Warning: this article contains spoilers for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

In Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Odysseus (played by Matt Damon) is lost not only at sea, but within his own memories. On the island of the nymph Calypso (Charlize Theron), eating lotus flowers offers him relief from the trauma of Troy, allowing him to forget the war, his comrades – and eventually even his wife and son.

While it’s a point of focus in Nolan’s film, the episode of the so-called “Lotus eaters” is, in the scheme of Homer’s Odyssey, very minor. Occupying scarcely more than 20 lines of verse in a poem of over 12,000, the story of the magical, memory-wiping fruit is no more than an unfortunate escapade.

The cyclops, in the economy of the poem, is far more significant. The famous trick, by which Odysseus makes the cyclops believe he is called “Nobody”, rendering the creature’s cries for help useless (“Nobody is attacking me!”), encourages Odysseus, at a safe distance, to reveal his name. The cyclops’ subsequent curse becomes a major motive force for the rest of the poem.

Christopher Nolan’s new film adaptation of the Odyssey has reversed this. Although the cyclops still represents the clash of civilisation and brutishness, the episode in the film is relegated to a symptom of a wider problem.

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When finally reunited with his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), Odysseus confesses his guilt over the destruction of Troy. To trick a people into accepting a gift – the Trojan horse – which spells their doom, in the name of the goddess Athena, is to violate the divine sanctions that keep human behaviour decent. If the cyclops does not know “the laws of Zeus” (in Greek, xenia: the bonds of behaviour between guest and host), what of it? The Trojan war has collapsed any meaning these notions once had anyway.

Into the gap steps the lotus – in Nolan’s film it’s a flower, and not a fruit as in Homer’s poem. In Nolan’s film, the magic flower is used by Calypso to purge Odysseus’ trauma. What she unleashes is, however, a crippling addiction. Only through painstaking narrative can Odysseus slowly piece together the memory of his men, and only by touching an artefact from his past can his memory of his wife be restored. The whole first half of the film, then, is a lotus-induced dream.

The traumatic Odyssey

How are we to handle memories we do not like? If you could remove them, would you? For many, memories are so painful that chemical remedies are sought.

Among UK veterans of combat, 11% have reported alcohol misuse problems. In the US, some million veterans suffer from addictions to alcohol or drugs.

Nolan’s Odysseus is a commentary on this. Confronted with a world he has played a pivotal role in destroying, Odysseus loses himself in lotus addiction. Calypso’s motives are left tantalisingly ambiguous. Part nursemaid, part temptress (but somewhat sexless in comparison with Homer’s version), she regulates the supply of the drug she has introduced him to (we see her both encourage and forbid the use of lotus).

Both forgetting and memory have their pitfalls. Neither the bitterness of dwelling on a lost past, nor the blanking out of suffering, are the same as healing. In Homer’s Odyssey, a pivotal moment features Odysseus listening to a singer tell the story of the Trojan war at a banquet. It’s the only time Homer actually mentions the notorious wooden horse. Much is made of Odysseus’ response: he covers his face and he weeps. The song of the Sirens too introduces Odysseus to pain and regret, to memory both lost and betrayed.

In the film, unlike the poem, narrative therapy – the telling of the tale – does not suffice. The solution is rather the rediscovery of powerlessness – of a small human’s place in a vast world. Nolan’s Odysseus is a figure of controlling power, whether successfully, in the case of the attack on the Cyclops, or unsuccessfully, as Circe (Samantha Morton) implies when his men raid her home. Research has found that surf therapy can help veterans suffering with PTSD. In a similar way, Odysseus’s trauma is healed by understanding, and yielding to, what he cannot control after all.

Odysseus is described by Homer in the first line of the poem as polutropos: “of many turns”, “complicated”, “resourceful” – the word is notoriously untranslatable. Whatever this means, in Nolan’s imagination, Odysseus is not a warrior. He is a culture hero – a figure who changes the world – and it is responsibility for the downfall of a culture which has marked him with trauma.

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Stanley Davison: A Decade in Paint at Hartlepool Art Gallery will run until Saturday, October 10, bringing together paintings produced by the self-taught Hartlepool artist over the past ten years.

The exhibition features a wide range of works inspired by the town and its history, with recognisable locations including Fish Sands, the old cemetery on the Headland, the derelict Steetley Pier and Hartlepool harbour all appearing in the collection.

An example of the work by Davison that will be on show in Hartlepool Art Exhibition. (Image: Stanley Davison, Hartlepool Art Gallery)

Many of the paintings on display are rooted in local life, drawing inspiration from family, friends and familiar faces from across Hartlepool.

