Weather: Cloudy, with rain never that far away. 16.

Tonight's telly:
Gladiatrix (4)

Italy's election Italy elects Silvio Berlusconi as premier, an office he held for seven months in 1994. Signor Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, has come in for much criticism over his wealth and lack of traditional political posturing. He joined in a broad right-wing coalition.

Busker London Underground gets its first official busker, as Julian Lloyd Webber sets up his cello at Westminster station to perform hits from his brother Lord's musicals. Until this year, busking was illegal but often tolerated in London. Under new byelaws, London Underground can give busking licenses to acts with significant musical talent. It's rumoured that Westlife had been booked to launch the scheme, but failed to secure the license.

Allan:
Well - I thought Sweden should have won it!
Not gonna disagree with you there. Shows how poor a place in the first half of the show is.

The United Kingdom Entry was a crap song,
I can't agree with that. As a *song*, it is amongst the best of the night. As a *performance*, it is not. The annoying fact is that "No Dream Impossible" was originally written for a baritone voice, with Russel Watson mentioned to perform. Sadly, the pop-ites got hold of it, and gave it to Miss Braces.

Readers may wish to compare and contrast Boyzone's treatment of "No Matter What" to that of the stage cast of "Whistle Down The Wind" to that of Steinmann's regular partner, Meat Loaf.

She did make that last note though
...just.

and doubtless we will see more of her in the future!
Don't hold your breath.

Wasnt she a "Popstars" reject?
No.

Denmark had a good tune, but Estonia? Didnt rate it, at all!
Ah, but didn't the competition entry sound like they'd already won it, and this was the more relaxed reprise. Same feeling I got with the Olsens last time.

At least UK didnt get relegated!
As one of the biggest contributors to the EBU, the UK (along with France, Germany, Spain, and - should they ever return - Italy) cannot be relegated.

Phew. Yeah the rap turned it into crap!
Duh. As we showed in 1995, rap does not work at Eurosong. Anyone remember Love City Groove? Exactamundo.

Lindsey Dracass did her best bearing in mind she is only 16 , but I just didnt rate the song, there were one or two dodgy notes there too! She was definately thinking about that last one! By the way Terry W was talking I imagine she missed it a few times in rehearsal!
You didn't see A Song For Europe back in March, I assume. There, performing live before the TOTP audience, she *totally* missed the final note. Hence why she had to go eerily quiet before making it on the night.

It would have sopunded better as a straight ballad, but with the rap bits it went nowhere, and they took away from its meaning!
Thank you. (:

As for whether we will see her again in the future - remember the obituaries written for the career of our 1991 entry when she did badly (and murdered a crap song!) Sam Janus aint doing too badly now!
Since then... Michael Ball (92) is on the stage, as is Frances Ruffelle (94). Sonia (93) Gina G (96) and Nikki French (00) are all making a living playing gay clubs. Love City Groove (95) Katrina And The Waves (97) and Precious (99) all split. And Imanni (98) is (gasp!) still making records!

Thought Norway would have done better though!
What's Norwegian for nul points?

There's definately a bit of political voting going on though!
Just wait till next year, when Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina are joined by Macedonia, Romania and possibly Yugoslavia. It's about time Croatia won again.

Oh well - on to Estonia 2002
But you could relive those magic moments again with The Eurosong CD 2001, available in all good record stores now. Thrill as that bird from Slovenia looks like a traffic cone. Gasp as Germany changes into English. Sing along with Sweden's Friends. Go out and make a cup of tea while Lithuania play.

Weather: Cloudy, with some sun in late afternoon. 16.

Tonight's telly:
God, The Devil, And Bob This really is a classic show. Bob saves a neighbour's marriage, and applies the lessons to his own. How US Christian groups got their knickers in a twist is totally beyond me. *****

Belgium! The flight I thought I booked last night turns out to have been lost, as the agents didn't get back to me by midnight. So rebook direct with the airline, for a saving of 20p. (Wow.) That's straight off the card, and I have the confirmatory page to prove it.

