Eurovision 2009

Like hundreds of millions of others across Europe I sat down to watch the Eurovision Song Contest last night. We had to wait for 22 other countries of varying quality to perform before Jade came on with Andrew Lloyd Webber to perform the song he wrote, “My Time”.

Jade gave an excellent live performance and despite one of the violinists bumping her microphone into her mouth at one point, she carried on like a pro (Watch at 1min 20 secs into the clip below).

Fifth place was a respectable result, especially when compared to recent years. I hope that Jade is not too disappointed as I am sure that her great performance gives her the opportunity for a successful singing career now.

Despite the reforms to the voting system there still was an element of countries voting for immediate neighbours. For example Cyprus (as always) gave its 12 points to Greece. Although I have to say that Greece’s song was one of the better ones.

However the competition was stormed by the Norwegian entry “Fairytale” written and performed by Alexander Rybak. It was classic catchy Eurovision reminiscent of the 1960’s but I felt it was let down by Rybak’s forgettable singing voice. Clearly many countries disagreed with me!  The 387 points he won is reported to be a record win.

Beware of Burglars

For those readers that live in the Caversham area of Reading, a warning!  I have been getting increasing numbers of reports of burglaries happening in the Caversham area. Since the beginning of the year there seems to have been a spate of burglaries; sometimes several in a single road.

Take care to ensure that your windows are closed when you leave the house and that valuables are not obviously on display when you leave the house. Consider drawing the curtains and at night-time leave one or two lights on inside the house on a timer. I would also encourage residents to set up a neighbourhood watch scheme if there is not one in your area. At the very least let a neighbour know if you will be away and ask if they could keep an eye on your property.

The police are aware of the problem but as always they have limited manpower to cover the area. Most acquisitive crime is opportunistic, so don’t give burglars the opportunity to invade your home.

As a final point – please report crime to the police. I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who do not report crime as they think it a waste of time. If you don’t report it then your area will appear to have a lower crime rate than is the case and resources will be allocated elsewhere.

This may be an American site but it has some useful suggestions.