Woman's Hour - 10/09/2009

With Jenni Murray. Elizabeth Turner was seven months pregnant when her husband Simon was killed in the September 11th 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. He was in New York on a business trip, and even as Elizabeth watched the events unfold on television from her London office, she had no idea how catastrophically her life was about to change. In her book, The Blue Skies of Autumn, she describes how the birth of their son weeks later brought mixed feelings of despair and joy, but ultimately gave her the strength to turn her life around. It's not often that you meet a Dame, let alone three of them at once. Three of Britain's top operatic singers, Dame Anne Evans, Dame Margaret Price and Dame Ann Murray, join Jenni to talk about the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition which they are judging and the advice they can give young singers. They also compare notes about their experience of opera. Jokes about rape or which refer to rape are said to have become commonplace on the comedy circuit in recent years. Are such jokes ever truly funny, and who has the right to make them? Journalist Veronica Lee tells Jenni why she thinks the defence that this sort of humour is 'ironic' won't wash in the 21st century, while Ellie Levenson explains why she thought it was important to consider the appeal of 'rape jokes' in her new book, The Noughtie Girl's Guide to Feminism. And the England Women's Football team play Germany in the final of Euro 2009, the first time the team have been in a European Final since 1984. With Germany hoping to win their fifth consecutive title, Jenni talks to 5 live sports reporter Jackie Oatley about England's chances.