Jaeda:
have I been thrown out :( does yahoo hate me? someone help!
Serious answer: go to onelist home page (or whatever they're calling themselves this week) and check your Bounce Status. If it's bouncing, ask to get yourself unsuspended.

Frivolous answer: Whose delivery program is over? Whose email system is failing to accept correctly configured messages? Eliminate the errors, remove the rubbish, vote off... the weakest member!

Weather: Cloudy, with some heavy showers. 16.

Tonight's Telly:
The UEFA Cup Final Classic. *****

Public Interest Former MI5 agent David Shayler loses the first round of his pre-trial legal battle for the right to plead in his defence to secrets charges that he acted in the public interest. Shayler, facing trial at the Old Bailey accused of breaching the Official Secrets Act by leaking documents to a Sunday newspaper three years ago, had argued that his right to a fair hearing under human rights laws would be breached if he were not allowed to run the defence.
Trial judge Mr Justice Moses ruled that it was not open to him to assert that disclosure of documents or information without lawful authority was or may have been necessary in the public interest. Shayler is to appeal against the ruling, which means his trial will not start in earnest until November.
He has always maintained the disclosures and a series of later revelations were made to expose illegal activities and incompetence in the security services.

A day of amazing emotional swings. There's a meeting with the manager, setting targets for my future and ambitions. A high.
News breaks that Kaycee Nicole passed on last Monday. An inspiration, a bundle of joy, and a ray of sunshine to everyone, make no mistakes. And now she's slipped the bounds of her decayed body, she seems somehow closer. More real. A total low when it breaks, but leaves me with a warm inner glow.
Then there's Prescott's Punch. The deputy prime minister goes on the campaign trail, and wallops a protester on the jaw. It's the most unexpected news of the campaign, and the pictures are quite, quite amazing.
Cut straight from that to the UEFA Cup Final, already in progress. In fact, it's already 3-3. I've missed the excitement... or not. Liverpool score a wonderful strike to lead Alaves 4-3, only for the Catalan side to level matters with less than two minutes to play. Both sides have a score chalked off for offside, Alaves lose two players to persistant fouls, before an own goal gives Liverpool the trophy, 5-4. Wow. What a high.

Weather: Wet. 12. Yack.

Tonight's Telly
Friends Monica's wedding starts to dominate proceedings, and the humour factor goes right down. Boo. **

It takes all day to really recover from last night's emotional swings. It's still not levelled off. Do a lot of nice things, feel good about it, remember how Kaycee put so much sunshine into everyone's lives, and feel a pang of regret. Repeat all day.

Things They Didn't Know On The Weakest Link * How to fill 45 minutes of telly: seven contestants and 30 minutes tonight.
* The new chain: 50-100-250-500-1000-1500-2500. Keeps the 4 correct - 20% rule of all the UK formats, the one that's broken in the US.
* Dogs. As "The Truth About Cats And."
* The Urals are in Russia.
* Brenda was crowned in the 50s.
* There wasn't an English queen called Glenn.
* Klezma is Jewish, not Buddhist.

Jaeda:
Iain is a gentleman...I'm trying to convince my mother of this, she's all kinds of worried about some stranger from England coming to stay at my house...but that's my psycho mom,
Iain will be no trouble, so long as everyone can cope with his accent.

I figure I'll just take Iain to meet her and let him at her...she'll realize that he's actually more sane then most of my real life friends.... :P
You must have some really insane friends. Get nine in a line and I might just have to bring over The Weakest Quizbook.

Bibble.

Weather: Cloud, lifting at various points through the day. 17.

Tonight's telly:
Buffy (Sky1) A road-trip turns nasty, and we *finally* get the the season's storyline explained in words of one syllable. Not up to recent weeks, though Anya *is* annoying. ***1/2
Greed (5) A good vehicle for Jerry Springer, not sure how good a quiz show though. **1/2

A decently quiet end to the week. Almost somnolent, until I look at the list of things I've done today and found it's huge.

