Rich of March House

1) Start your song off with a big bang or effect or something.  Honestly - these countries who start off softly with silly balletical movements and wind in their hair are on to a loser.  So far, Moldova and Greece win this aspect for me.  They started off how they meant to go on.

2) Have an unusual musical instrument.  No-one wants to see a dull grand piano - get yourself a neon blue violin like Moldova or, better yet, an angle grinder like Turkey.  Woo!

3) Be Spain and bribe the judges to get yourself another go at the end of the evening.

4) Don't be UK.

That's my running commentary for now - we're only up to Albania so about halfway through.  Might post some more words of winning later.

It's cricket!  Click for bigness.

The world-class batsman stands at the crease, contemplating his first shot...

The ball is delivered - a tricky, spinning, fast bowl down the off side.  The batsman relies on his well-honed reflexes to take a strike at it, planning its trajectory with infinite precision...

He makes contact with the sweet spot on the bat, and the ball is sent off towards the boundary, the fielders lost in its wake...

Feeling confident, the intrepid batsman faces the second ball of the over, smiling wryly to himself.  There is everything to play for in this most important of all matches...

Oops.

I was much saddened by the recent death of Martin Gardner, prolific author, puzzler and "polymath" as the NY Times called him in his obituary.  I have thoroughly enjoyed all of his books, particularly those on recreational mathematics.  Recreational mathematics is a brilliant method for getting people who don't enjoy maths to give it a go and explore what fun it really is.  Martin Gardner invented the concept - or at least popularised it - as far as I'm concerned.  If you haven't read any of them, I'd advise you to give them a go.

What's disappointing is that, as my brother pointed out, the BBC didn't even recognise his death as significant - no mention at all. 

I learned to drive in and around Hemel.  Here's an interesting comparison table.  Which is more challenging?:

Hemel wins!