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I normally manage to rave about good things on TV or radio after they’ve happened, which is—as my mum would say—a fat lot of good. So for once, I’m sending out a ‘heads-up’ before the event.

Channel 4 is televising ‘The Death of Klinghoffer’; John Adams’ opera about the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists in 1985. Even if you think that you aren’t a fan of opera, give it a go. The choruses in particular are heart-stopping, as I’ve mentioned before. I can’t understand why it was so controversial when it was first premiered—I don’t think that Adams could be any more balanced in his treatment. With the situation in the Middle East as tense as ever, the grief, anger and loss in the opera is more relevant and moving than ever.

According to the Life section of the Guardian this week, crested auklets (Aethia cristatella) use scent to signal attractiveness. Apparently they smell strongly of tangerines. Interesting.

I’ve never encountered a bird smelling of oranges before, but it’s a little known fact that barn owls (specifically the back of barn owls’ necks*) smell lovely. I can’t really describe the scent, but it’s subtle, powdery, musky and quite addictive; tricky when you don’t have ready access to a barn owl supply. I was first told this secret by a falconer acquaintance of mine. I must have had an expression on my face which screamed ‘I think you’ve been sniffing something else entirely’, so she thrust her barn owl (called Wol) under my nose to prove it. It was really quite an experience.

*Probably all of the barn owl smells nice, but if you want to still have a nose after you’ve smelt the owl, the back of the neck is the safest spot.