Grave Tending, Sisterhood, Second Generation Young Women and mental health; Accents.

Marva Yates who lives in London got in touch because she wanted us to talk about the importance of sisterhood throughout history... Marva and her sister Sabrina – who currently lives in New York - started the @sistoryuntold podcast about it during lockdown. They wanted not only to learn more about those often forgotten women of history but to show that support, both good and bad, from the “sisterhood” can be a crucial part of success.

Shortly after turning 50, Jo Hogger was made redundant from her corporate career. Her passion for flowers and personal and professional experiences of bereavement led her to a complete career change and she started a business tending graves and creating beautiful flowers to put on them. She explains the reasons people want this type of service, the joy she gains from it, and the meaning behind the flowers she chooses.

Until very recently, very few people felt free to discuss their mental health. Even now, it’s not easy for everyone – and Listener Rochelle Fernando who is 29, and Sri-Lankan-British, wanted the programme to talk about young women of colour and mental health. She spoke to our reporter Olivia Cope, alongside Victoria Sanusi, a freelance journalist who’s 26 and Nigerian-British. Rochelle explained why she wanted the topic to be explored.

Jessica, originally from Leeds, but now in Manchester, got in touch and wanted to speak to us about accents and was surprised that some of us still have to ‘posh up’ a bit to get on with our jobs. Have you had to deliberately change or kept your accent? Jane is joined by listeners Karen Jenkins, Bethan John and Dr. Melanie Reynolds, and Professor Deviyani Sharma, Professor of Socio-linguistics with the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary University of London.

Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel