Woman's Hour - 12/11/2010

Presented by Jenni Murray. Danielle Raine and Lucy Cavendish discuss the art of good housekeeping. Are unwashed skirting boards now the accepted trade off for a life lived to the full or do more of us than maybe care to admit, still hanker after a house filled with flowers and the smell of beeswax polish? As the military Junta in Burma retains power in the country's first elections for twenty years, there are distinct - if quiet - murmurings about Aung San Suu Kyi's recent decisions. Has she made a crucial mistake by asking the people to boycott what was always going to be rigged process? BBC Foreign Correspondent Sue Lloyd Roberts and Historian Justin Wintle discuss. Claire Lara was such an impressive winner on MasterChef: The Professionals this year that Michel Roux Jr - one of the judges - was moved to say: "We started off the competition looking for a talent and we have uncovered a diamond." She joins Jenni to talk about her success. The Royal Opera House and The Lowry in Salford have collaborated on a new exhibition which tells the story of the Royal Ballet. It pays tribute to its founder - Dame Ninette de Valois - and contains rarely seen sketches by LS Lowry which illustrate his involvement with the ballet in Britain. The current Director of the Royal Ballet - Dame Monica Mason - talks about the exhibition.