A distinctive feature of Stanley’s work is his use of artists’ mannequins and shop-window figures instead of human subjects.

The recurring characters give the paintings a unique quality, creating scenes that range from playful and imaginative to reflective and thought-provoking.

The exhibition also includes inventive reworkings of famous paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Velázquez and Cézanne, reimagined in contemporary Hartlepool settings and featuring local people.

An example of the work by Davison that will be on show in Hartlepool Art Exhibition. (Image: Stanley Davison, Hartlepool Art Gallery)

Stanley said: “I’ve been painting since I was ten years old and I’ve never really stopped, in digs, in the sitting room and in a box bedroom with the easel fixed to the wall.

“Everything I paint comes from this place and the people in it, family, friends, people I’ve worked with and drunk with over the years.

“I had my first exhibition here in Hartlepool in 1981 and it’s good to be sharing my work here again.”

Visitors to the gallery will also have the chance to buy any of the paintings on display.

Councillor Rob Darby, chairman of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Housing, Growth and Communities Committee, said the exhibition highlights both the town’s heritage and the talent of one of its artists.

“Stanley’s work captures the spirit, character and history of Hartlepool in a truly distinctive way,” he said.

“This exhibition is a fantastic opportunity for residents and visitors alike to enjoy, and even buy, the work of a very talented local artist whose paintings celebrate the town, its heritage and its people.

“We are delighted to welcome this major exhibition to Hartlepool Art Gallery, and I would encourage everyone to come along and see it.”

Entry to the exhibition is free.

Hartlepool Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

Fans are definitely enjoying the couple

Olivia Attwood has left fans “obsessed” as they catch another glimpse of Pete Wicks following their “hard launch”.

The 35-year-old TV star recently split from the footballer after two years of marriage, but Olivia has since opened up about the details which led to their split after over ten years.

The Loose Women star first met Bradley at a nightclub back in 2015. Olivia went on to star in Love Island in 2017, but Olivia and the footballer reconciled after her short romance with fellow Islander Chris Hughes came to an end.

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Bradley popped the question in Dubai in 2019 and the pair got married in June 2023 at the luxury five-star hotel Bulgari in Knightsbridge, and have since been living together in Cheshire.

Since the split, Olivia has been seen with good friend and Sunday Roast podcast co-host Pete Wicks. While their relationship status remains a secret from the public, photos of Olivia and Staying Relevant podcast host Pete emerged last month of them enjoying a romantic holiday at a resort in the south of France.

Now, the pair have been seen ditching the UK together again. Olivia is currently out in Ibiza and has been joined by Pete and her pals for the trip. But she’s also been surprised by her sister, Georgia, with her arrival on the party island kept a secret from the Loose Women star until her arrival.

Taking to Instagram, Olivia shared a video of the moment she was approached by her sibling, having no idea she would be joining them. The TV star screamed before she launched from her seat in shock, and that’s when the camera moved to show Pete sitting next to her at the table.

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Since then, Pete posted a set of black and white pictures showing off their sizzling romance. The first black and white snap saw them lying together on a yacht while sailing across the water, and another showed Olivia lying in Pete’s lap as he kissed the top of her head.

Discussing their latest trip together, Pete gushed: “It was wonderful to see her, it has been two and a half weeks…. so we had a fabulous time, I have really hurt my back, because I was backflipping off boats, we went for lovely dinners, we went to clubs, we drank a lot.

“It was magical, is probably the best way to describe it. Obviously, she’d been out there filming for a couple of weeks so I hadn’t seen her, so yeah, and I really missed her and it was lovely.”

Now that their relationship is seemingly public, fans have been excited over catching the odd glimpse of Pete as Olivia shares carousel images of her trip away.

One fan penned: “So obsessed with you two”, as another agreed: “I am loving this new chapter of your life so much (sic) obsessed with love xx”.

Wright, 61, of Haslemere, Surrey, Barker, 58, of Chiltington, West Sussex, 65-year-old Massey, of Brandhill, Shropshire, and 64-year-old Gregory, of Southampton, are accused of conspiring to implement artificial no-flow events at waste water treatment works between 2012 and 2017.

Police believe he was assaulted near Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church and after being found unconscious with a serious head injury, he was rushed to hospital where he passed away three days later

A Co Antrim man today denied a charge of assisting offenders arising from the death of Colin Crawley.

Connor James Mullen, 39, appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court where he was arraigned on the single charge.

From Glenville Court in Newtownabbey, Mullen was charged that on February 12, 2023 knowing other persons had committed manslaughter, he ‘did an act with intent to impede their apprehension or prosecution.’

When asked how he pleaded, Mullen replied “not guilty.”

