'Instinct' - Sunday Scribblings - 10/3/2013

'Instinct'

This is the 200th. Post on Scandic Sequences!

My quirky instinct told me that I should

do something a little weird - maybe!

So :-

53 years ago Great Britain had a really good

song for the Eurovision Song Contest,

and a really good singer to sing it.

It became a favourite to win.  Back in 1960,

everything was 'live' on TV.  No pre-recordings, 

or fantastic stage productions; no colour; no dancers cavorting around, etc.  It was just the

singers on a simple stage, and the orchestra.

Singing order was drawn by ballot, and with

the international voting starting immediately

the last singer had finished, it was always an

advantage to be late in the draw.  The later

songs were obviously fresher in the juries

minds.

The French song, 'Tom Pilibi', performed by 

a pretty little French mademoiselle, was drawn

No.1    (bad luck!)

The British song, 'Looking High, high, high', and performed by the excellent Bryan Johnson,

was drawn to be performed last.

(Whoopee!)

What did the stupid Brits do?

In order to appear gentlemanly and fair

to the French teenager, they voluntarily 

swopped places, which meant that the

British number would go on first.

The result was that the French girl won the

contest, and the British song, with poor old 

Bryan Johnson came second.

There wasn't a great difference in the votes,

so had he sung last he almost certainly

would have 'wiped the floor' with

all opposition.

This has rankled with me for 53 years,

but my instinct tells me that none of

you could care less, one way or the other.