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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JANUARY 2024 6 ALMANAC My essentials SYLVANA DEBONO 59, Artist and communications specialist After 30 years in various fields of communications, mostly in journalism, I have found an outlet for my energy in art. Mainly water colour, I push this medium to various levels using gesso, metal leaves and other resources. I studied with the late Harry Alden and currently work with international artist Steven Christian Reed. 4 5 1. Book 2. Film Internet / TV 4. Music 5. Place WHILE I do watch some TV, I choose here to celebrate in- fluencer Sosa Zerafa. Her able use of short videos, always imbued with fun and colour, brighten up anyone's day. True, one may say that this is materialism and superficiality but in truth, we do also need some fun in our lives and less sanctimonious judgement. So, go girl, you rock it! MY taste is pretty eclectic. Anything by Nat King Cole, Michael Bolton and Shirley Bassey is very much up my street. The rich mellow baritone of Nat King Cole soothes the roughest of days while Michael Bolton revs up the mood with elegance. And then there is Shirley Bassey – what a voice box. Although her songs are so well known, a thrill still runs down my spine when I hear them. Then there is the more serious music such as Wagner's Ride of the Valky- rie, which is my ringtone – need I say more? I love castles and stately homes wherever they may be. I have been to High- clere Castle, Chatsworth, Windsor and Haddon Hall in the UK, Versailles and Monbazillac in France, Schonbrun in Vienna, Neuschwanstein in Ger- many, and planning more! The architecture and see- ing the use of space and the solutions which people found to the technologies they had available leads me to appreciate more the achievements of the ages. THE Six Wives of Henry the Eighth series by Alison Weir. A serious historian in her own right, Weir brings to life these six Tudor queens in a fictional yet historically accurate set- ting. Her insight, fostered by years of research into the sub- ject, renders the characters of these queens relatable and to- tally understandable, making the reader also empathise not just with them but with this controversial monarch. Weir captures the zeitgeist of the epoch accurately and in a very readable manner I recently managed to watch The Remains of the Day, based on the eponymous book by Kazuo Ishiguro. Stevens, the central figure is played by An- thony Hopkins in a sublime rendition of the imperturba- ble British butler who turns a blind eye to his master's nazi sympathies. Stevens is also in love with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton, a love which is never openly acknowledged. Hopkins is brilliant in portray- ing Stevens' obsession with dignified restraint which leads him to accept what he knows is not right in his master's behav- iour and costs him the love of Miss Kenton. Riveting. Compiled by Laura Calleja suggestions by email lcalleja@mediatoday.com 1 This article is supported by Arts Council Malta 3 2