An afternoon with the wireless …… discovering lots more about an abolitionist and the “strongest woman in the world”
,_1789.png) |
| Olaudah Equiano, 1789 |
It begins with the story of Olaudah Equiano, at 4 pm and rolls on half an hour later with Joan Rhodes, strongest woman in the world.
Most people will have heard of Olaudah Equiano, who according to my Wikipedia, was “known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (/ˈvæsə/), and was a writer and abolitionist from, according to his memoir, the Eboe (Igbo) region of the Kingdom of Benin (today southern Nigeria). Enslaved as a child in Africa, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer. He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766”.*
But I suspect Joan Rhodes will be less familiar.
She was born in London and performed as “a wrestler, stuntwoman and strongwoman”.
She grew up in poverty and along with her “her siblings were deserted by their parents. Following unhappy spells in the workhouse and with an aunt, she left home at 14.
After sleeping rough in Brewer Street, Soho, she joined a travelling fair, where she got the idea for her act after seeing a professional strongman at work”.**
And the rest as they say is the story on the wireless. Starting with Olaudah Equiano, Radio 4,*** at 4 this afternoon and followed by Joan Rhodes, strongest woman in the world, Great Lives Radio 4 at 4.30pm.****
Location; Radio 4
Picture; Français : Olaudah Equiano, autrement dit "Gustavus Vassa", par Daniel Orme, after W. Denton, Londres 1789, National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG D8546
*Olaudah Equiano, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaudah_Equiano
**Joan Rhodes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Rhodes
***Olaudah Equiano, Radio 4, today at 4pm, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017kj4
****Joan Rhodes, strongest woman in the world, Great Lives Radio 4 at 4.30pm,https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017kgp
No comments:
Post a Comment