Eurovision Semi-Final 2: Initial reaction

MALTA QUALIFIED!!! I did not paint my nails and vote 27 times in vain!

Eurovision 2014: First Semi-Final

I intended to post this yesterday, but hey ho.

On Tuesday night 16 became 10 as the first Eurovision semi-final of 2014 took place.

The qualifiers were:
Armenia
Sweden
Iceland
Russia
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
San Marino
The Netherlands
Montenegro
Hungary

This means that Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Belgium, Moldova and Portugal failed to qualify. Latvia's song, "Cake To Bake", was very cheerful, but I think the stark contrast between it and the song performed before it (Armenia's "Not Alone", which featured a plethora of pyrotechnics) seriously harmed its chances. I was quite surprised about Estonia's fate, because the song is very Eurovision-y (it's title is "Amazing") and Tanja's vocals didn't falter at all, in spite of her acrobatic choreography. However, I felt that the dancing detracted from the song somewhat, and it was third in the running order, which wouldn't have helped it stay in the minds of the voting public. Albania and Moldova produced pleasant songs, but they were ultimately overshadowed by the other songs, many of which are favourites to win. Belgium's representative, Axel Hirsoux has a brilliant voice, but I wasn't fond of his song, "Mother". I enjoyed Portugal's performance, but the more modern songs were favoured by the voters.

In terms of qualifiers, I was delighted to see San Marino get through! This year is Valentina Monetta's third time representing her country, and her qualification with the song "Maybe" is the first time her country has reached the final. Likewise, Sergej Ćetković's "Moj Svjet" marks Montenegro's first qualification as a standalone nation. I really enjoyed this rousing Balkan ballad; I'll probably support it if Malta fails to qualify from the second semi-final (which I hope doesn't happen). Iceland's qualification surprised me, but Pollapönk's "No Prejudice" is a very catchy song with a good message, and I'll be happy to hear it again in the final.

The other seven songs were widely expected to qualify, and I'm especially happy that Armenia, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Ukraine made it through, because it means that four more of Chris's partygoers will have songs to support in the grand final. Now all we need is Malta, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and Slovenia to qualify tonight!

Eurovision 2014: Country choices

Chris has continued his yearly tradition of getting each of us to choose a country to support, and this year, after much contemplation and soul-searching, I've gone for Malta! The song is called "Coming Home", and it's performed by the group Firelight, most of whom are siblings. I really like it's folky vibe and it reminds me of "Let Me Go" by Gary Barlow, a song I heard live at Gary's concert on the day we chose our countries. In truth, I can't see it winning, but I'm passionate about supporting it, which is ultimately the reason why I chose it, rather than one of the favourites like Armenia or Norway. I do think it deserves a spot in the final, and I shall definitely vote for it in the second semifinal on Thursday 8th May. However, as with last year, my choice will open the semifinal, which did not fare well for Austria's 2013 campaign, as the country did not qualify. Nonetheless, I believe Firelight has what it takes to earn a place in the 2014 final. I hope I'm correct!

Everyone else's choices are as follows:
Chris: Austria
Emily: Ireland
Georgina: Switzerland
Rosie: Slovenia
Chelsea: Sweden
Steph: Denmark
Wendy: Ukraine
Jade: Finland
Jess: Armenia
Megan: United Kingdom

May the best song win!

