Future Classic Women Awards – Elena Mazzon – Clara Parts 1&2

I don't know what to do. A date? He wants me to go on a date? Hans, Clara, it's high time we go on a date. I will come over tomorrow night at 8 o'clock. Be ready. A date? I haven't been on a date since 1839. That's 17 years ago. Oh, dating. I don't even know what it means. What happened to the adventurous, rebellious Clara? I used to be such a rebel when I was 18. I felt that The world was at my feet. I was the star of the piano. In Vienna, I was awarded the highest title of the time: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kammervirtuosin, Royal and Imperial Virtuoso. They even dedicated me a cake, la torte, La vieque! People streaming at the box office and concert halls in all Europe packed when I was playing. I felt invincible. I deceived my father for years, secretly meeting Robert, my lover. Ah, we were young. We'd meet on tour or back at home in Leipzig. And Robert was terrified of my father. But I— I wasn't scared. I felt stronger like never before. Then Robert wanted a family, children. He would always make me laugh with his dream of a little cottage in the country, just the two of us studying Bach fugues and loads of children. I didn't mind the fugues, of course, but the country and the cottage and the children. My mother gave me some advice when I ran away from my father to marry Robert. She said, "Mei, Klärchen, make sure you ask your boyfriend, how do you feel about—" Divorce. It might sound a bit harsh, but believe me, knowing you have a way out makes your life so much easier. And second question: how will getting married change our relationship? Clara, darling, they never say it will, but it does change it. Your father has never been fun, to be honest. But after the marriage, I not only ended up with 4 children, I also had to sing and teach, work all day long and round the household. Now think it through very carefully. They all promise you a life free from burdens, but you end up working twice as much. Look for the signs. Oh, the signs. I guess I missed a few. Oh, the date! What am I going to wear for this date? I don't want to give Johannes the wrong impression. He's young. Very young. He's still Beardless, with long blonde curls and a very high forehead. Very confident. He's as handsome as he's gifted. Musically. Hello, Mr. Brahms. Sorry, Johannes. I'd forgotten we had already skipped the formalities. Two years ago, when you moved in with us. As if I didn't have enough gossip to deal with. I know what they say. That Mrs. Schumann takes in a young man into the family. No! Really? Oh yes. And did you know that he is 14 years younger. Ah, no wonder her husband jumped in the river! That woman drove him mad, and then she locked him into a mental asylum. She didn't even visit once in 2 years. No! Oh yes! No! Yes! She must have been busy, don't you think? Malicious rumors. I would like to be remembered as a glorious piano virtuoso, not for my personal life. But people always want to label us, don't they? Prodigy child, virtuoso, wife, unfaithful wife. Or at the moment they enjoy calling me the priestess. They say it's the way I play. Neat and clean. What if he wants— I don't even remember when the last time was. I will consult the marriage diary. My husband gave me a marriage diary as a wedding present where we recorded everything that happened in our marriage and all our sexual intercourse. I've always found it a little disturbing. Two people sitting in the same room, living in the same house, and instead of talking to each other, using that damnated diary. Oh yes, of course I remember! The 20th of September, 1853. How could I forget that day? Robert was particularly ill, depressed. He was always hearing a voice in his head. Schubert's voice. He'd rather listen to that voice in his head than to mine. Strangely enough, the sex was always so much better when Schubert was there. In his head, I mean. Anyway, he was too ill to work, so I Stepped in: Düsseldorf Philharmonic Orchestra! Strings on my right, winds behind and percussions at the back— And I walked in... "Gentlemen from bar 15 please." Bar 15 gentlemen? What?! Never seen a woman? Oh, I see, not in power. I should have realized that women were not welcome here by the lack of ladies' toilets. You hold the belief that we only belong within the house walls, cuddling children, and that the top of our musical genius is playing delicate music to entertain you and your male companions. Third oboe, you stop looking at my breast and focus on the right note. You were so out of tune earlier on. Bass section, did you sleep last night? I feel none of your masculine rhythm. Too delicate and sensitive. First violins, that adagio would put all my hyperactive children to sleep. Can you give us some passion? So now, Gentlemen, if I am man enough for you, let's start again from bar 15, and you can all call me Maestro. That night I had the best sex I can recall. That orchestra had never played so well. All those men dominated by a woman. But I also remember a few weeks later when I found out that I was pregnant. Again. I felt nothing. Oh, the previous time I burst into tears. And on my fourth pregnancy, I smashed a whole set of fine 16th-century Bohemian porcelain plates on the kitchen floor. Very healing. But now I felt nothing. Just nothing. All the things that no one says about motherhood. You are told that is the most wonderful thing that you can experience. How fulfilling! Oh, and how adorable this baby is! He looks just like his father. No one tells you that once you have the little creature inside you, you are going to live 9 months of Mood swings, nausea, and no sleep. And when they say you're glowing, it is not from joy, but from sweating after vomiting 4 times a day. And when the baby pops out, it's a life of worries, guilt, and constant sense of failure. That's been me for the past 16 years. My firstborn though, Marie, oh, she, she really was a little angel. When I held her in my arms for the first time, she was perfect, so adorable. And Robert's eyes, my mouth, oh, and those hands, the tiny piano hands. However, after my first child, all my other pregnancies were, for my husband, great blessings, but for me they became frightening expectations. Every time it was different. Once I became so big, I couldn't reach the keyboard anymore. Welcome to Women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan, and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Judy May Is Listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy, and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting We're supporting women's well-being and we're talking all things autism. Women, the possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Tracy Whedon of Brownhill Insurance Group. We are an award-winning family-run insurance broker covering a wide range of insurance products ranging from commercial lines to personal household, high net worth, and fine art. You can contact us on 0208 888 888. 