Semis, Palaces, Horses, Sausages and Queens!

Lordy Lordy! It's been a hectic couple of days since I last posted, but I wanted to bring you all up to date with the latest Tales From The Vienna Woods, and to give you some predictions before tonight's first Semi Final.

But back to Sunday...

All of the 7 pre-qualifiers for the final performed. Italy and Australia were both superb. France was simply STUNNING, and is coming in fast with the bookies, so if you want a wee outsider bet, get money on that. Germany was great, Austria was competent and then the UK rehearsed...

Oh Dear! Alex and Bianca sang it well, but the staging is messy (2 boy dancer/singers and 2 girls doing the same). It just didn't seem to gel well, and the backing seems to have changed, with then singing "Let's Dance" over the top of the Charlestony bits, thereby making them all but disappear. Thankfully they have a second big rehearsal tomorrow - let's hope for some changes...

The opening of the Euroclub happened on Sunday night, and it's being held in a huge Brewery complex near where we're staying. No excuses, then for not organising a piss-up in a brewery...

The party was OK, but nothing worth writing home about, so we'll just move on to yesterday and the rehearsals of the full show for Semi Final 1.

The opening is effective but rather long, with LOADS of Conchita. The three female presenters are ok, but to be honest it's Conchita that steals the show. Her off the cuff comments were hilarious, "...Oh my goodness, no booing for Russia? Who knew?"

I'm not going to describe the performances, as I've already told you about some of the standout ones, but here is my prediction for the ten songs which I thing will qualify tonight for Saturday's final.

ARMENIA

BELGIUM (But I still hate it with a passion!)

DENMARK

ESTONIA

GEORGIA

GREECE

MOLDOVA

ROMANIA

RUSSIA

SERBIA

I'd love the Finnish boys to qualify, but the reaction in the hall was just one of blank-faces and semi-polite applause at the end. Serbia (with it's WAAAAAY OTT performance), Russia and Greece are getting the biggest reactions in the hall - and this is from audiences made up of local people who have no real vested interest.

I have absolutely NO doubt that Russia will walk this Semi by a huge margin and then finish Top 5, but not win, on Saturday.

Last night I finally got to do my first bit of sightseeing, with an evening trip to Schönbrun Palace. Wow! What an amazing place. I loved it. Had a fantastic trip round the gardens and got great views...

This morning I was up early to have a live chat on Kingdom FM's Breakfast Show. I chatted for a few minutes and told then what was happening and who to look out for tonight. I'll be back on the show probably Thursday morning and then again on Saturday. It went out around 8.45am if you intend having a listen in later in the week!

Then I went straight to the Spanish Riding School to see the world famous Lipizzaner horses going through their morning exercises. Wow! (again). That really was the most impressive thing to see...

Best line of the morning came as the tour guide told our group that we were going into the stables where one of the riders would show us his bits and tackle... My friend, Ben, and I were doubled up with the giggles at that!

After a quick lunch of Wiener Sausage with Mustard and Horseradish (seemed only apt after the horses) I was off on a specially organised walking tour of Gay Vienna... (as one of my very drole colleagues said yesterday, "you've just spent 8 days in THIS press centre and you're going out on a gay tour?..." Cheeky bugger!

The tour was fun, and very informative, but we all fell about giggling at the end when the only young girl in out group was told she couldn't come into our final calling point (a very ornately decorated gay sauna - done in a Moorish style). She offered to draw on a beard and do a "Conchita" but she wasn't allowed in. Having said that we only went into the very elaborate and stylish entrance hall and had a bit of a butchers...