Woman's Hour - 12/12/2008

Presented by Jenni Murray. Four of the ten shortlisted contenders for the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of Year are women, all of them gold medallists in Beijing. Jenni is joined by sports presenter Eleanor Oldroyd and rowing silver medallist Katherine Grainger. Jenni talks to Margaret Watson, the longest serving reporter on one newspaper. Margaret has been on The Dewsbury Reporter for fifty years and is still working. To talk about the traditions behind mistletoe and tips on how to grow it Jenni is joined by Roy Vickery, author of A Dictionary of Plant-Lore, and gardener Anne Beswick. Last week Venice was hit by one of the worst floods in over a century, bringing back memories of the great flood of 1966, when thousands were trapped in their homes. Anna Somers Cocks is chairman of the Venice in Peril Campaign and Jane da Mosta is a scientist who has been studying flood patterns in the city. They talk to Keith Allen, along with residents who were in the city on the night of the great flood in 1966. Including drama: To the North Deborah Paige's dramatisation of Elizabeth Bowen's romantic novel, set in London and Paris in the inter-war years. Departures Cecilia fears for Emmeline, who is tortured by suspicions of Markie's infidelity. Narrator ...... Margaret Tyzack Cecilia Summers ...... Catherine McCormack Mark Linkwater ...... Julian Rhid-Tutt Emmeline Summers ...... Zoe Waites Julian Towers ...... Adrian Scarborough Directed by Deborah Paige.