Woman's Hour - 30/11/2009

With Jane Garvey. Middle-aged men are seven times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than women of the same age, but only half as likely to talk about them. A study has shown that one in seven men will develop depression within six months of losing their job, so what are the repercussions for their partners this Christmas? Pat Prestage has coped with husband Martin's depression for over 15 years. She and Martin join Jane to discuss what it is like living with a male partner's depression, along with Jan Scott, Professor of Psychological Medicine at Newcastle University. Camille O'Sullivan is notoriously difficult to pigeonhole. On stage, dressed in corsets and fishnet tights, she could be mistaken for a burlesque singer, but the show she performs is far more eclectic and diverse. She started her career as a traditional chanteuse, signing songs by Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich. Since then she has incorporated more contemporary music into her show, including songs by artists including Nick Cave, Tom Waits and David Bowie. She talks to Jane about her unorthodox career, and how she trained as an architect rather than as a singer. She also sings one of the songs from the show she will be performing at the Apollo Theatre in central London. Rollerderby exploded onto the American scene well over 60 years ago, fizzled out for a while before taking off again. There are over 400 clubs worldwide, 25 of them in the UK. It's rowdy, boisterous and often violent. Rollerderby is a women-only contact sport where two teams skate around a looped track, with the 'jammer' trying to make her way through the opposing players to score points. Players are allowed to hip-shove and shoulder-barge to hamper the other team's chance of success. They call each other names like Auntie Terror and Fox Sake and liken it to knocking eight bells out of each other before going to the pub together. Sky Rockit, Auntie Terror and Wyrdsister reveal all to Jane Garvey.