Beloved birds

"Documentary On One: The Secret Chicken Society", RTÉ

We breed chicken, we feed them, butcher them, eat them. But there are others: farmers who love their birds, look after them and spend a whole lifetime breeding even more perfect chicken.

Jenny and Willie O'Mara are Irish farmers about to take part in Ireland's national poultry show. They shampoo their pets in the shower, dry them with a hairdryer (I actually didn't know what hairdryers are for) in order to make them champions. "Documentary On One: The Secret Chicken Society" (RTÉ Radio 1) is lighthearted and brillantly composed, telling an unexpectedly hilarious story of people loving their chickens just because they are beautiful birds. Not just food.