Canny lass

What, may I ask, is a "bell pit"? Mr. Abrahart! Great teacher but I hated history in school. I've learned more of Englands history through studying it's language than I ever did from any history lesson!

happy birthday from me too, and do like Maggie says!

... and you're the very men to do the flushing Malcolm! Give em Hell!

My sentiments exactly!

Well done Maggie! Were the "kippers" of the edible type or left overs from the election?

Quite a Nail-biting final! Didn't we do well! First Place and second Place - well, Russia's text and Music are written by Swedes. I won first prize for correctly predicting which entry would get least votes and my old/Young man came second in the "guess the gimmick" competition. We don't bother predicting the Winner at our Eurovision get together. As 3g points out there are others who do that for us - with varying degrees of success.

In Britain Everything stops for tea. In Sweden Everything stops for the Eurovision Song Contest. An opportunity for a family get together, competitions and a bit of a laugh. It can be fun when there are four generations discussing a song.

Apart from bodies being washed up on beaches we have all that here too 3g and in about the same proportions. To add to the problem we now have people arriving from Rumania on a 3 month visa - supposedly to look for employment. There is not a shop without a Rumanian begging outside the door all day long. I don't know when they go to look for work. Are you having this problem in Bedlington, Northumberland, England?

Don't know if the Chorus there may just have been a tad too profound for the average listener.

Those were the Days, when songs had a message to get across!

It's that time of year again folks! Eurovision hysteria is upon us. What is this Contest all about? Gone are the Days of Katie Boyle and her "deux Points" (yes, I know, Iäm giving my age away)! Is it anything to do with 'song' today or is it more about 'show'? The artists are like specks on the horizon amidst the flashing lights and fireworks. How can we say a certain country is competing when their entry is written by someone from another country? Sad to see that 25% of the songs tonight were written by swedes but none of them competing for Sweden - though all are better than the Swedish entry. Finland's entry? Was it good Music or a cheap trick? And The Netherland's entry - where have I Heard it before? Russia did a good job though.

Only joking ggg!

Well that explains Everything Malcolm! So this 0.01 that 3g's missing - could it be a screw?

Would that be Pounds, euros, metres or pressure in lbs per square inch?

ExBedlingtonian, It may be something to do with the climate. I live in a big fridge while you live in a big oven.

Well done you! Now would you care to explain 41.99?

Here it means reduced prices on basic Foods and work for swedish nationals with immigrant background. Price reductions are found not only in Lidl's but in all the other supermarket chains, who for years have charged extortionate prices because "quality costs" and "quality means Swedish". Since the arrival of Lidl, Three or four years ago, the Swedes have learned that quality products can have many countries of origin and that "foreign" is not necessarily synonymous with "bad". The result being that the leading supermarket chains have been forced to stock a lower cost variety of almost everything. Over the last few years the number of Swedish Products has been noticeably reduced - they are not Selling. Fruit and vegetables, while the selection may be small, are Always of high quality in Lidls. They are delivered Daily. OK their bananas may not be as "curvy" as their competitors and their peppers can come in all shapes and sizes but what does that matter if your planning on cutting them up into smaller pieces? The taste is the same, the colour is the same, the nutritional value is the same. It's only the price that's different. On the employment front they've given some immigrant families a chance to be free from the shackles of the benefit system. Believe me it's not all immigrants who want benefits. The men in particular regain a sense of pride that's really noticeable once they start providing for their family again. Wonderful to see.!! Now, why Lidl appears to employ a large proportion of the immigrant population (here at least - I can't speak for other countries) I do not know. The wage seems to be the same as in the other supermarket chains. The workers are affiliated to a union - if they wish to be, and the hours are the same.

Penny less? More likely legless!

Absolutely Pete. They'll probably insist on chip-marking as well.

As you say ggg, interesting times ahead!

Well done Malcolm, err.... I mean your mayorship!

Nice one threegee!

Sorry Smudge, I seem to have missed this. SAD has certainly something to do with suicide rates in Scandinavia but mostly in the extreme north, nearer the pole circle. Fortunately not many people live so far North. Southern and mid Scandinavia have about the same amount of Daylight as the UK and don't feel the effect so much. When I've seen Denmark's position on the happiness barometer I've Always had an inkling (another Lovely Word) that it had to do with their intake of alcohol. There's no "wrong" time for a beer in Denmark. I was surprised to see that their intake is only marginally higher than in the UK. It may be something to do with the way the Danes drink . They don't drink to get drunk only to feel "pleasantly inebriated". I agree that we should not be averse to Learning from other countries and long for the day that Sweden can adopt British politics in relation to the sale of alcohol.

Welcome to the forum Sianabix. My own personal thoughts on the matter are that if ever there was a result that showed the need for a reform in favour of proportional representation then this has to be it!

You're all very quiet on here today! Tired after sitting up half the night watching the results come in? Too disappointed with the result to get out of bed this morning? Speechless with joy? let's hear your thoughts on the result!