Woman's Hour - 07/10/2009

With Jenni Murray. There was a tremendous response to the Woman's Hour discussion last week that explored the regulations that have grown up around early years care. It was prompted by the case of the two women police officers who were told by Ofsted that they were breaking the law by minding each other's children. Further questions then emerged about raising children safely. So how did the feminist call to expose previously hidden and undisclosed child abuse result in the widespread moral panic that now grips society? And has a key demand of the 1970s women's movement for good, affordable childcare now turned into a 21st-century bureaucratic nightmare? Mary Contini is one of Scotland's best known cooks; she is one of the owners of the sumptuous Italian deli Valvona and Crolla, renowned in Edinburgh for its carefully sourced cheeses, meats, oils and wines. She joins Jenni to share some of her family recipes and to explain how the combination of Scottish and Meditteranean influences formed her palate. She may have grown up above an ice cream shop, but even as a child in the 1950s, she was taught how to appreciate a decent olive oil. Tamsin Omond is a 24-year-old eco-activist who campaigns for the government to take action to avoid man-made climate change. A member of the groups Plane Stupid and Climate Rush, her direct action style of activism is inspired by the Suffragettes. She has organised a number of high profile protests, including scaling the roof of the House of Commons and a thousand-strong 'rush' on Parliament. Jenni talks to Tamsin about her conversion to political activism and her justification for breaking the law, and discusses with the Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Willott whether campaigning through protest or through Parliament is more likely to make a difference to climate change. A new TV series is starting in the US which follows the rise of the 'Cougar' woman - a term used to describe an older woman who uses the same predatory sexual technique as men, including focusing on members of the opposite sex who are much younger. Jenni discusses whether this is simply a media construct or a genuine shift in relationships and dating behaviour.