6558 4334 or visit our website www.brownhillgroup.co.uk for your free no-obligation quotation. At Brown Hills, we've got you covered. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishcon. I'm a birth doula and mum of 3, and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show, From Tummy to Mummy here on Women's Radio Station. Every week I'll be here with an expert guest talking about women's reproductive health, everything fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby related, right through to the menopause and beyond. Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Hi, I'm Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book lover, and mental health advocate, and you can listen to my show Get Booked here at Women's Radio Station daily at 5 AM and 5 PM. Throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers, and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well-being. If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presenters@womensradiostation.com. Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Hi, I'm Valentina Barbacci, and I'm the executive director of Media Matters for Women. We're a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth on mobile phones, focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own, and share information. To find out more and be part of this movement, come check out our website at MediaMattersForWomen.org. You're listening to Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station's creating a global network for the empowerment of women, and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter @WomensRadioStation, that's Women's Radio S-T-N, or Facebook Women's Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programs. And when I was expecting Ludwig, my 5th child, my feet were so swollen that I could not change the pedals softly. It was horrible. And Ferdinand, the 6th, was almost born on stage. I played through my contractions. I would have paid everything I had to stop having babies. So my soprano friend told me about the French stall at the black market in Hamburg, and I went one night after one of my concerts, trying to hide my face, avoiding eye contact. Psst, psst, over here. Hello, I have a, I have a tattoo. Delicate matter. Yes, I am looking for something to— not something to avoid, to, you know. Oh, Madame, est-ce que vous voulez des préservatifs? Excuse me? Les condoms, please. Oh, bien sûr, Madame. Qu'est-ce que vous voulez? Nous avons les rameçins. Ramsès. Très bon choix, le Ramsès. Non? Non? Nous avons les camels. Ah, les camels, Madame? Non? Bien sûr, nous avons les maris, ou les veuves. Maris? Veuves? All right, all right, les maris, les veuves. Très bon choix, Madame, très bon choix. All right, all right. So I started walking through the crowd. Feeling everyone's eyes on me, feeling like a thief, I was walking to the station as fast as I could and then I stopped in a smelly corner of Hamburg. I really wanted to see what this life-saving object looked like. And then I opened the Merry Widow's tin box. Oh, and the stink that came out of that tiny little box, that mixed with the filthy air of that busy harbour and that of rotten fish, I thought I was going to pass out any second, dreading the following day's newspaper headlines: Clara Schumann, the piano priestess, found with illegal contraception. How embarrassing! Embarrassing! And dangerous! The object I had believed would save my life and career could now mean the end of both. I looked around and, at the next corner, I threw the box into a pile of rubbish left from the market and took my train home. Truth is, they might call me the Priestess, But God, how much I loved sex. And I guess the problem is I still do. When Robert was composing for days on end, I was burning inside. But not just for sex, for music. I wasn't allowed to play when Robert was composing. It distracted him. We've had our troubles, Robert and I. One thing I really couldn't stand of my husband was his socks in bed. It wasn't just the socks, but that hole. I sort of miss that long nail on his big toe sticking out, making a hole in that horrible sock. Has he ever tried to stitch them together? No, it was always me. Waiting for him to come out of his studio to stitch his socks. And I did tell him, in the diary, of course. I told him again and again, and he would say something like this to me: "Well, Clara, that's the way it goes in marriages of artists, and if they love each other, that's always enough. But I wasn't born to sew socks together." This here is what I was born to do. And how dare he, giving his music to other women before me? Oh, he always knew how to wind me up. Perhaps dating is like playing the piano. You might not practice for a long time, but it stays in your muscle memory. I hope so. I wonder, I wonder whether it's going to be the same with Johannes as with Robert. I remember the day I met Robert. I had just walked out of my practice room and saw about 10 young men waiting for my father to audition them. They all looked the same to me. Handsome, neatly combed and confident and very ambitious. Oh, they never noticed me. I was only 9, and officially my father declared 7 or 8, depending on how much he wanted to