Hello everyone!!
Welcome to Immensità, my project for my Year Abroad and a newsletter for me on to which I can spill my thoughts and ramblings. Thank you all so much for subscribing to this, I’m really excited to have this as a tool to use and share what has been going on in my life.
In this first edition covering August I am going to write about what I got up to and share some music, a film and a book that I’ve been enjoying this month. Let’s get started.
Les Jeux Olympiques
This month started very well with a trip to the northern French city of Lille to watch some Olympic Basketball. It was the first time I had been to the Olympics and the first time in a long while that I had been to watch some live basketball. I went with some of my family and we stayed in a lovely AirBnB in Wambrechies, a suburb of the town that is so far out it feels like a village. On the first morning I popped out to the boulangerie for breakfast and loved how different it felt from the village I live in, there was a grand church, a beautiful town hall and a bakery all sat right by a river. In the early morning sun it looked idyllic.
Going in to the city it was clear the whole place was in a basketball mood. Town was packed full of people in basketball and football jerseys, with flags and drums. Olympic fever had taken hold in Lille. The party atmosphere was partly generated by France facing off against Germany that night, but also seemed like a proper celebration of the games. Yet it was different from previous sports events I had been to, fans weren’t aggressively drunk, an air of bonhomie floated through the gorgeous city as the volunteers waved the crowds from side to side and people chatted on the metro, conversations sparking over a Victor Wembanyama or Franz Wagner jersey.
I watched two matches in Lille. The first was Japan vs Brazil, it was a battle of the big men with Japan’s sharpshooting Josh Hawkinson up against the Brazilian Bruno Caboclo’s monster double-double of 33 points and 17 rebounds to give Brazil a win. We were sat in the Brazil end and the noise was deafening.
In the afternoon’s match I caught Canada vs Spain. This one proved to be a tense match which came down to the wire with Sergio Llull missing a game tying 3 for Spain. To be able to watch players like Llull and Juancho Hernangomez (see the film Hustle with Adam Sandler) along with superstars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks, was an absolute pleasure. How the players seem to glide across the floor, can stop on a dime and their athleticism that looks so casual on TV is magical in person.
A Few Days in the Country
In mid-August I went down to West Sussex for 4 days of camping with some of my uni friends. We stayed at Stubcroft campsite (big shout out, defo recommend) and wow was it a good time. After hauling backpacks across the trains of the South of England exactly what we wanted to do was set up a massive tent, so we got about doing it with gusto. Fuelled by Tesco hummus and dark chocolate digestives we spent 4 days swimming in the Channel, walking across the beach and chatting around the fire. I think I looked at my phone maybe twice the whole time. The trip was so refreshing. With every dip in the ocean and walk across grass, mud or sand I felt more at ease than I normally do at home. Something about being outside with some of your closest friends will really do that for you.
Yes, each detox comes with an eventual re-tox but what was important to me was enjoying the moment. I haven’t giggled as much since being sat around that fire with the gang. The whole thing left me feeling so content to have such lovely friends and also how easy it is to enjoy yourself around people you love. On the final night we sat on a freezing cold, pebbled beach with the wind raging like an incensed bull and just chatted, whiling away the time. I’d swap that for a lonely time in paradise any day.
Here are some more pics from this month
My Library
This is the bit of the newsletter where I share the stuff I’ve been reading, watching and listening to. Hope you enjoy!
Music - Homecoming
Loyle Carner called Victoria Park his ‘favourite park’ at his All Points East show this year. It might be mine after his set that night. I’ve loved his music for a long time, I remember hearing ‘Ottolenghi’ as Radio 1’s Hottest Record when it came out, listening to Not Waving But Drowning on endless family car rides and the release of hugo coinciding with the start of uni were all major moments for me. It doesn’t compare to this show. Since the release of ‘Hate’ I have had a profound yearning to hear those drums live. And they did not disappoint. The hour and a half flew by, opening with ‘Hate’ and closing with ‘Ottolenghi’, featuring cameos from John Agard, Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei and Athian Akec. The gig was an absolutely beautiful celebration of Loyle’s music and people coming together.
Film - Danny Dyer talks Star Wars
I caught Human Traffic (1999) for the first time this month. Much like the drugs Jip, Koop, Lulu, Nina and Moff take on their Cardiff night out, this film is intoxicating. A free-wheeling ecstatic weekend that provides pure escapism with a brilliant soundtrack. Plus Danny Dyer doing an extended 3am breakdown of Star Wars lore. What more could you want?
Book - A Neapolitan Adolescence
The book I want to mention this month is Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. I read The Lost Daughter earlier this year and found it gripping so I picked up the first in her Neapolitan Quartet. I was not disappointed. Following the friendship between Elena, also called Lenuccia, and Lila the novel recounts the first eighteen years of their life in Naples. Ferrante’s writing is absolutely stunning and spares no detail in breaking down the wonderfully rich, fiery and deep connection the two girls have. One thing I love about this novel is how it charts its setting. By the end you come to know the neighbourhood in which My Brilliant Friend is set like the back of your hand, picturing in your minds eye the Bar Solara, the stradone and the Cerullo shoe store. I am looking forward to picking up the next in Ferrante’s series of 4 books about Lenuccia and Lila’s friendship.
That’s all for this month, thank you so much for reading. Feel free to respond and let me know any thoughts you have.
Lots of love,
Luca