Eurovision Songcontest 2012

The Eurovision Songcontest or ESC is a HUGE deal in Germany. Not so much in the UK, though. Maybe it's because we have cool representatives like Roman Lob:

and the UK has er nice gentleman like Engelbert Humperdinck singing for them?

This year I watched the spectacle with an American friend who had never seen the Concours Eurovision de la Chanson before. So I had to explain how the annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) works. Did you know for example that it takes place every year since 1956? And that Celine Dion won the contest for Switzerland in 1988? Yes, it has a long and interesting history.

My favourite part is the presentation of votes (my American friend didn't enjoy that part quite as much). After the interval act is over, when all the points have been calculated, the hosts of the show call upon each voting country in turn to invite them to announce the results of their vote. It takes forever and is also accompanied but the usual "Thanks so much for the great show tonight!". But that's also the part when unexpected things happen, for example the Finnish jury representative was dressed as a monster (?) this year, or Anke Engelke, the German jury representative, criticised the political regime in Azerbaijan by saying: "Tonight, nobody could vote for their own country, but it is good to be able to vote and it is good to have a choice. Good luck on your journey, Azerbaijan! Europe is watching you!" DANKE, ANKE!

Germany has always been very passionate about the Eurovision Songcontest and one man in particular. Stefan Raab wrote the music for the German entry in 1998, Guildo Horn's "Guildo hat Euch lieb!", and represented Germany in 2000 with "Wadde Hadde Dudde Da?".
In 2004, he created a spin-off to cast the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest on his show. He called it "SSDSGPS" (Stefan sucht den Super-Grand-Prix-Star, Stefan seeks the super Grand-Prix star, mocking Deutschland sucht den Superstar - DSDS, the German version of  Pop Idol).
In 2005, Stefan came up with the "Bundesvision Song Contest". The contest featured representatives from each of the 16 German states (Bundesländer) and stipulated that their song had to be (at least partly) in German.
In 2010, he searched for the German representative with the show "Unser Star für Oslo" and found Lena Meyer-Landrut who ended up winning the Eurovision Songcontest in 2010:

I think the ESC is very popular in Germany, because Stefan Raab transformed it from an old-fashioned show only our parents would watch to a fresh, exciting, cool must-see event. Maybe that's possible in the UK too?

Another factor that made the ESC more attractive to a younger audience is the interaction with your European friends via facebook and twitter. Apart from sporting events, that's the only TV show everybody in Europe can watch at the same time and talk about it in real-time. So, I'm already looking forward to the next one in Sweden!

Regional Fashion Distinctions

I have already learned that girls wear less the further up North you get. For example, in Newcastle they never wear tights in the winter and only tiny dresses.
In Essex, however, it's all about fake! Fake tan, fake eyelashes, fake hair, fake nails and some other fake body parts too. If you wanna see some great examples, just watch "The Only Way is Essex":

Thanks to TOWIE I know now about Vajazzles and fake tan, but this week I have learned about a trend in Liverpool: The Scouse Brow!
The Scouse Brows are tattooed eyebrows. They are not in normal eyebrow shape, though, but huge big fat jet-black caterpillars on top of the girls' eyes. They are favoured by WAGs (footballer's wives) and reality TV stars like Katie Price. There was even a TV show called "Desperate Scousewives". Brilliant! 

When it comes to London, there is a difference between East London where young people look basically like the hipsters in Berlin, West London where you shouldn't forget your ballet flats and Chanel bag, and Central London where you should make sure that you wear ridiculously high heels no matter where you are:

First BBQ of the Year

The first "summery" Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining. The thermometer shows 15°C. The perfect day in London Town for the first BBQ of the year:

We were a little short of men (had some very experienced Aussies amongst us though), because in general I would say the art of barbecuing is a male domain worldwide. The woman prepares the food, but the man is the barbecue mastermind. At least for Germany, Australia and Canada I can confirm that.

A barbecue has always an event-feeling attached to it or have you ever barbecued all by yourself? No, you invite family members and friends and for hours you sit together and eat, drink and talk. In Bavaria preferably in your backyard, in Berlin in a jam-packed park. Often there is also music involved as well as a football/ frisbee/ volleyball.

The same applies for BBQs in the United Kingdom. But with lots of immigrants from barbecue-championing countries such as Australia and with regards to their not greatest reputation when it comes to food, the Brits are a bit insecure in terms of barbecuing. But luckily, you can join the British Barbecue Society http://bbbqs.com/content/ now which has been set up "to provide a place for BBQ enthusiasts in the UK to share their knowledge, learn from their peers and spread the word that BBQ is more than burnt bangers and botulism burgers".

In this spirit, I would like to finish this by quoting Albert Einstein: 
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop barbecuing.