A Palestinian suicide bomber set off a powerful explosive at the entrance to an Israeli shopping mall, killing himself and at least four more people, and wounding more than 40. The explosion reverberated through the coastal city of Netanya. A large cloud of black smoke rose over the area of the blast as ambulances raced to the scene.
Militant Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility at a rally in Gaza today, saying the attack was the seventh in a planned series of ten bombings. A senior Palestinian security official identified the bomber as Mahmoud Ahmed Marmash, 21, from the West Bank town of Tulkarm. The group's founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said Israel was "reaping the violence it has planted".
Witnesses said that the bomber had detonated explosives at the entrance to the Sharon mall near the centre of Netanya. The city, 20 miles north of Tel Aviv and just 6 miles from the West Bank, has been the scene of several bomb attacks by Palestinian militants in the past.

Angela Bigos:
One of the reasons we long for those rite-of-passage days is because our favorite movies made them so romantic and nostalgic when in reality they were probably not that great.
What makes it worse is the expectation that said movies and novels engender; then when the event comes round, it can only fail to live up to expectations.

Going in with low hopes will usually mean they're beaten. Going in with high hopes is a recipe for disappointment.

We dwell in a society that endorses living reincarnation- we're constantly trying to re-live/re-do our pasts until they reach or past muster.
Keeping a diary, journal, daybook, can help. The special times weren't so special. There was the daily minutiae of life going on all round you.

You're also at a disadvantage, satisfaction wise, because all of your friends seem to be racing ahead of you which leaves you feeling lonely and out of it.
Ask them if *they're* feeling lonely and left out of it.

All our lives we search, and search, and search for many things- why are we here, is there a God, is my soul mate out there,
... why *do* people still think digital watches are the mark of an advanced civilisation ...

Weather: Cloudy. 16.

To the store, only they've not got either of the loaves I want to buy. I'm not picky, but this just isn't up to scratch. However, I'm going into the city centre, so get a loaf there. This will cost the local store a lot, now I know I can do this.

Also in the city, get some light trews for my looming visit to Dallas, a guidebook to that conurbation, and the Eurosong CD.

All guns blazing US and British warplanes attack an air defence installation in southern Iraq in response to what the US calls recent "threatening actions" from Iraq.

Middle East violence continues Israeli gunships launch raids on the West Bank, and shoot a farmer on the Gaza Strip. By nightfall, the total is believed to be around 20.

Today's telly:
Wanted (June 1, 1997; Horizons) Victoria and Charlotte have been given a task. They don't do it. At all. Not once. They're playing for absolutely *nothing*. Whether by luck or judgement, they've wound up in Swansea. This is an excellent square, as S4C didn't broadcast Wanted until 90 minutes after the show finished in the rest of the UK. They escape, but not before being visited by Expert* Runners Steve & Phil. S&P ran for three weeks, winning the grand total of £3000.
Pat and Joan are valeting prestige cars across North England, and have wound up next to a park in Sheffield. They're playing for - and winning - £3000.
Oengus and John are on an industrial estate in Bracknell. They've been collecting honey and taking tea with the WI, and send Paul on a wild goose chase to the Royal Academy. £5000 is theirs.
Daria TOW Jane's Art Is Slashed. Another great one, from early in season 2. ****
Slap Bang Ant and Dec go to prime time from Saturday mornings. This is laugh-a-minute stuff, building almost exactly from the template they established on SMTV. Challenge Ant is done with OAPs, there's Formula 6 1/2, and a take-off of Cheers. This is good. **** 1/2

