The Boy and The Coconut Tree

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision  Song Contest , a show I've watched most years since 1973 or so. I remember being curled up on my Nana's sofa on a Saturday night with her singing "Save All Your Kisses For Me" to me as I fell asleep, a lovely memory. Now Eurovision has become intertwined with the gay movement and gay society; I love it, we love it. A friend of mine asked me yesterday if I had not grown out of it at 45? I said "bloody hell, no" the day I stop enjoying fun and silliness is the day I lay down in a coffin. In some of the newer entrant countries, it is less of a gay thing and more of a cultural showcase for their popular music.  Most years I either host or attend a Eurovision party, usually a mix of friends from various countries my 2009 party had people from Germany, Norway, China, Spain and Australia, gay and straight, it was fun and today I will be watching it with Americans and Germans, an intriguing mix. Today is Euro...

As I have my 2 hour lunch break in a café on this cold windy day (needed a scarf today) I am watching the world go by as usual. Central Barcelona is a great mix of people. Next to me are 2 Russian girls who have lip implants, either that or they are having a bad allergic reaction to the coffee. Across from me is a Japanese couple and the guy is wearing a backpack that is taller than me. His back must be made of steel to carry that around with him all day. Winter has finally arrived here in Barcelona, last week it was 20c, today it is 11c and the locals are dressed as if they lived in Siberia. It isn't that cold and the sky is blue and the sun is shining. I am dressed for Spring, they are dressed for the next ice age. Even those Russian girls had fur on, probably a favourite pet that recently died (it looked like rabbit though they acted as if was mink). They begin the Christmas festivities early here too. The lights are going up, the plastic snowmen and santa clauses are ...