WANDERING DAUGHTER

NZ Truth, Issue 1201, 6 December 1928, Page 17

WANDERING DAUGHTER

Lady From Tfte Me of Man On Modem Cooking

Long before the fight for woman's suffrage started m England, women m [the Isle of Man . had the vote and. used it with great gusto, electing members to one of the most ancient of Parliaments —the House of Keys. x

OUT against the winds would .' sweep red-sailed fleets of fishing 'boats, ready to draw the silver wealth of Man from .the ■teeming-- watera around.. In Castle'!, Russian", I ', the 'great clock which' Queen Elizabeth' presented to. the owners, ticked a; steady ,' way through the centuries. • A; little, kingdom in -itself is the* Isle of Man-r-pr so says one of its wandering daughters, Marion "Christian, . „whp is demonstrating the ins,; puts, and.idi.osyncrasies of gas-stove's to. the Wellington public. .. '. [-' "... Miss Christian learned to cook over an island stove, where the gas some-. times- arrived and sometimes did 'not: Modern ways, m spite of the progressive attitude of ■■political ladies, : there, are "new to the Island. One : - tiny train ' puffs its . way- I—twelve1 — twelve miles m forty minutes— across the island, which is' very like ; a/ minja- . . ■ture New : Zealand.- ■ . ■ . But it has only . one mountain— of which •• it is tremendously proud— and among the little green and blue bits of scenery are old ruined castles dating back to the hoary days of- earth. In a college of* Liverpool Miss Christian both completed her training and started to teach' cookery. Returning to her small; native land,. she took classes and expounded the .ways and wiles . of ■' gas over stoves where fre-quently—-if the gas so decided — coo.kr ing had be finished m the good oldfashioned frying pan; , , - , ; . "I never really knew what homecomfort was until I came to New Zealand, five years ago,"' said -Miss Christlan. "I' started straight away.' as demonstrator ( for the Wellington Gas Company-— -glasses every afternoon, and at spare moments,, journeys • to surrounding parts, .when I teach any woman; who wants to know, just- how to make, her gas. stove behave. : . "In my own island, wo^ien 'Still stoop over the old, uncomfortable ,wash-tubs. Stoves have to. be black-leaded, there are -still sooty flues to: be cleaned— in fact, the ' kitchen is still ■ a »rlson; instead of a playhouse. y "But I think New Zealand Is

i labor-saving devices. Women out - here . have realized the difference . that modern methods make. "Nowadays^ • stoves can be had -with high efficiency burners, .they can be completely . enamelled— which means that they are cleaned with a swish of a damp cloth— and utensils can be of aluminium, copper or enamel. "In the modern . stove, a complete dinner can- be cooked for a very small cost, and there is- no trouble, no 'hot and bothered 1 feeling, no being tied down night and day to the chariot wheels of that- kitchen Moloch, the oldfashioned " range. . ■ "A woman' is very foolish if she doesn't take: full- advantage of the newfreedom and convenience of domestic Jife,: and very stupid if she doesn't make her kitchen as attractive, m its- own way,'- as her drawing room. "One of my big ambitions is to study horne 1 conditions m other parts of the world— the .States . and South Africa, for example. !T left Man because I believe that women 'who stay In the same place forever get into a groove, but I should have a very .big heartache if I didn't feel that one day I. shall be able to .take myself, and whatever experience I may have gathered, back to my little Island." ...'•'■■• Coolness, cleanliness and sunshine are the three main features m the room where Miss Christian's demonstrations are held. She, herself, is a slight and very pleasant picture m her flowered chintz apron — as gay as the china which, she believes, should be on every woman's shelf. ; But -fashion, at least, is one thing i which she won't have to introduce into ■ her homeland when she gets back, for '. the Island about which Hall Came -wove" such picturesque and sentimental i romances, gets its ideas as to skirt and shinglfe direct from Paris. I N Since the red-sailed fishing boats . have made way for trawlers, Man is >; dependent on the tourist for its, strawi berry jam and tobacco, and the most up-to-date ways and conditions will be 'found m the hotels, to cohtafest with Queen Elizabeth's ancient CTbck and • the 'bits of timeworn stone showipg tfe-