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Sunday Culture

Deirdre C

— 3 min read
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A crowd people wearing bald caps facing a stage. The sky is cloudy and it is raining.
A sea of bald caps in the rain. Glasgow, July 2026.

A week and a half ago, I had the most pure joyful fun I’ve had in a longtime, dancing in the rain in park in Glasgow wearing a bald cap with my mates as we bopped to Mr Worldwide (Pitbull, to any of you unfamiliar with his game). Supported by L’il Jon, they nailed the brief in entertaining overworked millennials by treating us to a show populated by the bangers we were brought up on and sweatily danced to in clubs 20 years ago. Turns out all you need to refill the soul once in a while is to dance in a field with your pals to pure nostalgia. We don’t carelessly dance enough anymore, surrounded as we are by the ubiquitous camera phone.

What I’ve been watching

I am giddy with anticipation at the pending release of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ next week. The first film to be shot entirely on IMAX cameras, my eyes cannot wait to see it. There are only 3 cinemas in the UK that can show IMAX 70mm (how Nolan intended) and sadly I’m not near one. But this isn’t the space for my PowerPoint presentation on medium format film and aspect ratio (ask me in the pub some time, I’ll bend your ear off, absolute cinema). So I’ve been revisiting the Nolan back catalogue, in particular The Dark Knight. The first weekend I moved to London in 2018, I treated myself to a solo trip to the BFI Waterloo to see TDK in 70mm IMAX. Thrilling. That opening sequence remains one of the best committed to film. Seeing it in 1.43:1 dominating the entire wall? Sublime. 

Still lands on my television.

What I’ve been reading

Far too much social media regarding Taylor Swift’s wedding. We all need a mindless topic to decompress.

I decided I should probably refresh my knowledge of Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ so I’ve been listening to the E.V Rieu translation in audiobook (the Penguin Classic version from 1946). As you can imagine with modern translations of ancient texts passed down via the oral tradition from languages and cultures that no longer exist, each translation is its own interpretation and can vary from text to text. A whole topic in and of itself but fascinating to me. Nolan has apparently adapted a translation by Emily Wilson, an English scholar and the first woman to publish their version of Homer’s epic. Translation and adaptation are not new concepts. I for one can’t wait to see what the latest film interpretation brings us.

The book cover of the Penguin Classics version of Homer’s Odyssey. A bronze sculpture of a shop with men on board.

What I’ve been listening to

I’d be lying if I claimed it was anything bar Pitbull and L’il Jon. DALE.

Stick it on and dance around your kitchen.

Pals watch on A and E After Dark

We did it, Joe (well, Paul). Chewing gum whilst managing an airway (to the probable disdain of his mother), up pops my pal to feature in his own storyline. He absolutely nailed it. Professional and cool.

To the week ahead. Turn your negative in to a positive (or something like that).

GRMA,

Deirdre x

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