Woman's Hour - 04/11/2009

With Jenni Murray. Serena Williams is one of the most successful players in the history of women's tennis; she is the current world number one and the top-earning female athlete of all time. All this, despite many obstacles that could quite understandably have halted her career: in recent years she has had to deal with injury, depression and most notably the tragic shooting of her older sister. Serena joins Woman's Hour to talk about the influence of her family, her changing relationship with tennis and finding new challenges off the court. Sir Christopher Kelly, Commisioner for Party Standards, is about to report back his recommendations on MPs' expenses and on the practice of employing family members. But what impact does working together actually have on a relationship? Jenni speaks to Alistair Burt, MP for North East Bedfordshire and deputy chairman of Conservative Party, and his wife Eve who, has worked for her husband for 27 years. Traditionally a dressing table has been the focal point of a woman's bedroom, a shrine to her private thoughts and her most feminine possessions. It can be a focus of female vanity and luxury, inspiring lovely grooming accessories and containers for perfumes, powders and trinkets. Or it can be a cluttered mess, the furniture equivalent of an overstuffed handbag. Why is this sometimes cumbersome piece of furniture still so popular? Where did the concept originate? And what does its use over time say about women's role in society? And, amidst all the recent election turmoil in Afghanistan, we hear about a new radio soap which is dramatising the day to day lives of ordinary Afghans.