While walking along one of the arty streets in The Hague (Den Haag) my attention was grabbed by a rather interesting window display.
Lots of water bottles were placed randomly throughout the window space, each with a different label.
Oh which one to drink?
Anyone fancy a swig of ‘sex’? How about some ‘chi’ to calm your inner self?
Which one would you like to try?
Less than a week to go! Eurovision Season is starting…
The second semi final for the Eurovision will be on Thursday 24th May.
Here are the entries (in order) for the second semi final. I have said a little about each one. In bold are the ones I hope to qualify.
Serbia: 7/10 – This man knows how to do well in Eurovision. He represented Serbia-Montenegro in 2004, coming 2nd and then wrote the Serbian entry in 2008, coming 6th – as well as hosting it in Belgrade. Watch out…
Macedonia (FYROM): 8/10 – This lady has a voice. What a belter! Effortlessly sung. I think it will get a LOT of Balkan votes.
The Netherlands: 8/10 – The Dutch have a terrible record in qualifying – 2004 was the last time they made the final. I hope this gentle song about childhood memories takes them through. You’ll remember the Indian headdress – that’s for sure.
Malta: 6/10 – 1980s throw back. This is performed by a guy who needs to wear looser clothing.
Belarus: 6/10 - Their 9th entry and one which won’t do particularly well. I liked it to start with, but have gone off it.
Portugal: 8/10 – Typical Portugal – anthemic and possibly not gonna make it through the semi.
Ukraine: 8/10 – This has grown on me. It’s very West End ‘Lion King’…
Bulgaria: Zzzzzzz. Possibly the second worst entry.
Slovenia: 10/10 – My personal favourite! This gentle ballad builds to a fantastic finish. The 16-year-old has a great voice. I LOVE it!
Croatia: 4/10 – A dull Balkan ballad. Zzzzzzz.
Sweden: 10/10 – Whoah! Time to wake up. Something different in Eurovision. Loreen does some contemporary dance with martial arts moves in this attention grabbing number. Brilliant. I won’t be surprised if we’re in Stockholm next year.
Georgia: 5/10 - They qualify every year – I don’t know how. This probably will – but it’s not great.
Turkey: 8/10 – Another grower. After seeing this guy in Amsterdam, I love it. Ahoy there Turkey. See you in the final…
Estonia: 10/10 – A gentle ballad, sung by a handsome chappy. Estonia deserve to do well with this. But, there are a LOT of ballads in this semi.
Slovakia: 5/10 - It’s a bit Bon Jovi – which is a little odd.
Norway: 9/10 - Sung in English; written by a Swede and sung by an Iranian/Norwegian. Recipe for Top 5. They are recreating Sweden’s 2011 entry though…. blatantly.
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 6/10 - And again – another Balkan ballad. Zzzzzz.
Lithuania: 5/10 – A dull end to the night. Not great. This won’t be bringing the prize back to Lithuania. Sounds like Wham!
Which 10 do you think will make the final?
Watch the songs from Semi Final 1 and read my comments here.
Now, time for a little something for the Eurovision fans…..
Okay, if you’re not a “ESC fan” - you’re probably wondering who they are? (If you’re not from Europe then it’ll be even more confusing).
These ladies represented The Netherlands in Eurovision – yes, the good old Eurovision Song Contest. (Not together though. Maybe that’s why they didn’t win). I saw them both live (on separate occasions in 2006 – and they were brilliant live).
Ruth and Edsilia
Ruth Jacott, the elder of the two (The Netherlands’ representative Eurovision 1993) and Edsilia Rombley (The Netherlands’ representative in Eurovision 1998 and Eurovision 2007) have both had successful singing careers in The Netherlands.
Here they are, years later, singing a new song together. It’s quite popular here in The Netherlands and I wish they’d saved it for their 2012 entry – they could do with something like this.
A few other bits that I’ve written about Eurovision:
What a fab five days I’ve just had!!!
My mum was over from England to stay with me in The Netherlands. I love having visitors – and a Mum visit is one of the best!
We’ve done so much in those five days: a canal trip through The Hague, meals out, a cinema trip, an IKEA visit (and yes we DID have meatballs), shopping in Leiden, shopping in The Hague and more meals…
The only problem with people coming to stay is that you have to say goodbye. Airport goodbyes are so sad!
Bye Mum! Come back soon.
My mum and me
Our neighbours have just had a baby. We’re thrilled for them. I’m a little green with envy – he’s just so cute!