impress the audience. But that day, amongst all these faces, I saw one Young man sitting all alone in a corner with dark hair and wearing dark clothes. He was looking down on a piece of paper, but I, I could see his dark, deep, sad eyes. So sad. He was not neatly dressed and certainly hadn't seen a comb in a while. Then he lifted his gaze from the page and looked in my direction. I turned around and checked if my father had come out. "You must be Klara." He was talking to me! He knew my name! "I am Robert. Robert Schumann. I would have never imagined back then that I would fall in love with that sad boy." and marry him. Well, I did fantasize about having a boyfriend. The idea made me feel normal, like every other girl. I was constantly reminded by my father that I wasn't like every other girl and should not aspire to be nothing close to ordinary. I could not go to school like every other girl. My father thought it was all nonsense, and all my education was in support of my virtuoso career. I didn't have dolls. I wasn't taught how to cook also. My father never treated me like a girl. Girl or boy, what counted to him was music. And it was music, Robert's music, that made me fall in love with him. Robert and his passionate, frenzied genius. And then the gentle soul of Robert, his endless imagination and always surprising me. Robert and his many personalities emerging from his music. When my father tried to separate us, we, we would write in code. We took each other's themes and dedicated music to each other. This is Eusebius, Robert's alter ego, my favourite one. He would also write many other characters. All those women, I did never play them in my concerts. And finally, me, Chiarina. This sounds more like a nagging girlfriend than a sensual one. So I replied with this: the weeping boyfriend. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity, from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and most importantly, women's well-being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website, womensradiostation.com, for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. At empowerandenrich.org, you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me at empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Hello, my name is Natasha Anne Callaghan. Welcome to you lovely lady listeners of your very own women's radio station. Over the coming months, I'll be doing a survey in big brand coffee shops interviewing customers asking why they like to drink coffee and if they would like to give a health tip for our listeners. The most shared and liked post will be the winner of a prize. Stay tuned for further details. Hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on Women's Radio Station. It's Mother's Hour. If like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories, it will be a refreshing, honest, and funny look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness, or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship, or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turn2us.org.uk. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station can give voice to your brand with a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programs. We can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com. Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. But we also wrote to each other long Longing Letters. Clara, I should like to call you by all the endearing epithets. Your Robert. Dear Robert, I am suspended in heaven. Dear Clara, I still see you like that last evening. Robert, I have such an urgent desire to see you. I picture you in all sorts of ways. Clara. Finally, on my 16th birthday, Robert asked my father for my hand. I remember my father standing there in front of me. My father had a vein right in the middle of his forehead, the sign that anger was starting to possess him. A large blue line that separated his forehead into two. Both equally furious sides. As Robert is telling him about our future, this domestic bliss, I start shaking at the look that my father gives me. He hates me now. I can see his disgust at the idea of me, his favourite daughter, his bright star, Fraternizing with the enemy. Embracing everything he had always kept me away from. Marriage. Housekeeping. Motherhood. My heart sinks into my teenage chest. I am a filthy traitor. My father opens the right drawer of his desk and pulls out a gun. That is when he tried to shoot Robert. Luckily, my father not only had a bad temper but also a really bad aim. Instead, he shot the stuffed Bavarian owl at the back of the room. When I think about my father, I always feel so much love. Many people think he is a tyrant and horrible, and I do see why, but what he has given me— he did not see me as a girl. Being a girl has always been a burden for fathers. Who did not know what to do with their daughters. No profit, only expenses. Unless, of course, we become good marriage material. What my father gave me was something that no other woman around me has. He gave me choice. The choice not just to be a shadow of a man, to bear children, sewing and ironing clothes, the choice to be heard, to earn money and to make a name for myself before having that of a man attached to mine. Isn't it somewhat ironic that I ended up doing the exact opposite of what my father wanted? I had my doubts. I was 20 years old. Alone in Paris. My father had refused to take me on tour unless I gave up any marriage ideas. Paris was intimidating at first, but I managed the entire tour without my father. Oh, Paris! The wonder of this city, its lights, its parties, its champagne. Pianists everywhere, men and women. And everyone knew me. Maybe my father was right. With a glass of champagne in my hand, I think. I know what to say to Robert. What about postponing the marriage? I must tell you one thing, Robert. I require much. Are you in a position to offer me a life free from care? I am not going to bury my art to become a wife. Love is all very beautiful, But I didn't hear from Robert for a long time. He wrote something like this to me: Your father embittered all my