Anxiety in older women; Prince; Jilted brides

It’s been quite a week for women at the winter Olympics in Sochi with women ski

jumpers performing for the first time and doing so well it’s led to discussions

about whether there are certain winter sports in which men and women could

compete against each other. Meanwhile, the minister for

sport, tourism and equalities, Helen Grant, has suggested girls in school should

be offered more "feminine" sports than hockey or rounders – cheerleading

perhaps. She joins Jenni from Sochi.

Figures just released show that last year, nearly a third of patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals for anxiety were women over 60. There are many suggestions as to why older women are being diagnosed with anxiety in greater numbers but one of the reasons seem to be that because women in the 60+ age group today are bearing the burden of caring for parents and grandchildren at the same time, their mental health is beginning to suffer. Jenni is joined by Stella Hopkins, who has been diagnosed with anxiety, and by Marjorie Wallace, the founder and CEO of the mental health charity SANE.

Prince is due to perform in Manchester this weekend for the first time since 2002, following a series of secret gigs in London. The pop star has a long history of working with female artists – he famously wrote hit songs used by The Bangles and Sinead O’Connor, has championed young female singers like Lianne La Havas and Janelle Monae, and tours with an all female band. He’s also known for experimenting with our perceptions of masculinity, often appearing on stage in full makeup and lace outfits. So does Prince empower women, or does he use his feminine image and female collaborators just to further his success? Jenni speaks to Professor Sarah Niblock, lecturer at Brunel University and author of Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon.

You wouldn’t wish the humiliation of the jilted bride on your worst enemy but whilst the fictional Miss Havisham stopped all the clocks on her wedding day and ‘never since looked upon the light of day’, in real life,  thousands of Victorian women were not nearly so  passive about accepting such a fate. Denise Bates, author of ‘Breach of Promise to Marry’ tells Jenni what she discovered.  A jilted bride can be very determined when it comes to settling a score…  

Breach of Promise to Marry is available from publishers, Pen & Sword.

ISBN: 978-1783030361

Listener Hannah got in touch to tell us she listened to Radio 4 throughout her

labour and whilst giving birth. When we asked other Woman’s Hour listeners to

tell us what they did, the responses were numerous and varied. One woman

said she did housework, another that she listened to Bradley Wiggins win

Olympic gold, and one woman even said she took the opportunity to fill in her

tax return. So what are the things that expectant mothers (and expectant fathers)

do whilst waiting for the big arrival? After all, the time from water breaking to birth

itself can be several hours – or even days. We hear from listeners about their

experiences, and Jenni is joined by Jane Alcock, midwife at Leeds General

Infirmary, and Tim Dowling, Guardian columnist and father of three.