Fortunately...

It’s International Women’s Day, and what better way to celebrate it than to head over to The Lowry in Salford for the afternoon for a recording of one of my favourite podcasts, featuring two of my favourite women? 

‘Fortunately... with Fi and Jane’ allows those treasures of BBC Radio 4, Fi Glover and Jane Garvey, the space to chat to each other, and their guests, in a much more relaxed, and often hilarious, manner than they’d get away with on programmes such as ‘The Listening Project’ or ‘Woman’s Hour’ - and listening to it on my way home from work every Friday evening marks the official start of my weekend.

Their most recent podcast, with special guest Adam Rutherford discussing his new book ‘How to Argue With a Racist’, is a particularly fine example of what makes this show so great, and would be a good place to start if you haven’t investigated it previously www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04x5pd7/episodes/downloads

It was an utter delight to be in the presence of Fi, Jane and today’s special guest, 5 Live Breakfast Show presenter Rachel Burden, for a couple of hours as they discussed all sorts of scurrilous things which will doubtless have been edited out by the time the podcast hits a media platform near you this coming Friday... 

I was treated to the experience by my American friend Jill who you see on the left here, striking up her own double-act with one of Manchester’s most famous women, the feminist legend Emmeline Pankhurst. 

A few months back, I suggested that Jill should listen to the ‘Fortunately...’ podcast as part of her ‘Introduction to Life in the UK’ and I’m pleased to say that she’s become as devoted a fan as I am. (I’m not sure I’ll ever get her into ‘The Archers’ though...)

Massive thanks to her for a great afternoon!

Today’s song seems appropriate for a US girl. It’s ‘Mad As Hell’ by US Girls! www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGb5NiGBjc