eurovision- uk 11th!- as reported by the BBC

Azerbaijan has been crowned the winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Germany, while the UK came 11th.

Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal of Ell/Nikki were voted Europe's favourites, after scoring 221 points with their love song, Running Scared.

Newly reformed band Blue notched up 100 points, whilst Ireland's entry, X Factor twins Jedward, finished eighth.

Italy's Raphael Gualazzi took second place, followed by Eric Saade from Sweden.

'Happiest man'

It is the first time that Azerbaijan has won the contest in its 56-year history, having only joined Eurovision in 2008.

Although Jamal was born in Azerbaijan, she currently lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

On receiving the trophy, Gasimov said he was the "the happiest man in the world".

It was another disappointing year for the UK, which has not won the competition since 1997, when Katrina and the Waves triumphed with Love Shine a Light.

However, Blue managed to notch up a respectable score compared with last year's entry, who came last with only 10 points.

At one stage Blue were top of the leaderboard

At one early stage during the voting process Bulgaria and Italy both awarded the UK high scores, making it briefly top of the results table.

Host Graham Norton joked: "Quick, someone take a picture."

Last year's winner Lena Mayer-Landrut, who represented Germany again, beat the UK by seven points to finish 10th.

Viewers at home in all 43 competing nations voted for their favourite song by phone or text message, which accounted for half of each country's vote.

The other 50% was determined by five-member expert juries in each participating country.

Two rounds of semi-finals held earlier in the week whittled the competitors down to 25 finalists.

The event, which was hosted by Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab, attracted 35,000 to the Fortuna Düsseldorf Arena.

Kitteh.

Tim went away for a weekend and came back with a cat- that sounds irresponsible so here is his version of events:


"On route to Manchester on the 8th passed a house with a basement window with a grate over it, and heard mewing...

The grate wouldn't move, but I could get my hand only half way to the bottom and couldn't see the kitten. I knocked on every local door but no-one was in....so could do nothing...

...It played on my mind horrificly over the time I was away. So on arriving back in Cardiff, three days later, decided to double check if the house owner was in, or if I could still hear the mewing. if not to let them know there might be a dead cat outside their basement window...

...I got to the house and there was no mewing :( ...

...I knocked on the door...there was no answer :( ...

...Was about to leave, when the neighbour came out to go to work. I enquired about the cat, fearing the worst...

"Oh, the tennant on the bottom floor managed to get it out, and has taken it to the RSPCA, Cat Protection League and enquired if anyone owns it...actually she's looking for someone to take it off her hands because she's allergic..."

...What would you do? =^.^= Norky is now currently the owner of the cutest little kitten!!! Name ideas pwease...

YAY! I got a Kitten =^.^="

It's settling in quite well- this kitteh makes me happy as it doesn't hate me,

unlike our existing (and sumprimely unimpressed) cat.

Basicly we've spent the last week fishing the cat out of places its got stuck. cute but stressful! she looks like marmite on toast! so that is what I have ames her. even though she isn't mine.

:D

look at me taking over other peoples pets and re-naming them.

making random friends (DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE IN SUPERMARKETS)

OK, this is a bit of a rambling story.
bear with me.

Last sunday I went to lidals to get some breakfast for me and my wife. So I'm here, blearry eyed an the scurit bloke is kinda following me.
no, the security in Lidas, in Splott often follow people- Infact I get followed all the time. So I thought, I'll just smile at him, If he's going to folow me round whilst I buy all my shopping we may as well be on friendly terms.
that was my fatal error.
so then hes like "its nice to see a smile in the mornings- you've made my day"
and I was just akinda like" thanks".

so he went away, I got my shopping, paid for it, didn't think anything more of it.
And he stopped me on the way out of the shop.
At this point I was pretty annoyed coz he'd watched me pay for everything & I had the receipt in my hand.
hes like "so, you live near here?" and I do so i said yeah, he explained where he lived and we talked a bit about splott and I made my escape with my slowly defrosting shopping.

Later on then, like 6 or 7pm I was in Traffs room (he has a downstairs bedroom, with a big window facing out onto the street, and the bed against the window- for anyone not privy to our sleeping arrangements- as this is vital to your understanding of this story)
So I was working o my computer, lying on the bed with the curtains open, and there's a knock on the window- i look up and its the lidals man!
I didn't even tell him my address!

So I went and answred the door & we had a chat for almost an hour & off he went.

He seemed lovely & friendly- not creepy and stalkerish- but it was an odd experience none the less.

so, I seem to have made myself a new friend.
by accident.
but still, It made my day more exciting!

Primary placement

For 2 days last week I was on primary placement at a local school - just to see how the pupils are taught & what they're taught really- it was verso cute but I'm very glad to be back at "big school" now with my stroppy teenage classes & their attitude.

yeah, I know, but I never was one for making things easy for myself.

Primary school was good fun though- we identified trees using books and by looking at their leaves and bark. and we talked about photosynthesis which mostly was waaayyyy over their heads. I told them they could work out hold old a tree was when it was cut down by counting the rings on the timber- they we're much more into that.
It was a moment when I kinda wished I'd kept my moth shut to keep them on task- but enthusiasm isn't to be sniffed at and I couldn't believe that no-one had tld any of those 30 kids that before- I remember counting tree rings when I was only just in primary school- not when I was leaving it!

Annnddd we wrote our own welsh legends. that was pretty fun.

the funniest thing that happened was that one child in a lower year tried to run away from school- h told all the teachers he was running away after break, and when he attempted to make his escape he took his bag with him- except the bag got him stuck in the fence.
so he had to be rescued.
escape attempt = foiled.

assessments! Passed!

when I set this I intended not to write about work or uni really, I was worried it would be boring for anyone reading this- but this will be my only exception:

I passed my tutor assessment & my external assessment last week!
It was the most amazing feeling! the pressure is now off!
so for the next 4 weeks at school, all I have to do is not blow anyone up & I will be a "real teacher" as opposed to a PGCE student. awesomeness.

now all I ned to do is find a job...
:S

Borj al arab

Traff & I FINALLY went for food at borj al arab (76 city road) and it was delicious!

I haven't eaten such lush food since we were in morocco. annnddd they gave us so much free stuff! it was unreal! w had free traditional soup to start- and it was lush, the we had our mains, and they gave us a salad and sauce! and then we have free mint tea and fruit salad.
although by then I was too full to have eaten anything.
honestly.

I will be taking EVERYONE there from now on- including my mum next weekend!
:)
yessssssss.

Glastonbury

hayley, Dai, Amanda & I went to glastonbury to see what we could see!
:)
it was amazing, its such a bonkers place I'm not even sure I can decribe it faithfully but I'll have a go! it was lots of junk shops, hippy shops, wicca ships & shops that sell crystals and stones and things for magic.
awesome browsing!

we went to the goddess temple & to the Glastonbury experience- both we're a bit too out there even for us but it was interesting.

We had lunch in this crazy vegetarian cafe. yummy falafel! :)

and my favourite pat of the day: we went to the herb shop! its like something out of happy potter or the lord of the rings! I wanted sooo soo badly to take photos inside the shop but I figured I'd look really rude. maybe next time we go I'll take covert phone photos!

AND IT WAS SUNNY. well, for most of the day- we'll have o go back and see the tor & the cathedral..but thats ok- I could happily live somewhere like that!