This year I bought less and spent more time outdoors, away from the smells of Christmas cheer | Ben O'Mara

I exercised as the sun rose, on grassy smelling fields. I walked through the salty air on a warm, sandy beach. It was the best Christmas present I could give myself

I’m no Scrooge, but this December, I kept my fake, plastic smelling Christmas tree and all its baubles boxed up in a drawer under my bed.

I inherited the tree from my grandfather. The tree is fibre optic and when it’s turned on twinkles red, green, purple, white and blue. If you lean in close, you can smell its branches – they have a faint but strange tangy odour and remind me a little of rubber, and glue.

Related: Not to be sniffed at: human sense of smell rivals that of dogs, says study

Aromatherapy has a lot to answer for: there’s a vague assumption that any kind of scent in the air must be good for you.”

Related: The summer break is over, welcome back to the smelly grind of city life | Ben O'Mara

Continue reading... December 26, 2017 at 06:04AM