The Daily: May 31

We scour the news so you don't have to.

Greek myth story wins Orange prize
US author Madeline Miller has won the final Orange prize for fiction with her epic love story, The Song of Achilles. The novel retells the story of Achilles and the battle for Troy.  It took the classics teacher, who took 10 years to complete her first story, commented: “It shows you what the human heart is capable of.” The judging panel said it has been one of the hardest years to choose from, as the competition was fierce. After 17 years of sponsorship, this is the final year that the competition will be called the Orange prize.

A royal meal
With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee just around the corner, former royal chef Darren McGrady has commented upon the regular eating habits of the Queen. Apparently Her Majesty loves chocolate and never needs to worry about dieting. Jam Pennies remind the Queen of her happy childhood days and are her favourite. In the evenings the Queen would normally have a gin and Dubonnet just before her dinner, and then during dinner she will just have water. The Queen’s dinners are fresh from her estates, and the food ranges from pheasant at Sandringham to salmon from the River Dee.

World Heritage site for sale
An entire Georgian crescent in Bath is for sale, in the first sale of its kind for over 200 years. The houses in the crescent are Grade I listed Georgian properties, with an £60 million restoration programme due to start in 2014. The houses were used for student accommodation until 2006 when it was sold on. It is very rare that crescents such as this become available. Savills, the estate agents, credit the crescent as something of a time capsule because the original Georgian fireplaces and detailing still remains.

The older the sweeter
A new study has found that we are able to determine someone’s age by the way they smell. We are able to decide how old someone is by his or her body odour before we see them, with elderly people having the most distinctive smell. Researchers have said the distinction is made because humans, like animals, identify different traits from scent. Younger people, however, were seen to have quite an intense and unpleasant smell. The idea that older people have their own distinctive smell is extremely common to various cultures around the world. Interestingly, the odour in Japan has acquired its own word: kareish.

Sherlock is saved
The mansion designed and built by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s has been saved. The grade II-listed property has been saved from being converted into an eight-house development block. The mansion is where the author wrote 13 of the famous Sherlock Holmes novels and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Conan Doyle expert, John Gibson, fought for the mansion to remain and he argued that the house was to be saved on the grounds that it is a heritage asset with significant historical literature. Mr Gibson had received support from a few celebrities including Stephen Fry and Jeremy Hunt.