Odorous memories

Of my five senses, the only one that really works for me is my sense of smell. It is so acute that friends and family are always amazed that I can smell something burning hundreds of yards away and some of my colleagues are
always shocked that when they are telling me a tale I can smell fish in a couple of seconds.

The humour of my nose aside, I know that pheromones in our bodies act as an attraction factor and I am amused that a geneticist called Tamara Brown has created a computerised algorithm of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and is keeping it all to herself.

Well, these HLA genes are what helps us humans fall in love, sometimes at first sight and at other times when the couple stays together for some time.

Tamara may use her research to start a business, matching couples for the happily ever after, but will she find a way to provide couples that are growing apart with some odour therapy so that they can fall in love all over again?

My best fallback is to recall the heavenly smell of Obsession for men by Calvin Klein and the euphoric memories simply come rushing back. That of course is reserved for my better half, but there are tens of people in our lives that we love even if we are not in love with them.

The smell of lilac reminds me of my grandmother's ultra-clean sheets, vanilla and chocolate bring me back memories of school bake sales and my mother's swirl cakes, the salty smell of peanuts reminds me of my late father and the heady perfume Opium by Yves Saint Laurent simply reminds me of the happiest day in my life almost 30 years ago.

The smell of good food has always enhanced my ability to recall past events with family and friends and suffering from a cold makes me miserable because my olfactory nerves just don't work.

Well, those of us who have not found love yet should take heart. You know you won't be attracted to anyone who does not smell exactly right for you, but, meanwhile close your eyes, get the olfactory bulb in your nasal cavity to transmit a smell to the limbic system in the brain, let your memory recognise the odour, smile and have a great weekend.