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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 AUGUST 2024 4 ALMANAC My essentials ALFRED BUTTIGIEG 60, teacher, actor My plays include Ir-Rewwixta tal-Qassisin, Mela Hawn Xi Manikomju? and L-Interrogazzjoni. I've also written the novel Gezzu and the prose poem Dik il-Qtajra. After retiring from education, I embarked on a course in ceramics at the MSA. This experience motivated me to explore figurative ceramics, hence my first solo exhibition Figures Unbound at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq. 1. Books 2. Film 3. Internet/TV 4. Music 5. Place I'M stuck on the late '60s/early '70s rock music, an era which I strongly believe produced the best music, ranging from Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd. I have also brought myself to appre- ciate some 60s music which in my teen years I considered passé, such as The Beatles. At present my favourite album is An American Prayer by Jim Morrison and The Doors. I consider it poetic and a sum- mation of the singer's entire life and philosophy. I don't travel much because I'm petrified of flying. So, I'm more than happy watch- ing YouTube documenta- ries on different destina- tions. Locally, I used to love Valletta during COVID, when you'd sit on a bench in front of St John's, and soak in the stillness. Now we've turned our capital in- to a cacophonous hell. I love the tranquillity of Mdina at night when the tourists are gone, and you can hear your footfalls echoing down the narrow streets. I'M a huge fan of short fiction be- cause you can read a tale in one sitting. Succinctness is sorely lack- ing in several other genres. I re- turn often to Guy de Maupassant, still in awe at his economy and his pessimism. Recently, I read Made- line Miller's Circe, a reimagining of The Odyssey's reviled witch, who narrates her own transgressive and poignant story. I love crime myster- ies, especially Conan Doyle's Sher- lock Holmes. Right now, I'm en- joying P.G. Wodehouse's hilarious Jeeves stories. I recently watched The Father, about an elderly man slip- ping into dementia and star- ring Anthony Hopkins. The film's structure and perspec- tive place viewers inside the protagonist's short-circuiting mind, forcing them to expe- rience his crumbling reality. The last scene is a masterpiece. He breaks down because, as he puts it, 'I feel as if I'm losing all my leaves', then the camera pans out to the view outside where the trees' thick foliage rustles in the wind. Utterly su- perb. I play Scrabble Go on my phone. I have only four op- ponents who I know for sure are not a computer. I'm also a news junkie and catch up with the news every hour. I don't watch TV except on rare occasions, like the UEFA Football Champion- ship or the Olympics. But I watch YouTube a great deal for its documentaries on foreign places, history, and music. Compiled by Laura Calleja suggestions by email lcalleja@mediatoday.com This page is supported by Arts Council Malta 4 5 1 2 3