life. You are giving me up on his account. I have endured so much for 2 years. Trust and obey me. You will have to leave one. Him or me. I chose Robert. I took my father to court to marry her. You betrayed me, Clara. Ungrateful child. My project is dead. We had a goal, Clara. Did you forget? I made you what you are. You owe me. You want to be like every other woman, destroy your life. You will suffer a living hell, forgetting your art, dedicating your life to this man and his stupid romantic dream. You are burying yourself alive, and you will beg me to make you the star you used to be, but it will be too late. You will sink into oblivion alone. I will never consent to your marriage, never, as long as I breathe. On September 12th, 1840, the day before my 21st birthday, I married Robert with the consent of the Court of Leipzig. He insisted he'd come with me for my next tour in Russia to Saint Petersburg. Petersburg. I remember a review from Count Alexei Fedorovich: Mrs. Schumann's playing— what this 26-year-old woman plays is vividly impressed in our hearts. Her beautiful, correct, and refined playing proves she is a great artist with masculine energy and feminine instinct. In interpretation and execution. As for the husband of Mrs. Schumann, he is always silent and withdrawn, sitting mostly in a corner near the piano with a pensive expression. Back home, I read in the diary: The Russian tour was almost unbearable. Am I to neglect my own talent to serve you as a companion on your journeys? What will people say? It is most necessary that we should find some means by which we can both use and develop our talents side by side. So there we were, side by side. If I still had some hope to tour with two small children, after the third, no one of my relatives would take any of them. When Robert was composing, I could not even touch the piano. The rest of the time his moods were terrible. He was often depressed and physically ill. In my music-less days, I was dreaming of touring again abroad, being acclaimed by hundreds of people like in Paris or Vienna, but I just knew that that was an impossible dream. This seemed to be the only creative activity I was entitled at the time. I think I started to secretly resent my husband and my children. Him because of them and them because of him. Welcome to Women's Radio Station. I'm Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Julie May Is Listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at Women's Radio Station supporting Women's Well-being, and we're talking all things autism. Women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Hi, I'm Tracy Whedon of Brownhill Insurance Group. We are an award-winning, family-run insurance broker covering a wide range of insurance products ranging from commercial lines to personal household, high net worth, and fine art. You can contact us on 0208 6558 4334 or visit our website www.brownhillgroup.co.uk for your free no-obligation quotation. At Brown Hills, we've got you covered. Hi, I'm Lauren Mishcon. I'm a birth doula and mum of 3, and I'm passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show From Tummy to Mummy, here on Women's Radio Station. Every week I'll be here with an expert guest talking about women's reproductive health. Everything fertility, pregnancy, birth, and baby related, right through to the menopause and beyond. Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Hi, I'm Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book lover, and mental health advocate, and you can listen to my show Get Booked here at Women's Radio Station. Daily at 5 AM and 5 PM. Throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers, and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well-being. If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presenters@womensradiostation.com. Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Hi, I'm Valentina Bravacci, and I'm the executive director of Media Matters for Women. We're a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth on mobile phones, focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own, and share information. To find out more and be part of this movement, come check out our website at MediaMattersForWomen.org. You're listening to Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station's creating a global network for the empowerment of women, and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter at Women's Radio Station, that's Women's Radio STN, or Facebook Women's Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programs. When Emil died, he was only 16 months old. He must have felt it, that I didn't want him, not another baby. He must have known what a deranged mother I was, a mother who felt relieved when she had miscarriages. I prayed for no more children. I was simply just not good at it. I was a terrible mother. And I knew it was wrong to feel like that, but I could not help but wanting to be an artist more than a mother. But by the day Émile died, the 22nd of June, 1847, I was again already pregnant. All I wanted and all I needed was to play. It was as if my husband and my children were taking away my oxygen. The date! It's not long now before Johannes, my date, knocks on my door. I do not understand why I'm so nervous. Perhaps I need to read that letter once more. The thought of my sonata. Proceeding gently and dreamily under your fingers is so beautiful. For me, there is no greater pleasure than to be always at your side. I cannot longer love any other girl. They promise heaven, but you show it revealed to me. Heaven. Heaven is what I experienced the day I met Johannes. Tired and pregnant, I opened the door. A blond young man around 20 stood opposite me, this bundle of blond curls swaying in the breeze, handsome like a picture. Oh, sorry, have we met before? You wish we did. You are a composer? And a pianist? Oh, please do, do come in and play your music, Mr.