Remembering the victims of Peter Sutcliffe; Women in the wedding industry; Kate Malone

The serial killer Peter Sutcliffe has died of Covid 19. He was convicted of the murders of 13 women, and the attempted murder of 7 others, in Yorkshire and the north-west of England between 1975 and 1980. Jane speaks to Joan Smith is a feminist writer and campaigner, and author of Misogynies – she was a reporter in the North of England at the time. Louise Watiss is a criminologist at Teeside University and Carol Anne Lee is the author of Somebody’s Mother Somebody’s Daughter. We also hear from Richard McCann whose mother Wilma was the first woman killed by Peter Sutcliffe, and Mo Lea who 40 years ago was an art student In Leeds when she was attacked. Sutcliffe was never convicted of the assault on Mo.

During the current English lockdown, only ‘deathbed’ marriages and civil partnerships are possible, and there can be no parties. In the other nations of the UK, small ceremonies are being allowed, and in some cases very limited receptions. Overall this year an estimated 200,000 weddings have been cancelled due to the restrictions imposed on social gatherings to try and limit the spread of Covid-19. So what impact is all this having on the hundreds of thousands of women who work in the wedding industry? Jane speaks to Jessie Westwood, founder of the campaign What About Weddings and owner of wedding & event production company Studio Sorores, and to Jemma Palmer who runs bridal boutique Halo & Wren.

Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading potters and ceramicists. She tells Jane about the therapeutic benefits of working with clay.