Life in Scents

Developmental psychologist, Professor Uta Frith takes the hotseat in the latest edition of Life in Scents. One of the most formidable neuroscientists of her generation, particularly in the field of autism, she also loves perfume - taking listeners on a tour of her garden, lifting the lid on her box of German ointments and unguents reminiscent of childhood, and sharing the importance of spending time to enjoy beautiful scented objects and fragrances. By the end, you may well be keen to try her recipe for Maibowle, an aromatised wine made with sweet woodruff…

We take an olfactory walk into the life of the flaneur in this month’s Life in Scents, as we meet Matthew Beaumont, an academic at University College London who specialises in the cultural history of the city. Matthew gives his take on some fragrances of the Flaneur, the difference between day and nighttime smells, and the smells encountered by the walker as they go about the metropolis.

With his acts ranging from CAMP - a celebration of variety show presenting - to Hamburger Queen, a fat beauty pageant, Scottee is a truly unique performance artist, journalist and director who has collaborated with the Barbican, the Royal Opera House, the Royal Festival Hall, and even the X Factor. Scottee also happens to be a perfume-fanatic, and in Life in Scents he discusses why he thinks perfume and class (that British sticking point…) are wrapped up in each other, and how he uses particular fragrances with each of his shows, often bringing some unusual audience interactions…

Get a cup of coffee ready before listening to our latest edition of Life in Scents, as we meet Ben Townsend, one of the UK’s most respected barista trainers. Ben’s tiny coffee shop in London’s Bloomsbury is a mecca to lovers of the bean, and we took a trip to Ben’s basement to learn the art of cupping to experience the complex aromas in properly brewed coffee (our noses were truly put to the test!). We also hear about his Life in Scents - a childhood spent with craft glue and making models in his bedroom onto collecting vinyl and discovering a life-long love of flavour down under.

In this episode of Life in Scents Jo Barratt speaks to Gabriel Stebbing, the man otherwise known as Night Works, ahead of the release of his debut album Urban Heat Island. Gabriel recalls the cooking smells growing up in the homes of his respective parents. We hear of Lynx Africa (Axe to International listeners) in suburban changing rooms and how he came across fine fragrance dispensed for free in the streets of Paris as a teenager. He also talks about his creative process and the background to the album which comes from the melting pot of bankers, young creatives and old communities dancing together on the brink of apocalypse in East London.

Richard Wentworth has been a major player in New British Sculpture for over thirty years. His work often focuses on the idea of objects and questions our understanding of them within the context of our daily lives. In this episode of life in Scents he talks to Jo Barratt about his relationship with smell. Chemical, glue and workshop smells sit alongside a consideration of how we think about and relate smell in a wider sense. As well as many other things Richard muses on the meaning that humans ascribe to that moment after a thunderstorm and how ideas of ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’ relate to how we see ourselves within the world, as well as his hatred of perfumed candle shops.

Scissors and tape-measures at the ready for this episode Life in Scents, as tailor Timothy Everest MBE shares some of his favourite smells. For over two decades, Timothy has designed bespoke suits for prime-ministers, musicians and screen icons from his workshop in Spitalfields, East London  - including costumes for the recent film adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. From the workplace smells of hot irons and chalk to his impressive wardrobe of fragrances, and the patchouli wafts of his time training with Timmy Nutter (outfitter to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones) Timothy brings to life the olfactory world of the sartorialist, whether the perfect cologne, or the scent of a good tweed.

Astronomer Marek Kukula is our guest on the latest episode Life in Scents. Based at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, Marek’s role is as public astronomer, translating and communicating the latest in space discovery for the public. Marek shares with us some theories on what the planets or inter-stellar gas might smell like (if we could survive the experience to tell the tale). He talks about the aromas he associates with the eerioly remote, high-altitude observatories at which he has spent nights watching the stars, and jolts us back to earth when remembering the scents of butterfly hunting in the English countryside as a child, or the smells of the Rock gigs he was dragged along to as a student in Manchester.

This time on Life in Scents we sit down for a cup of tea (or five) with Henrietta Lovell, founder of The Rare Tea Company. Henrietta quit her job in packaging to find and import fine teas made by hand, and is utterly passionate about the subject and its associated smells. We hear of her memories of sitting by Lapsang Souchong smoking-huts and of swooning from the scent of jasmine flowers mingling with tea on Chinese mountain tops. Outside of tea, we hear about her love of all sorts of organic scents, of hidden bits of parks and of her grandmother prescribing her first perfume.

Gerhart Jenne is the konditormeister behind London bakery Konditor & Cook, who’s famed confections include Magic Cakes, over 3,000 of which will be put together to create a giant ‘cake’ portrait of the Queen for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Together with partner Paul Cons he oversees a small empire which now occupies 6 distinct locations across central London. Gerhardt recalls the nostalgic, and not always pleasant, smells from his childhood in rural Germany, as well as many more from a career spent immersed in food. We also hear of Paul’s childhood smell recollections as well as those from his time running Flesh, at Manchester’s legendary nightclub, The Hacienda.