Football: Liverpool completed one of the greatest seasons in its rich history, defeating Charlton 4-0 in the season finale to secure a place next season in the prestigious Champions League. Liverpool, which won the European Champions Cup four times in the 1970s and 80s, gets its first crack at the continent's top competition since losing in the 1985 final. There were two goals Saturday from Michael Owen, who finished the season with 24 goals, nine in his last six matches. Leeds and Ipswich, the two other contenders for England's final Champions League spot - Man United and Arsenal claimed the first two - had to settle for UEFA Cup spots in 2001-2002. The final UEFA slot will go to the winners of a play-off between the losing semi-finalists in the FA Cup, Tottenham and Wycombe.
Leeds, which reached this season's Champions League semifinals before losing to Valencia, won 3-1 at home against Leicester. Ipswich, the surprise side of the season after being promoted through the play-offs, tied 1-1 at Derby. Chelsea will go into the Inter Toto Cup, a 2-1 victory over relegated Manchester City means they finish in sixth place.
The final day of play in English soccer was an abysmal one for champions Manchester United, which has won seven of the last nine league titles under Alex Ferguson. Man United fell 3-1 at Tottenham, their third straight defeat. 24 hours earlier Ferguson made the shocking announcement that he will leave the club after next season. Ferguson long ago said next season would be his last, but Friday he said he would cut his ties with the club entirely, apparently upset with the budget for players next season and the reluctance of team directors to elevate him to spot as roving ambassador.
Southampton left The Dell in style, defeating second-place Arsenal 3-2 on a winning goal in the 89th by longtime star Matt Le Tissier.
In the day's other matches it was: Coventry 0, Bradford 0; Middlesbrough 2, West Ham 1; Newcastle 3, Aston Villa 0.

League tables:
1 (1) Man Utd pl 36 - 80 *Champs
2 (2) Arsenal    36 - 69 *Euro League
3 (5) Liverpool  36 - 65 *Euro League
4 (3) Leeds      36 - 62 *UEFA
5 (4) Ipswich    36 - 62 *UEFA
6 (6) Chelsea    36 - 57
7 (7) Sunderland 37 - 56

15 (14) Everton        37 - 41
16 (17) Derby          37 - 41
17 (16) Middlesborough 37 - 39
18 (18) Man City       36 - 34 *Relegated
19 (19) Coventry       37 - 33 *Relegated
20 (20) Bradford       36 - 25 *Relegated

Tracker points, covering form over the last 15 games:
1 (2) LEE 1164
2 (4) LIV 1147
3 (1) MUN 1124
4 (3) ARS 1106
5 (5) CHE 1096
6 (6) IPS 1057

15 (15) EVE 928
16 (16) WHM 903
17 (17) LEI 901
18 (19) COV 897
19 (18) MCY 896
20 (20) BRA 857

Weather: Still annoyingly cloudy. 16.

Today's telly: Wanted (8 June 1997, UK Horizons) Victoria and Charlotte are in Blackpool. Victoria Fay in the studio, John McMahon on the ground. Be a plumber's mate for a day. "We mean business." 30 minutes later, they're on camera. John's. Tuesday sees the pair do their task. This is a team best. The next day, they leave their bags in the tourist office. They bed down in Liverpool, in a room with a blocked toilet. Jammy. They're playing for £2000, and somehow manage to evade the trackers.
Oengus and John are in the Medway Towns. Though John doesn't turn up till ten minutes into the show. Andy Stuart in the studio, Paul Denchfield on the road. In week 3, O&J have to be bell boys at a posh hotel. Denchfield goes up a tree to monitor the entrance. And stays there from 6am... right through... till midday. Result for Paul. It's one way traffic after that, the pair of campers playing for £3000, and once again meet Paul on Sunday. It's all to no avail as Paul falls over himself (literally!) in his excitement to make the capture.
Pat and Joan are at home in NW Manchester, and taking martial arts lessons. Boxing themselves in, but staying in Manchester for half the week, and playing for £6000. Dave McBride takes over from Sarah Odell this week, Matt Randall in the studio. They're caught with 86 seconds on the clock.
We also get to see the "Call Us" screen, for the first time this run.
Sheep In The City Classic new comedy from the Cartoon Network.
The First Test England beats Pakistan by an innings and nine runs.

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