Lyse Doucet is a Canadian journalist who is now the BBC’s award-winning chief international correspondent. Lyse’s career has included postings in Jerusalem, Amman, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran and Abidjan and she was awarded an OBE in 2014. Her latest book is The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan (Penguin, £25); it was shortlisted for the Nero Prize.

It Was Just An Accident

New year. New resolve not to let these neverending news cycles completely take over my life. I headed to the cinema on 2 January with some old friends to see the Oscar-nominated film It Was Just an Accident, the latest masterpiece by veteran Iranian director Jafar Panahi. To be honest, I was slightly distracted throughout by the fact it was all filmed in secret after he emerged from a seven-month sentence in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison. I kept looking at each scene, thinking: “How did he get away with this?” The film has some of the distinctive features of Iran’s famed film industry, with its compelling human story and black humour. It doesn’t have its poetic cinematography and stunning vistas. But this courageous exploration of truth, trauma, and justice is a must-see, especially since Panahi is now boldly calling for democracy in Iran, and criticising any appeals for US military strikes in the wake of the unprecedented protests, put down with unprecedented force.

Booking Office 1869, London

As a public broadcaster, I really shouldn’t recommend bars, but the Booking Office in St Pancras Hotel in London is a reimagining of King Cross station’s original 19th-century ticket hall. Who doesn’t want to take refuge in such glorious history these days? And it doesn’t even have to worry about the trains running on time.

Twelfth Night at the Barbican

The year got off to a good start. On 3 January I even headed to that brutalist beauty the Barbican Centre to see Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The Bard’s comedy of disguises is a visual feast but there’s a lot on the menu, with an army of colourful characters and twisting plot lines which hop, skip and jump for three hours. If you are settling in for an easeful evening, you may savour that. But before, after, and during the intermission I was on the phone to the BBC asking about the latest on President Trump’s attack on Venezuela and the abduction of President Maduro. That was the real drama of my night.

Albukhary Foundation gallery, British Museum 

January became a blur. Some days Trump was threatening to take Greenland; other days he was warning Iran. My pilates class (another resolution) called to ask if I was showing up. I replied: “Is it Thursday?” But when Trump's much-telegraphed military strikes on Iran didn't happen on the weekend of 24th-25th, I dashed to the British Museum and immersed myself in the exquisite Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World. It’s one of my favourite retreats. My heart soars in the Sufi Life and Art display, seeing the magnificent tiles, the fabulous fabrics, the flowing calligraphy. And no visit to this museum of museums is complete without stopping to see the astrolabes. Dating back to the 700s and derived from the Greek meaning “star-taker”, they’re seen as the computers of their time. Isn’t that delicious? Reading the skies and finding the stars with a “map of the heavens”.

Faire Is the Heaven – Masterpieces of English Church Music by the Pegasus Choir

I should have got back to work on Sunday evening but a dear friend who has always been my classical music mentor persuaded me to come to St George’s church, Bloomsbury, for an hour of divine choral song. Faire Is the Heaven– Masterpieces of English Church Music was truly a heavenly treat by the Pegasus Choir. Dressed in black, some singers sported scarlet scarves that popped with colour in the 18th-century nave, which was intriguingly shaped like a cube. It was also an acoustic marvel. Every seat in every pew was taken. I find myself thinking that, at a time when artificial intelligence is surging into all aspects of our creative lives, it is ever more important to embrace the human.

Figures in Extinction at Sadler’s Wells

The month also ended, in certain circles, with a buzz about “Canada’s moment”, after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s brilliantly blunt speech at the World Economic Forum in the snowy peaks of Davos.

As a Canadian, I always take note of our moments. There was an unforgettable one last November at Sadler’s Wells, which may return to its stage: a breathtaking collaboration by the renowned Canadian choreographer and dancer Crystal Pite and the English actor, playwright and director Simon McBurney. Its magic was multiplied by McBurney’s Complicité and the Nederlands Dans Theater.

Figures in Extinction unfolded through three astonishing half-hour performances which melded dance, spoken words and music – profound reflections on grief, human connection, and our climate crisis. It took my breath away. As we collected ourselves at a post-performance reception, we cheered as our Canadian friend, the acclaimed set designer Michael Levine, blew out his birthday candles. Isn't it especially important to celebrate the very best in these times?