Prüfung und Pesto

Almost two weeks ago I sat my German A2 speaking exam. During the night I dreamt that I completely messed up, as documented in this tweet, but as morning rolled around, I became unusually calm. We were able to meet our examiner at the start of the day, and it was reassuring to find that she was just as jolly as we'd been told. After this brief introduction, Chris, Nilloy, Daisy and I left, while Rosie began her fifteen minutes of preparation. The remaining four of us returned to the Study Area, where we nervously carried out last minute revision and I correctly guessed that the word for sadness is "Traurigkeit". Over the course of the next two hours, Rosie returned, and Daisy, latecomer Lily and Chris all completed their exams. Finally, it was my turn. When I arrived, I was somewhat thankful to find that Chris was still in the examination room. Upon leaving he seemed content, which was encouraging. Before I could begin my exam, the examiner had a quick break, but she soon returned, and allowed me to choose my card. After this, the invigilator ushered me into the planning room. The time went by rather quickly, but I did manage to plan all three questions, so it was already going better than the dream. Thankfully, the topic was interesting and I had a lot to say about it. I recalled my Exposé faultlessly, then I only needed clarification on one of the questions during the discussion. Afterwards I couldn't stop smiling, and psychology breezed by in the afternoon. Later on Daisy drove Chris, Emily, Georgina and I to meet Rosie for a celebratory meal. Earlier, the examiner recommended that I have a big meal to commemorate the effort I put into the exam, so at the restaurant I chose the Rigatoni al Pesto, which almost put me off pesto for life, then later I shared a lemon meringue dessert with Chris. Coming home we realised just how great a driver Daisy is; her concentration never faltered despite the noise coming from her passengers, Chris in particular. It seems really odd that I'll never do another German speaking exam, but it's also a relief. Now I just have the three hour written exam to complete, as well as six exams from my other subjects... not too much!

An Awesome Achievement

On Friday evening, Chris, Chelsea, Rosie, Jade, Emily and I were once again the only student team at the PTA quiz night. Despite protest from Rosie, we incorporated this into our team name, selecting the moniker, "The Good, the Bad and the Sixth Formers". We weren't expecting much in the way of success, due to our prior inability to place any higher than last, but we were hoping for a fun night of revelling, snacking, and completely failing at the music round. Peculiarly, the picture round was delivered to us at the beginning of the night, and the largely recognisable faces were just the motivation we needed when our team captain, Chris, fell ill and had to leave a quarter of the way through. Our performance was satisfactory, with four being our median score; however, we soon found ourselves in the dredded last place. Nevertheless, things began to look up after a  round featuring school-related photos, which  garnered us six points. This score was in part due to Chelsea's guesses of "Grange" for the ones we didn't know, as one of the answers was Grange Hill. After the interval, we continued to maintain a five point deficit, even after scoring just three out of twenty in the music round. As the end drew near, the leaderboard was displayed less frequently, so we were unaware that our score of eight in the joker round on the subject of "days" had brought us level with the team above us, "The Winos". The final round focused on history and with my and Chelsea's knowledge, we were able to snatch up four points, while "The Winos" obtained… two! We were delighted with the result, and we also made history, being the only student team ever who had not placed last! Woo!

The Big Reunion snubs girl groups in favour of boy band only tour

In contrast to the excitement of last year, this time around I will not be attending any shows on the Big Reunion Tour, because the powers that be have decided that the groups Eternal and Girl Thing are not what the public wants to see. Instead, fans will watch the four remaining acts from the 2014 line-up, 3T, Damage, A1 and 5th Story, as well as the three boy bands from last year, 5ive, 911 and Blue. While I would be happy to see the groups from this year's series, I begrudge paying more than £50 per ticket for a show I've seen almost half of already. It also seems incredibly unfair on Girl Thing and Eternal, who have worked just as hard as their male co-stars to make the reunion work. Various news articles state that the girl bands were dropped to boost ticket sales, but for me it's had the opposite effect.

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Why won't my drafts save on the blogger app? I almost finished a post on Thursday or Friday, but now it's nowhere to be found...
At this moment in time I am about to commence thorough, timetabled revision for my A2 exams. I will soon complete my chemistry coursework practical (finally), and I am also preparing my Exposé for the German oral exam. One week ago today Muse Watson retweeted my tweet, which was delightful! Midweek I ventured to Cardiff again to check out the university, and I was bowled over by the brilliance of the Students' Union complex. This uni decision is harder than I anticipated, and it's becoming a question of what I want most: freedom or family. (Incidentally, both of these options are also titles of  NCIS episodes.)