The charge relates to the death of 40-year old Newtownabbey man Colin Crawley.

Police believe he was assaulted near Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church and after being found unconscious with a serious head injury, he was rushed to hospital where he passed away three days later.

Earlier this month, two men from Newtownabbey appeared alongside each other where they denied a joint charge of manslaughter.

Sean Cowler (37) from Abbeyglen Crescent and 31-year old Michael Coiley from Glenville Park were both charged with unlawfully killing Colin Crawley on February 12, 2023.

After the joint charge was put to them and when asked how they pleaded, both men said “not guilty” at same time.

Following Mullen’s arraigned today, Madam Justice McBride re-listed the case on September 18 when she said “all matters can be reviewed together.”

The senior judge then addressed Mullen and told him that as he was on continuing bail he could “leave the dock.”

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“I began my career in fashion in Dublin, so returning here feels deeply personal”

Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson has said it is a “dream come true” to be bringing Dior to Ireland.

Dior will present the Fall 2027 Show at Trinity College Dublin in December, marking the first time the Magherafelt-born fashion designer will present a collection in Ireland.

The collection will be unveiled against the backdrop of the university’s Old Library, an 18th-century building housing a world-class library and cultural institution – it is also the first time the fashion house will have had a show in Ireland.

Co Derry’s own Jonathan Anderson became creative director of Dior’s women’s, men’s and haute couture collections last year.

Anderson, who founded his own JW Anderson label before transforming Loewe into one of fashion’s most influential luxury brands, has become one of the industry’s biggest names.

Announcing the show, he said: “Showing at Trinity College Dublin is a dream come true. I began my career in fashion in Dublin, so returning here feels deeply personal.

“To present this collection in such an extraordinary setting – at an institution with such an important cultural history – is a real honour.”

The announcement imagery shows a shamrock along with a quote from Dublin-born Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of the American edition Harper’s Bazaar from the 1930s to 1950s, reading: “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian. Your dresses have such a new look.”

This comes off the back of the news earlier this month that Anderson designed Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s custom Christian Dior Haute Couture wedding outfits.

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This year’s birthday photo is more formal than last year’s, which had a rural setting and showed the prince in a countryside-style gilet and wearing a friendship bracelet in Norfolk.

The more grown-up look comes as George, now a teenager, gets ready to start secondary school in September.

The prince will follow in his father Prince William’s footsteps and go to Eton College, an elite private school where entry usually begins at the age of 13.

Prince William, interviewed when he was aged 18, had spoken of enjoying his time at Eton. The boarding school for boys is also close to where the Wales family live on the Windsor estate.

Prince George’s uncle, Prince Harry, and great uncle, Earl Spencer, also studied at Eton.

A woman was airlifted off her first-ever cruise after she suffered serious intimate injuries during a zip-lining shore excursion.

Kirsten Lindsey, 28, was catastrophically injured on a rope swing on day three of her Carnival Cruise in Honduras.

Horrifying footage of the incident shows Lindsey jumping off the platform, but instead of swinging out, the retrieval line tightened between her legs.

After a few moments of struggle, Lindsey released the rope and fell into the water.

Lindsey initially believed she had just been scratched in the accident, but hours after she returned to the dock, her injuries worsened. 

‘The swelling became severe, the pain became unbearable, and she eventually needed a wheelchair just to get back to our cabin,’ her boyfriend, Blake Ford, wrote in a GoFundMe campaign. 

Lindsey was taken to the ship’s medical center, where doctors spent 26 hours attending to her. Despite their best efforts, her injuries grew too serious to treat there. 

The 28-year-old’s pain became so severe that she was barely able to move. Medical staff were desperately trying to keep her awake because ‘she would stop breathing whenever she drifted off from the pain medication,’ Ford recalled.

Kirsten Lindsey, 28, was catastrophically injured on a rope swing during a shore excursion in Honduras. She jumped off the platform, but instead of swinging out, the zip line’s retrieval line tightened between her legs

Lindsey was taken to the ship’s medical center, where doctors spent 26 hours treating her. She was barely able to move and doctors were desperately trying to keep her awake because ‘she would stop breathing whenever she drifted off from the pain medication’

The couple evacuated the vessel in Costa Maya, Mexico, and were taken via ambulance to the airport through severe weather. 

A private medical jet then flew them to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Lindsey underwent a series of tests and emergency surgery.

Doctors removed a ‘baseball-sized clot’ during the surgery, Lindsey’s mother, Tara McKinney, revealed on social media.

On Friday, the day after her surgery, the couple embarked on an 18-hour drive back to their hometown of Bossier City, Louisiana. 

