Woman's Hour - 08/07/2009

With Jenni Murray. We are all being encouraged to get on our bikes. But just how safe is it? Far fewer women than men cycle and the main reason given is they don't feel the roads are safe enough. However, in London this year seven cyclists have been killed by HGVs and six of them were female. So, are women particularly at risk? And what should be done to make cycling safer? To discuss the issues, Jenni is joined by Cynthia Barlow, chair of the charity RoadPeace, whose daughter was killed cycling in London by an HGV, and by Detective Inspector Jo Oakley, head of the MPS collision Investigation Unit. Salley Vickers' first novel was a 'word of mouth' sensation. Just one thousand imprints of 'Miss Garnet's Angel' were originally published - the book went on to sell over a million copies. She joins Jenni to talk about her latest novel, which is set aboard a cruise ship; and to explain why she hates the cult of the author. Most of us know what it is to feel lonely occasionally. But many others feel utterly overwhelmed by loneliness all of the time. And it's by no means just older people who feel it. Jenni will be discussing this sensitive issue with Dr Pamela Qualter, a developmental psychologist, and Wendy Perriam, a writer whose latest collection of short stories, deals with themes of loneliness, a subject that's close to her heart. And Pauline Amos is an artist who is fascinated by putting herself in her work, literally. She's well known for using her naked body as a canvas, a canvas she sometimes asks other people to paint on. She joins Jenni to talk about her work, and the small matter of a £1.3 million price tag she (notoriously) attached to one of her paintings.