytale town of Sintra, navigated around the sites of Lisbon, ate too many custard tarts and had some great nights out in the smoke-fill gay bars of Principe Real district. Read on here.

NORMAL LIFE: The Road To Töölö

Taken on automatic exposure, this image captures the approach to Mannerheimintie, Helsinki's main street, from Helsingkatu. Note the green of the trees on the left to the comparitively dead trees on the right? Technical info: F/16, 1/200sec, ISO400

NORMAL LIFE: Crematorium Daffs

A wonderful Spring image, these daffodils were capture with Töölö crematorium in the background. Taken using automatic exposure, I was surprised by the striking depth of field. Technical info: F/14, 1/250secs, ISO 200.

NORMAL LIFE: Taivallahti Marina

Taken using automatic exposure, here is a pleasing view of Taivallahti, northwest of Helsinki's city centre. The water was calm, the contrast been the sky and land just right. Technical info: F/11, 1/400sec, ISO 200.

NORMAL LIFE: Typical French Timing

This week has been a bit of a triple-whammy for Kylie (so far). First of all, she released her latest single, In My Arms, in the UK on Monday (download it cheap here). Then, on Monday afternoon, she was 'knighted' by the French) for her contribution to the arts in France and throughout the world. And yesterday, the petit singer started her European Tour, KylieX2008, with a show in Paris.

This is all fantastic for Kylie, but I have to question the timing of the French honour. Despite being dumped by a Frenchman when she needed him most, Kylie claims to have "fallen in love with France" the first time she visited the country and, told of the impending honour, claimed to have "colossal respect for the arts and people of France". We could do with more people like Kylie in government because her diplomacy skills are certainly top-notch.

But this award concerns me. It is common knowledge that, in July, Kylie will receive an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the Queen. I don't know what that actually means, nor do I care, but if the Brits hadn't chosen to honour her, would the French have decide to bestow the title of Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters on Kylie so hastily?

The French honouring of a popstar hailing from Australia is a sign of France's ever reducing sophistication. I mean, I thought the French with their hoighty-toighty I'm-so-classy attitude were a bit 'above' pop?

And in another Anglo-French twist, the French have now started importing English bread! Once the self-styled connoisseurs of the bread world, the French habe apparently become stifled by the traditional - and short lasting - style of French bread-making. What a come down, eh?

NORMAL LIFE: Töölönlahti

Taken on automatic exposure, the calmness of Töölölahti provides an 'explosive' reflection. To the left lies Finland's Opera House while, in the distance (and centre), you can see the tower of the Olympic Stadium. Technical info: F/11, 1/320secs, ISO 200.

NORMAL LIFE: Helsinki's Old City Falls

An eight-hour cycle ride yesterday with some impressive results. The picture is of Helsinki Old City Falls (vanha kaupungin koski). Taken manually, with an ND6 filter, at F/22, 1/5secs.

NORMAL LIFE: The Best 'Alternative' Vappu

May Day Eve, 2008

As an expat, you often come up against things that, in your own culture, would be considered just plain wrong. Vappu - the Finnish name for May day or labour day - is one such thing. The heavy drinking associated with Vappu kind of ruins it for me with the eve, April 30th, being perhaps the worst of the celebration. This year, however, proved to be exceptional.

Bree and I had a friend round for an evening snack who, quite early, left us but promised to return when we were ready to go out for the evening. In the meantime, Bree and I had a couple of drinks in-house whilst watching various music videos on DVD. The time came, just after 11pm, to get our dancing shoes on and head into town, sidestepping the countless trails of human urine and the broken bottles and drink packages that had been so casually disposed of. As we reached a crossing, there was a young guy happily talking to himself in a drunken stupor, very much alone. This really is the worst part of Vappu when you see humans suddenly dispose on their usual city-like behaviour in favour of a more primitive form as if regressing back into Neanderthalism.

We flagged down a taxi, bound for Hercules, our favoured gay bar in Helsinki. Fortunately, there was no queue outside, but there were already quite many customers. The bar continued to fill up and, both of us drinking deadly Long Island Ice Tea, I ambled among the crowd, hitting the dancefloor every now and then before bumping into my old friend, Jonni, who I hadn't seen for more than four years. We chatted, his high pitched giggle somewhat succeeding to cast off the four years of no communication. When I returned to Bree, he was fending off a youngster, a 24 year-old who didn't seem to understand the concept that Bree and I were together. I told him to back off, but he was incredibly insistent!

When we left at 4am, I downed some of the left over pizza, trying to limit the damage inflicted by the two pint-sized portions of Long Island Ice Tea. Somewhat inebriated, I slept soundly, waking up suddenly at 9am on Vappu day.

May Day, 2008

Bree woke up shortly after myself, but I slept on for a further three hours, waking just before midday. By the time I had woken, Bree had done all the work, preparing - from scratch - meatballs, green as well as potato salad, and a colourful bowl of fruit salad. It was a 1pm when the first of our four guests arrived, an hour earlier than expected; he had been in the city, he explained, where it was just so busy and depressing with drunk people everywhere. He had to get away, he told us. The hour went quickly, with Miss. Knight and her friend, The Teacher, arriving together following by one of Bree's friends.

