The Culture Café - 13/07/2010

Hysterical headlines, national breast-beating, players held to account by presidents - why do we look for wider cultural meaning from the results of a sports match? From the World Cup to Wimbledon and in the run up to St Andrew's Open Golf Championships why does media coverage of major sports events act as a metaphor for society at large? A direct line to the secrets of human desire or a mish mash of nonsensical images - is surrealist art any good? Summer blockbuster central to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art's 50th anniversary celebrations is surrealist exhibition "Another World". Senior curator, Patrick Elliot, argues the case for surrealism as a relevant art form in the 21st century. What's in a name? Twitter, Chatrooms, Avatars and Blogs - virtual platforms allow for the creation of new personas under cover of a pseudonym. But what do we reveal about ourselves when our true identity is concealed online? If you can easily choose your identity yet bypass the deed poll, do names still reflect traditional class, culture and generational divides? When centre court play was suspended Wimbledon crowds were wowed by Sir Cliff. But how do you stay amused if you're teed-off with the action at the St Andrews Open Golf Championship? We swing by the onsite Stanza poetry pavilion for performances from Scotland's top poets and find out about the links between golf and poetry. And we continue our series from BBC Radio Scotland's online Celtic Zone this week featuring veteran broadcaster Jimmie MacGregor talking to Nova Scotian singer, Rita Rankin.