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Sham marriages; Feeling lonely when you no longer work; Insects for eating

What are the signs of a sham marriage and how is the government trying to tackle the issue? Food sustainability - could eating insects be the answer? Jenni Murray presents.

What are the signs of a sham marriage and how is the government trying to tackle the issue? We hear from a Registrar who gave evidence to the Home Office Select Committee this week.

Cricket cookies? Ants for breakfast? Food sustainability is a big global issue - could eating insects be the answer to finding new food sources to feed an increasing population? Over two billion people currently eat insects as part of their everyday diet but will it catch on in the West?

Forget the internet dating, many people find love on public transport - we hear from a woman who met her husband on the train and the editor of Rush Hour Crush, the daily column in The Metro that links up love struck commuters.

And on Woman's Hour this week, we've been hearing a range of voices in different circumstances on how being lonely affects them and the factors that contribute to it. Tomorrow we'll discuss how leaving work, through retirement or redundancy, can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.

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45 minutes

Chapters

  • Sham Marriages

    Local Registration Services Association's Mark Rimmer & Jasvinder Sanghera, Karma Nirvana

    Duration: 09:55

  • Marlow Moss & Claude Cahun

    Sarah Brown, Curator at Leeds Art Gallery, on artists Marlow Moss & Claude Cahun

    Duration: 07:44

  • Loneliness After Working Life Ends

    Retiree Nicole Smith, & Kim Barlow-Miles, made redundant after 25 years with her company

    Duration: 07:28

  • Insects For Dinner

    Eating insects - or entomophagy - with chef, Andy Holcroft & entomologist Dr Sarah Beynon

    Duration: 08:10

  • Love On Public Transport

    Bryony Wood,Editor of Metro’s Rush Hour Crush & Joanna Moriarty, who found love commuting

    Duration: 07:32

Insects for dinner

Food sustainability is a big global issue and increasingly we’reÌý being told we’ll need to find new sources of food to sustain our exploding population in the future. Many think the answer is to reshape our traditional diet patterns andÌý considerÌý new sources of food, one of thoseÌý being insects . It’s estimated over two billion people currently eat insects as part of their everyday diet but in the West there remains strong resistance to entomophagy (the eating of insects). To discuss the merits and appeal of insect cuisine, chef, Andy Holcroft, and entomologist Dr Sarah Beynon join Jenni.Ìý

Loneliness after working life finishes

Woman’s Hour has been discussing the theme of Ìýloneliness ÌýallÌý this week. In the final discussion of the series we explore the type ofÌý loneliness that results when working life suddenly comes to a halt.Ìý Whether it’s because ofÌý retirement or redundancy, we may only fullyÌý appreciate the daily company and social stimulation Ìýa job provides once it’s gone.ÌýÌýJenni talks to retiree Nicole Smith and to Kim Barlow-Miles who was made redundant after twenty five Ìýyears of working for the same organisation. She has sinceÌý retrained as a psychotherapist and now runs her own practice.

Ìý

Love on Public Transport

A new ‘app’ for smartphones has launched in France called ‘happn’ and it aims to foster romance on the lonely isles of public transport.Ìý Users are presented with pictures and details of other passengers and can indicate whether or not they have a ‘crush’, and if the feeling is mutual, they can contact each other.Ìý It’s like a 21st century Brief Encounter.Ìý But people have been falling in love for years on busy train carriages or crowded buses.Ìý Jenni is joined by Bryony Wood,Ìýeditor of the Metro’s ‘Rush Hour Crush’, the section of the newspaper where people can place ads to follow up on that romantic encounter that made their dull trip into work extra special, and byÌýJoanna Moriarty who found love on her busy commute.

Sham Marriages

This week MP’s took evidence from Registrars about sham marriages – marriages that take place for reasons other than love by those attempting to gain long-term residency and the right to work and claim benefits in the UK. The number of suspected sham marriages being reported by registrars has doubled in four years and that’s not accounting for those Ìýthat have not been reported to the authorities. Marriage is being used, say both registrars and the government, as a massive loophole that people are exploiting to stay in this country. Mark Rimmer, Chairman of the andÌýJasvinder Sanghera from join Jenni to discuss the issues.

Marlow Moss and Claude Cahun

A new exhibition has just opened at featuring the work of female artists Marlow Moss and Claude Cahun. Both women gave themselves androgynous names and challenged society’s notions of gender through their appearance and behaviour but their work was very different. Moss was a Constructivist whose art, at first glance, resembles the paintings of Mondrian. Cahun created photographic self-portraits which bring to mind the work of Cindy Sherman and Francesca Woodman although she predates both of them by decades. I spoke to Sarah Brown, curator of Exhibitions at Leeds Art Gallery and asked her to describe their work.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Producer Louise Clarke Rowbotham

Broadcast

  • Fri 27 Jun 2014 10:00

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