Our Dutch neighbours live upstairs – it’s The Netherlands after all, so everybody pretty much lives upstairs/downstairs in apartments.
I got to thinking about those first days as a parent.
How do people know what to you?
I expect it’s all about learning ‘on the job’. I’d be so nervous.
So………..
I did some random googling (as always) light research and discovered this.
Maybe I’ll email it to my new neighbours – just in case.
When people think of Holland (or The Netherlands, to use the correct name) they think of tulips, bicycles, clogs and a very flat country. It’s true – The Netherlands is very flat, and mostly below sea-level. But, that might all be about change…
Plans have been made to create a mountain in the country. The man-made mountain is planned to be an amazing 7,000ft (2134m) in height - that’s twice the height of Snowdon, in Wales, and far bigger than 4,409ft (1344m) Scotland’s Ben Nevis.
A mountain for The Netherlands?
The idea came from a Dutch sports journalist called Thijs Zonneveld, who suggested in a tongue-in-cheek article that a man-made mountain should be built to help overcome the lack of decent hills in his homeland.
Surprisingly, the plans which were not entirely serious have been taken seriously by some of the Dutch. The Dutch Ski Association, Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association and Royal Dutch Cycling Union have been particularly interested in such a project. They hope that the creation would turn the famously flat country into a winter sport superpower in Europe.
The project would cost billions. Make that approximately 300 billions euros. A cost which would probably increase over time. It could take more than 30 years to complete. However, once complete it could become a city in itself, with houses, shops, arenas and even roads and railways within.
What do you think? I have no idea where they’d plan on building the thing.
I was in for a surprise when I drove to Ikea the other evening. A few modifications had been made to the underground car park at Ikea Delft. Lights and sensors in a car park! Clever parking. I loved it.
It may not sound like much (okay, I know it’s not the most exciting post), but it really was useful. Most times that you visit car parks you drive up and down the rows, especially when it is busy. Finding a car parking spot can take time.
In Ikea there were rows and rows of lights mounted to the ceiling. The lights had a sensor pointing left and right and were placed facing all parking spots. If both the parking spaces were occupied then the light would turn from green to red. Clever!
Parking sensor lights, Ikea Delft.
The moment I drove into the aisle I would see where a space was (right from the other end). I didn’t know that such technology existed. I am hoping to see this system in many more car parks soon.
Everyone needs a nerdy post. This was mine.
If you liked this post, please share it.
You can another post of mine about Ikea here.
When it comes to driving remember the 10 Driving Commandments.
Isn’t the 100th post meant to be something special? Should WordPress users be finding something profound to discuss when they reach this stage? I won’t pretend to be anything other than pleased to be surviving the blog world.
Wahooo. My 100th post.
I want to use my 100th post to look back on blogging in general. I’d also like to say a HUGE thank you to the people who have commented on or subscribed to my blog. You’re the ones who make it worthwhile – After all, there’s no point in writing if nobody wants to read it. (A couple of friends linked via email, thanks. And some new WordPress friends have now linked up and subscribed - It’s great to see you all. Thanks for all the comments). I hope you continue to enjoy it all.
I started blogging because I love writing. I love to share stories and experiences. I used to write a diary (every day) from 1993 until 1999. (My teenage years). Blogging seemed the next natural step.
Since starting there have been other aspects that have been more fun to discover:
The bloggers who make it all such fun:
)Facebook has been so useful in setting up and keeping the blog going. My friends may be tired of seeing new posts popping up – but some have enjoyed it. Thanks for the visits (especially Sebastian, Gill and Vicky for subscribing).
One Life is here to stay! Here’s to the next 100 posts. Happy reading!
Jamie x
I was walking through the city the other day and came across this. The early evening light looked pretty good and I managed to get these ‘decent’ shots on my iPhone. I like the painted walls. It makes a change from just-anothe- brick-wall.
I love this kind of art……. Some say art, some say graffiti.
What do you think?
Place: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Mission: To improve the city………by KNITTING!
I was in Rotterdam at the weekend and was walking along by the Maritime Museum (in the harbour area). Down one of the side streets I saw this! (see pics below) Knitted decorations for the street’s lampost and hand rails. A vision in bright pink, orange and purple.
I loved it. The fact that someone has knitted cute covers for the street is so cool. I took a few pictures to give you the idea…… I might just get some knitting needles and fix up something fab for my street.
The Dutch – They think of everything.
Someone has been really busy.
City improvement?
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