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Woman's Hour: Holocaust Survivors, Mary Nighy, Dementia and Menopause

27/01/2023

Holocaust Survivors, Mary Nighy, Dementia and Menopause

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Holocaust Survivors, Mary Nighy, Dementia and Menopause

Anita speaks to the daughters of two Jewish girls who fled Nazi persecution.

Anita speaks to the daughters of two Jewish girls who fled Nazi persecution and to director Mary Nighy about her new film Alice, Darling.

During World War Two, a house in Tynemouth was used as a sanctuary for more than 20 Jewish girls fleeing Nazi persecution.  They had come to the UK on the Kindertransport. After a BBC investigation, a blue plaque will be unveiled there today, Holocaust Memorial Day, celebrating the house's forgotten past and those that found sanctuary there.  Two of the Girls who lived in the house were Ruth David and Elfi Jonas.  Anita speaks to their daughters - Margaret Finch and Helen Strange about their mothers and their visit to the house.

Mary Nighy began her acting career at the age of 17, starring in films such as Marie Antoinette and Tormented. The daughter of actors Bill Nighy and Diana Quick, she has since turned director, of TV shows like Industry and Traces but she has just released her directorial debut Alice Darling. The film, starring Anna Kendrick, explores what it might feel like to be trapped inside a coercive, controlling and psychologically abusive relationship. Mary joins Anita Rani to talk about the themes of the film, female friendship and working behind the camera.

Big employers including Tesco, Asda, Natwest and the country's most senior family judge are supporting a scheme that gives time off to parents who are splitting up. A survey of 200 workers by the Positive Parenting Alliance showed that 90 per cent of respondents said that their work was adversely affected. Anita speaks to XY and Sara Davison a divorce coach and author. 

How do you differentiate between symptoms of menopause and dementia and when should you be worried? A new brain check-up tool kit from Alzheimer’s Research UK is encouraging people to do more to look after their brains to try to reduce their dementia risk. Research shows that women are generally at a greater risk of dementia - outnumbering the number of men who get the disease by 2:1 worldwide. But as women get older and experience the menopause, they may notice a decline in their memory, feel confused and get brain fog. We also hear about an early study which suggests that HRT may reduce the risk of some women developing Alzheimer's disease.

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