After they finally made it home, Lindsey had to be readmitted to the emergency room. 

‘They were completely shocked she was even discharged from the last hospital so early but now thank god we’re home and with OUR doctors and not the ones Carnival sent us to!’ Ford wrote in a Facebook update on Sunday.

‘Everyone that’s seen the injury has never seen anything like it but they are doing everything they can to prevent permanent damage to her.’

Lindsey faces a long road to recovery and the couple are facing mounting medical bills. The air flight alone cost them $50,000 and they were charged around $3,500 for services provided on the cruise ship.

It was Lindsey’s first ever cruise, and she went on it with her boyfriend Blake Ford 

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The couple evacuated the Carnival Cruise ship in Costa Maya, Mexico, and were taken via ambulance to the airport through severe weather. A private medical jet then flew them to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Lindsey underwent a series of tests and emergency surgery

‘The financial impact has been overwhelming. Between emergency transportation, medical expenses, travel, lodging, lost income, and the unexpected costs of getting ourselves and our vehicle back home, the expenses continue to grow,’ Ford wrote.

Lindsey also said that she is grateful for the outpouring of support, prayers and donations that they have already received. 

‘Thank you to everyone for all the thoughts & prayers & everyone who has reached out, donated, etc. It’s very much appreciated. I feel so loved,’ she wrote on Facebook.

‘Long road ahead as far as recovery. But I’m so thankful for everyone who has prayed & donated.’

A Carnival spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We are aware of reports regarding a guest who was injured while independently exploring Honduras. 

‘After returning to the ship, the guest was promptly cared for by our onboard medical team, which provided treatment and facilitated access to additional medical resources. 

‘While the incident did not occur on a Carnival-sponsored excursion, we remain concerned for the guest’s recovery. The safety and well-being of our guests is always our top priority.’

The family of a British couple on hunger strike in an Iran jail say they are “sick with worry” as the pair ramp up their hunger strike after 10 weeks without food.

Lindsay Foreman, who has not eaten in 66 days, has reportedly vowed to continue her strike until death to expose their treatment inside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

She and her husband Craig Foreman were arrested on a once-in-a-lifetime world motorbike tour 18 months ago, and were later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, which they completely deny.

Mr Foreman, who has not eaten in 75 days, last week had his sentence extended by a further two years for speaking to the press in a hearing with no lawyer or translator, the family said.

UN human rights experts have demanded the couple’s urgent release and said that their incarceration raises grave concerns about state hostage-taking. They warned a month ago that their hunger strike had reached the stage of a “medical emergency”.

Weeks later, their family has learned the pair are now surviving on only water, having previously supplemented their nutrition with honey and salts.

“We are just worried to the core. It almost makes you feel sick with worry, it’s hard to sleep,” Ms Foreman’s son, Joe Bennett, told The Independent.

All phone contact was cut off two months ago and the family are forced to rely on snatched messages from third parties to get basic updates.

On 3 July, more than 100 family members and close friends signed a letter begging the couple to end their hunger strike to protect their health, but it has been blocked from reaching them in prison.

Mr Bennett added: “I don’t know how much damage or lasting impact this will have on them mentally, physically or spiritually.

“You just don’t know whether the next call or the next message you get is going to be something more sinister. It’s only a matter of time, every day that passes is a day closer to something catastrophic happening.”

Sources inside the prison say Ms Foreman has made clear she will not end her protest.

“I will continue until I die to make sure everyone sees what is happening here,” one message said.

For her children, those words are hard to hear.

“I can’t comprehend it, it doesn’t feel real,” Mr Bennett said. “It makes me wonder if it is affecting them mentally.”

Earlier this month, Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that Ms Foreman was suffering from dizziness, body tremors and severe weakness after reportedly losing more than 14kg in weight. Mr Foreman had reportedly lost around 16kg.

Recent reports from inside Evin prison indicate that both remain extremely weak and continue to suffer dizziness while their condition deteriorates.

Prolonged hunger strikes can lead to muscle wastage, organ damage, and, in the worst case, death. After several weeks without food, the body will likely have used up all of its fat reserves and begun to consume muscle tissue – which includes the heart – in order to survive. Nutritional deficiencies can also cause irreversible brain damage.

Mr Bennett and his family are calling for the new government to urgently act to ensure the family’s desperate letter reaches them and restore phone contact.

He has written to the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, and newly appointed foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, and other government officials calling for a strategic diplomatic solution, an urgent consular visit, the provision of vitamins and essential supplies and immediate medical assessment and treatment.

“There is a new government now responsible for this case,” Mr Bennett added. “We are asking them to recognise the urgency of the situation and act accordingly. Being decisive means acting now, while there is still time to make a difference.”