Together, we toasted to the summer, with Sparkling Rose wine. We devoured plate-loads of food, the supply of which exceeded the demand, even for this hungry group. Afterwards, one of Bree's friend's left, leaving the five of us to get comfortable on the sofa for an afternoon of giggles. Bree's remaining friend told about how Vappu is a pressure, a manufactured attempt to get the Finns to be happy. Meanwhile, Miss Knight told of her trip to China many years back with The Teacher, recounting her experience of going to the toilet! By god, we had a giggle!

The hours flew by, none of us intent on setting a foot out of the door to join the hordes in the city. The cork of another bottle of rose was opened and, munching on crinkle-cut crisps, we made plans for the summer ahead, among them being a picnic on Pihlajasaari, an island off the coast of Helsinki. I looked at my diary, noting my forthcoming trip to Scandinavia (June 1-9), Midsummer in Barcelona (June 18-23), the photographic course in Oulu (June 27-29) and this was before our sixteen day stay in England (July 18-August 3)!

It was 10pm when Miss Knight and The Teacher left us, with Bree's friend remaining. The three of us retrieved the leftover lunch from the fridge, feasting once again on sausages, meatballs and salad! The three of us commenting on what an alternative Vappu it had been, deviating somewhat from the usual festivities of prowling around town and peeing in bushes when nature called; such is the ritualistic reality of Vappu these days when countryside folk come into town so they can simply leave their mark in the most animalistic of ways.

When Bree's friend finally left after 11pm, we proceeded with washing up, collapsing into bed after midnight. In the dark, we spoke of how relaxing it had been and I thanked Bree for, despite my depression, what had been the best of the seven Vappu's so far!

May 2nd, 2008

Today was a Friday, and most of the country had booked the day off work. We took it easy, reading in the morning, changing the roof of the convertible in the garage before crusing around town in search of a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, we drove to Kaivopuisto where we ate post-lunch soft ice cream with hot, strong coffee! The weather was fantastically sunny, the suns rays threating to burn my bald head.

Moving my chair back slightly so that my head was in the shade, we watched avid sailors navigate their way out of the marina while, on land, it became evident that people truly were making the most of the weather; for the first time time in eight or nine months, we saw legs and arms in the form of shorts and t-shirts! In comparison to the long Autumn, the dark, but warmer-than-usual winter and the cold start to the Spring, people seemed naked. And with that nakedness, combined with the clear blue sky, you felt liberated, free, able to cast of shackles of the four-plus layers of winter clothing!

With full tummies, we drove home, napping the afternoon away. We woke around 6pm, just in time for an evening workout - it kind felt of wrong to go to the gym when the weather was so good, but it can't be fun, fun, fun all the time. After ninety minutes of huffing-puffing cardio, flexing the chest and back muscles and tensing the abs, I headed home, grateful for the warmth of the shower. When I got into bed that night, I slept deeply.

May 3rd, 2008

Now Saturday, that Vappu feeling continued. Life was pretty much back to normal now, the city centre full of shoppers like any normal Saturday. What wasn't normal was the weather because the sunny spell, granting us temperatures of nearly 20C, continued. We passed Tennispalatsi, home to the 12-screen cinema in Helsinki's Kamppi area, where we noticed that we still hadn't seen 10,000 BC. We reserved tickets for the evening show, before going to the supermarket to stock up on food.

When we got home, we napped once again, before jogging around Töölönlahti (I ran twice, Bree three times) ahead of our weekly sauna! I asked myself: could this week get any better? After the sauna, we had a lovely dinner before walking to the cinema - in our t-shirts! If you haven't seen the movie, 10,000 BC, you should go and see it - the special affects are amazing and the storyline is a damn sight more believable than the crap you see on TV these days. When we walked home that night, the air had chilled considerably, but nothing that a nice cup of tea (how English!) before bedtime wouldn't remedy.

May 4th, 2008

Bree had plans for the day and, yet another lovely day in Helsinki, I packed up my new camera into my new camera bag, hooked up the tripod and started a day-long cycle ride. Over the course of six or seven hours, I observed and captured the city; the continuing greening of the leaves on the trees, the marina of Taivalahti, the Sibelius monument, the villas on Töölönlahti, the marina and ornate houses edging onto Eläintarhanlahti. From the city centre, I cycled to Arabia to capture the Old City Falls.

At the Old City Falls, I spent considerable time there playing with a new filter I had bought for my camera, with very pleasing results - using what is known as a neutral density filter, I was able to keep the shutter open for longer, enabling me to capture the flow of the water without overexposing the image.

I made my way back to the City via Kalasatama and the neighbourhood of Merihaka. During the day, I had cycled some 18km or so and taken more than five hundred photos. And each day for the next week, I will be posting a new picture, images from what turned out to be the best of the seven Vappu's!