*Tears Before Bedtime!*.

Do you or have you ever had that feeling that when you switch on a programme on the TV,or start to watch a film or even start reading a particular book...that you just know the ending is not going to be a happy one ????.

Well that happened to me last night as I watched ´Natural World´ on BBC 2 about the true story of a wild Orca called ´Luna´.

To brief those that didn´t watch it for whatever reason (maybe your partner wanted to watch the footie like mine did for a bit - tut,tut,tut),I´ll just go over lightly what the programme was about so as to put you in the picture.

´Luna´ was an orphan,whom for some reason or other had got left behind when the family Pod moved onwards away from Vancouver Island in British Columbia - she was just 2 years old and soon made friends with locals and visitors who used the waterways in the harbourside.

She´d approach any boat or swimmers with no fears or hang ups about the humans she met,she loved nudging playfully the boats (small or large) and she adored playing with the props and engines and following in the wake of the vessels.

She came to be known as quite a local celebrity in ´Nootka Sound´ and spent 4 years in total there having been filmed by two documentary makers,but her playfulness and chosen home wasn´t so popular with local fishermen and she made a few enemies who wished at times to shoot her.

Whilst many petitioned that she should be helped to return to her Pod that were now some 200 odd miles away,´The Department of Fisheries & Oceans´ stepped in and threatened to impose a $100,000 fine to anybody that touched the whale - to add more cooks to the broth,then stepped in the local Indians who claimed that the whale was actually their old Chief in his next life and were convinced by this because following their Chief´s death (who before he had died told them he would oneday return to them as a whale), 3 days later,´Luna´ turned up in the Sound.

The Scientists decided that ´Luna´ was best off returned to her Pod and tried to corral her into a pen so to be able to transport her home but the Indians took to the water and encouraged ´Luna´ to follow them instead - it became a huge tangle of love and hate for the whale.

´Sadly though back in March 2006,it was reported that ´Luna´ had tragically been killed after an unfortunate incident with a vessel´s prop - she had died instantly after the collision and mourners united in their grief for the young lonely whale.

Combine this story with the wonderful video footage that was captured by film makers Suzanne Chisholm & Michael Parfit over the 4 years of being with this Orca and the touching,emotional narration,told in a way that any person with an ounce of compassion in their body could be moved to chin wobbling and tear-pricked eyes and then finally add the haunting and moving music to accompany the set throughout and at the end when you see the last picture taken of ´Luna´ playing in the film maker´s boat´s wake which is then incorperated into the Local Press´s Headline´s that ´Luna,the Orca Dies Following Collision´...you end up with one total,blubbering mess - YES ME!!!.

It take´s alot to move to me tears BUT BOY!......this wonderful and memorable documentary really did shatter me to pieces...my other half had to get up and make me a rather stiff drink (LOL).

Seriously,though...if you see this programme re-advertised for another viewing,it´s well worth the watch BUT bewarned - tissue´s and LOTS of them WILL be an essential accompaniment.