My essentials: Angele Galea’s cultural picks

1. Book

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I love the world he created, his comedy, his timings, his characters, the absurdity, and if you look carefully, his sarcasm. I read books to unwind, and I would always choose a fantasy book that makes me laugh. So, the Discworld series are my go-to books for that. Lately I don’t have too much time to read, but with all the grief around us, his books are the perfect antidote.

2. Film

‘Sing 2’. I watched it at the cinema with my family. I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed the songs, the harmonies, the storyline, the feeling of being onstage that the film presents, the excellent characterisations, the humour. I love animation movies. They have the best storylines by far. I enjoy the drawings and if I can, I’d watch the behind-the-scenes anecdotes to see how they developed the script, the drawings, the animation, the voice overs etc.

3. Internet/Film

I watch a lot of Korean drama. I enjoy the way they act, portray heartbreak, develop characters, their humour including toilet humour, their settings, the language and their music. One that stands out a lot was “A Korean Odyssey”, a fantasy television series starring three of my most favourite South Korean actors Lee Seung-gi, Cha Seung-won, and Oh Yeon-seo. It mixes dark humour, deities, modern day, ghosts with a twist and lots of anticipations. I loved it.

4. Music

I love a huge range of music, from medieval music like Guillaume De Machaut or Hildegard von Bingen, to Adelle and Ed Sheeran. Songs that bring back loads of memories are “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy, “Dancing Queen” of ABBA and “Bohemian Rhapsody” of Queen. On the piano, I love playing Mozart, Debussy and Bach. I love listening to it while I’m painting or driving, but the most magical moments are singing and dancing or playing the piano onstage. Nothing compares.

5. Place

I enjoy anywhere without high rise buildings, cars or roads. I like historical urban spaces, like Florence, but what I enjoyed mostly was sliding down a baby slope on a sledge. I did it for the first time in Austria just before the pandemic hit, and it was so enjoyable. I forgot my age and all responsibilities, and just enjoyed playing in the snow. Children and adults were playing having the mountains and trees in the background. It was heavenly and so picturesque.