— sorry, I did not catch your name. Mr. Brahms. Johannes Brahms. From that moment, I knew that that name was going to be etched on my heart for the rest of my life. As Johannes starts playing, I am transported into another dimension. Nothing is there anymore. Robert, the children, my heavy ankles, my wrinkles. Nothing is. Only this young man and his hands on my piano. Giving me a pleasure I had never experienced before. And for a moment, perhaps a bit longer, I wish I was the keys under his hands. Those big, soft hands. I haven't touched them yet, but I know they are soft, comforting hands. Is he looking at me? Does he know what I'm thinking? Does my husband know what I'm thinking? I just blurt out, "Sorry, my pedals are so squeaky." They both gazed up at me. "Mr. Brahms, the second movement of your sonata is like a— it's like sparks flying out of the instrument." instrument. Everything weaves and breathes together. I could embrace you in thankfulness for providing me with this pleasure. Did I really say that? That night, I did not sleep. I could not stop thinking about Johannes Brahms. I have never liked anyone's music better than Robert's. Am I in love? There is clearly a pattern here. The music, the magnetism. But it is not just me. My husband was almost as enthusiastic as I was about Johannes's music. For a moment, he seemed cured from his depression and the voices in his head. He invited Johannes to live with us. Robert went on and on about Johannes being the air of his music. And I, I was living with two geniuses under my roof. For a moment I thought, perhaps this can work. Until my husband enters the room. He sits in a corner like the first day I met him, but this time he is Like a wet cat, he jumped in the river. His life is so unbearable. I have sacrificed my entire career, promoted his music. I've been the wife and mother he wanted me to be, and now he jumps in the Rhine. I have spent a third of my life carrying another human being inside myself. I used to have recurring nightmares about being on stage performing, and I could clearly see in the audience his face and those of the children, all 7 of them. And I felt guilty for leaving them with nurses and nannies, the physical and moral burden. And then he tells me He has admitted himself freely into a mental asylum. And after all I've done, I was the only person not allowed to visit him, as I might have hindered his recovery. Well, I guess that's one form of successful contraception— taking my husband away from me. "The day Robert entered the asylum, under the promise of his doctors to come back healthier than he had ever been, I knew that the child I was bearing would never meet his father." Robert remained in the asylum for 2 and a half years until his death on the 29th July 1856. For those 2 years, I was not allowed to see him. But did I really want to? Was he still the man I had loved and for whom I had gone against everything and everyone? I had to go back touring to pay his fees. To live in ease and provide for my 7 children. Of course I felt terrible, but was that really the right thing to do? I know what people say about me, that I left my husband rotting in a lunatic asylum to pursue my career and enjoy the company of the young man, Mr. Brahms, he was still living with us. I was torn. It seemed like Robert had consciously left a vacuum to be filled by Johannes, in music and in life. The gossip is very close to reality. Brahms, who leave me notes in the house: I wish I could write to you as tenderly as I love you. And tell you all the good things that I wish you. You are so infinitely dear to me, dearer than I can say. I often have to restrain myself forcibly, Clara, from putting my arms around you. Now I imagine Johannes as a door. I don't I don't even have the time to say "Please, come in," and he, he puts his arms around me. Then his soft hands start moving all over me, and he kisses my neck. He loosens my dress. He tickles my spine. And for every lace The lace of my corset that he loosens, I start seeing in front of me all my children, like in my nightmare. I can hear them crying, I can smell their little puffy bodies. A sense of morning sickness arises from the bottom of my stomach and I say I see my future like a déjà vu, one by one. The days that I will spend alone, waiting for him to finish a new symphony. This gorgeous man I have been dreaming of all this time. Is now nothing more than a threatening child machine. No more tours, no more concerts. A death from domesticity. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity, from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and and most importantly, women's well-being. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website womensradiostation.com for more information. I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower and Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement. You are not alone. Many women want to be smarter with their cash but just don't know where to start. At empowerandenrich.org, you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me at empowerandenrich.org and let's change your future together. Hello, my name is Natasha Anne Callaghan. Welcome to you lovely lady listeners of your very own women's radio Station. Over the coming months, I'll be doing a survey in big brand coffee shops interviewing customers, asking why they like to drink coffee and if they would like to give us a health tip for our listeners. The most shared and liked post will be the winner of a prize. Stay tuned for further details. Hi, I'm Carolyn van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on Women's Radio Station. It's Mother's Hour. If like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories, it will be a refreshing, honest, and funny look at being a mum. Are you struggling with money? Turn to us as a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness, or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship, or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turn2us.org.uk. Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station can give voice to your brand with a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programs. We can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com. Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being.