Last month, The Independent revealed that Iran is seeking the return of an Iranian national who has languished in a maximum-security British prison for 23 years, as the couple urged British officials to consider an exchange.

Mr Foreman believes that Richard Jan, an Iranian stalker held in Britain, could be the only “only avenue” to negotiating their release after his case was raised by their jailers in a consular meeting.

Jan’s incarceration was also raised in negotiations for the return of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained for six years in Iran before she was finally freed after the British government settled a £400m arms debt with the country.

A UK government spokesperson insisted there was “no truth whatsoever to the claims of a potential exchange arrangement”. However, former deputy prime minister David Lammy admitted that “arrangements can be made” when he was questioned about the issue on Sky News.

The Foreman’s family is due to meet with the newly appointed UK envoy for complex consular cases, Alistair Burt, at the end of July.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.

Almost 90,000 people have so far signed a petition calling for the government to intervene and the family is raising money to support their campaign

Travellers have invaded a football club’s pitches and nearby park with more than 20 vehicles after the local council left the gate unlocked.

Caravans rolled into Albion Rovers FC’s Kimberley Park grounds in Newport in Gwent, Wales, last Wednesday, so the club – celebrating its 90th anniversary this season – is now stuck in limbo.

After an initial party of caravans arrived, more vehicles and people arrived over the weekend and set up shop with no apparent desire to move away any time soon.

The club has now been forced to find alternative venues for matches and training – hiring a 3G pitch at a school for £110 an hour.

Club secretary Sarah Yemm, 44, said she was worried for the safety of the club members, saying it is ‘too dangerous’ to go down there as more travellers arrive.

She said: ‘It’s been really stressful because we’ve had to cancel all the training, including the seniors.

‘Obviously, we wouldn’t want the children or the senior players down there training because more and more caravans were coming in. It was too dangerous.’

Ms Yemm has had to cancel the girls’ team matches too and relocate friendlies.

The club claim council contractors left the gates unlocked, which allowed the invasion. Pictured: rubbish at the site

She added: ‘It’s been worrying me because our first team is in the Welsh Cup, and I’ve been thinking, “Where are we going to play?” Most of the council pitches haven’t got the goalposts up.’

The club relies on revenue from the clubhouse and the pavilion coffee shop to stay afloat, but the travellers’ encampment has meant they are unable to use it and it has cut off this flow of income.

Meanwhile, the travellers have been littering rubbish all over the ground, they said.

Ms Yemm said: ‘I believe there were travellers on the site over 10 years ago, and it was quite hostile, so they were worried it would be like that again.’

She blamed Newport City Council for failing to lock the gates to the ground and the ensuing trouble.

‘We’ve gone to the council because it’s their issue,’ she said.

‘I’ve been very clear that all the people at the club are volunteers – we aren’t paid members of staff.

‘We are strict with our coaches to make sure they lock the barriers, even though the site belongs to the council.

‘It was the council that left the locks off the low and overhead barriers because there were contractors working on the pitch, but they didn’t put the specialised padlocks back on.

‘So that’s very worrying and frustrating because we are very strict with our coaches to make sure they lock the barriers.

‘The people who left them unlocked were council staff and contractors.’

‘The pitch is in a terrible mess with bags of rubbish. There’s human faeces in one corner.

‘We don’t know if we can play on the pitch. You could smell it, and there was tissues everywhere.

‘We don’t know whether it’ll be fit for play.’

Travellers often target football grounds as places to set up camp and even used an angle grinder to break on to pitches in Norfolk on July 3.

CCTV footage showed a convoy of cars towing caravans arrive at Thetford Town Youth FC and, after breaking in, driving ‘back and forth over the pitches used for matches’.

The group eventually left after two days but they left behind a pitch strewn with dirty nappies, cans, and a car seat in the aftermath, forcing the football club to spend a day cleaning the site.

Burgess Hill Cricket Club saw a similar fate when travellers stopped on their ground in East Sussex in June.

The club is having to cancel and rearrange matches – hiring out a 3G pitch at a school at £110 an hour

Ms Yemm said: ‘I believe there were travellers on the site over 10 years ago, and it was quite hostile, so they were worried it would be like that again’

This is not a new trend and has been going on for years, like last April when travellers descended on Ludgvan Lions Junior Football Club near Penzance, Cornwall.

Back in Wales, a spokesperson for Newport City Council issued a response on Ms Yemm’s claims that their contractors were responsible for leaving the gate to their grounds unlocked.

They said: ‘We’re still investigating what happened at Kimberley Park.’