Woman's Hour - 20/07/2009

With Jane Garvey In Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions they are messengers from God. Translated from the Greek word, angellos, impressions of angels range from the Archangel Gabriel to celestial beings with feathered wings, or the idea of the Guardian angel as a personal guide. They are currently a popular cultural phenomenon, with a proliferation of books, websites and workshops available on the subject. Jane Garvey is joined by broadcaster Gloria Hunniford, who presents a new TV series on the subject, and Dr. Juliette Wood, from the University of Cardiff who specialises in mythology, to discuss the history of and belief in Angels. Anna Del Conte was born in pre-war Milan. Her family moved to the Italian countryside when the Second World War made city life too dangerous and in 1949 she moved to England as an au pair. She married an Englishman, stayed in Britain and began writing cookery books. Her writing has won her many awards and she is credited with introducing Italian food to England at a time when pasta meant nothing more than a tin of spaghetti. She has now written her memoirs and joins Jane to talk about how the food of her childhood has affected the whole of her life. After the coup in Honduras last month we speak to those who are concerned that the unstable situation is going to set back fledgling campaigns to improve the welfare of women in this poor Central American country. Plus, the soprano Elizabeth Watts talks about her work and appearance at this year's Proms.