“A gem stone is made after millions of years of pressure … rarely flawless, sometimes marked…”

Maya Kay is made of strong stuff. In her piece “How To Be A Strong Woman” part poem, part self-motivation, Maya explores the choices she’s had to make and how her strength is built on a bedrock of support.

With noir humour and a rousing ending, this is a real feel good piece for a Friday at 100 voices for 100 years. 

"A teeny tiny bean shaped thing, has so much love already, from all directions."

Melangell promised to be the best auntie ever. Six years later she looks back on her relationship with her nephew and how it has changed her life. 

"What a great feeling - to be so open not just with others, but also yourself. Isn't that where your first healthy relationship should start?"

As a gay teenager it wasn't always easy for Christabel Johanson. Years later, as a married woman, she is thrilled to hear a young women telling her about the exploits of female lovers in the park... In a romantic and invigorating piece, Christabel celebrates love and the freedom to chose how you express it. 

"You have to drop yourself over the edge, free fall and hope you don't break any bones."

Freya was fearless as a six year old, until she faced  the Death Slide. Would it defeat her? 

A charming piece about what it takes to overcome your fears, by a fantastic young writer, Freya Kelly, for the 100 voices for 100 years project. 

"My face tells people things at times that I don’t want them to know."

Writer and performer Robyn Addison has always been aware of her face and how others have reacted to it. In a challenging piece, Robyn talks about her anxiety and how she is learning to stop hating her face... and even love it?

"I wanted to say Yes! Of Course. But it made me think..."

Arts practitioner Viv Buckley considers her own life, 100 years after women first got the vote and asks what it would take to take up the call to arms. 

"The writers group talked about the characters as if they were real."

When writer Kate Ellis shared Lazy Legs with a writers' group it was a surprise to see that having effectively outed herself via the story, the only comments they had were on the quality of the work. Kate reads this quietly political and beautiful short story for the 100 voices for 100 years project. 

"I thought there was no link, and I hadn't achieved anything..."

Sakina came to the UK age 6 and after mastering the cultural differences, becamee the first woman in her family to go to University. Now she runs her own business, and helps other women find their voices. She nevertheless finds it hard to talk about achievement. In a warm and gentle piece Sakina galvanises us to use our voices. 

"How much of a licence do we give ourselves to do what we want to do?" 
‎Playwright and author Tamara wrote a play that was about cycling, but there was far more behind her choice of the central relationship; the idea of the bond between mothers and daughters. In this charming piece she talks about her own mother and how her parents taught her to break the rules.

"My A-Level could not prepare me for colloquial French in a Dordogne accent..."

Kerri thought she was going on a 4 month ski holiday in the Alps passed off as an educational experience, but her time as a chambermaid taught her much more than she'd expected.