I have to admit I am becoming sceptical about one aspect of Europe. But before Godfrey Bloom corners me in a Brussels lift waving UKIP membership forms at me shouting, “I told you so, I told you so!” I should stress that my cynicism is strictly reserved for the Eurovision Song Contest.

While its history is hardly a glittering one I am sure the standard has declined to the point where the most original gimmick wins the contest rather than the best song. Hence Finland’s monsters claiming victory.

I am well-known for my attention to detail and even while watching Terry Wogan introduce scantily-clad Croatian singers I can’t take my politician’s hat off. So while many of the performers were mediocre, I found the voting utterly fascinating.

As ever, national affinities feature prominently: Cyprus always gives maximum points to Greece, for instance, and the Nordic countries seem to like each other. Germany gives top points to Turkey, thanks to the couple of million votes from the Turks living in Germany. But there were also some unexpected results that go counter to supposed national likes and dislikes: Turkey giving 10 points to Armenia, for instance, and Serbia giving top score to Croatia.