Donna Ward on reclaiming spinsterhood; Comedian Liz Kingsman; Scars - Jayne; BBC 100 Objects
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.2 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 29 December 2021
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Australian author Donna Ward’s new book She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster's Meditations on Life explores the meaning and purpose she has fought to find in a life lived entirely accidentally without a partner or children. Donna speaks to Chloe from Melbourne.
Over the next few days we're talking to women about their scars. They all talk about physical and emotional pain they've experienced and having to deal with other people’s reactions on a day to day basis. They also explain how they came to terms with the skin they are in. Ena Miller went to meet Jayne in Shropshire and heard her story about surviving a flesh eating bug.
Comedian Liz Kingsman, best known as a member of cult sketch group Massive Dad, is making major waves with her solo debut, One-Woman Show, which she is performing at the Soho Theatre from 5 January. She tells Chloe what inspired her.
As the BBC prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary through the lens of 100 objects, we get a sneak peek at a few items in the collection. The BBC’s Head of History Robert Seatter explains the significance of a 1930s press cutting of the BBC looking to recruit the first women TV announcers, a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey and a 1920s scrapbook from Evelyn Dove, the first black female singer to perform on BBC.
Image: Donna Ward Credit: Amanda Ford
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:41.0 | Hello and welcome to the program. Good to have you with us. podcasts. This is our first live programme since her death and we didn't want to miss the opportunity |
| 0:54.3 | to talk about the impact she had on other women in the music industry. |
| 0:58.2 | Janice Long opened doors for women. |
| 1:00.3 | She championed female artists and she was an icon of the music industry. |
| 1:05.1 | Her daughter Blue said you were a trailblazer for so many women to go conquer and succeed. |
| 1:10.8 | The first woman to host top of the pops and the first woman to have her own daily |
| 1:14.7 | show on radio one. |
| 1:16.1 | Well we're going to be focusing over the next hour on the difference that she made for |
| 1:19.5 | women wanting to and working in the music industry. |
| 1:23.0 | Now when you hear the word spynster, what image does it conjure up? |
| 1:27.0 | Well Australian author Donna Ward will talk to us about how she's hoping to reclaim the word |
| 1:31.0 | through her new book which looks at life as a single |
| 1:34.5 | and childless woman through accident not choice. She sees the world as being set up |
| 1:39.6 | for couples and families so I want to hear from you this morning, how have you made living on your |
... |
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