Woman's Hour - 14/09/2009

With Jane Garvey - including: 'I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King'. With these words Queen Elizabeth I showed her distaste for the shortcomings associated with her sex. But despite this apparent dismissal of women's capabilities, her life would be profoundly influenced by the women who surrounded her. From her mother Anne Boleyn and a succession of doomed stepmothers, to her half sister Mary, the fates of these women set the course of Elizabeth's life. Tracy Borman is the author of Elizabeth's Women, and she joins Jane to discuss this fascinating aspect of the monarch's history With Germany's general election looming, the Christian Democrats, Angela Merkel's party, has shifted into top gear with a new campaign that focuses on probably its best asset - Mrs Merkel herself. The German Chancellor's personal popularity is said to comfortably exceed that of her party. But she also has a reputation for being uncharismatic, boring and dowdy to the point of frumpiness. Jane is joined by Labour MP Gisela Stuart and journalist Anne McElvoy to discuss what makes Angela Merkel such an important politician. The Darwin Centre will house over 20 million plant and insect specimens and will reveal to the public for the first time the collections, scientists and research that has been going on behind the scenes for over 100 years. To discuss some of the work that is carried out there, Jane is joined by Yvonne Linton - an entomologist working on the mosquito bar-coding project; and Amoret Whittaker, a forensic entomologist who studies fly larvae and their development within decaying flesh - and often gives essential evidence in court in hearings for cases of suspicious deaths. The Butterfly Garden in Bournemouth, Dorset, is a home for the ashes of any deceased baby, whether it is one that has died in the womb or has been aborted. Hospital Chaplain, Canon Jane Lloyd, performs a regular monthly service for the very young babies that have not lived. She scatters their ashes in the Butterfly Garden. Ruth Oliver goes to watch one of the memorial services.