THE TYRANNY OF THE JOINT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 15, 8 April 1927, Page 5

THE TYRANNY OF THE JOINT

SAFETY FIRST COOKERY BY KATHLEEN It is said that all the good counsel one may safely give to the young bride as to how to “manage” her husband can be summed up in the three words —"Feed the brute.” This is, no doubt, a very shocking piece of advice and one which no bride—and certainly not a young one—can regard as anything but a rather malicious joke. ASKING FAVOURS And yet, every girl knows full well that the most opportune moment at which to coax a favour from her father is invariably after he has had a good meal. And, incredible though it may seem at first, her husband is really only a perfectly ordinary man, who may be coaxed and wheedled by perfectly ordinary methods. THE “STAND-BY” Now, it stands to reason, that the better the dinner the more goodhumoured the man, and, therefore, the easier it is to inveigle him into giving some utterly extravagant promise that he would never have given on an empty stomach.

This desirable frame of mind is never visible when the poor “brute” is fed, week in, week out, on roast beef and potatoes on Monday, cold beef- and pickles on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Irish stew for the rest of the week. Certainly, a weekly menu such as this leaves no room for failure in cooking. It is absolutely safe. That is about the only good thing that can be said of it. On the other hand, think of the monotony! Even if the great “stand-by” of the safety-first menu were a dainty dish, familiarity would still breed contempt. But the “standby” is usually, at best, dull and thoroughly uninteresting. There is, of course, a certain amount of risk attached to the launching of an entirely new dish on a hungry husband. TRY SOMETHING NEW This risk, however, can easily be minimised by “trying-out” the new recipe first on oneself at lunch-time, or whenever there is no masculine scorn to reduce one to tears should the dish prove a failure. Here is a most important rule to be observed in the teaching of oneself to prepare a new dish. Never, never let the unsuspecting male have even a glimpse of the failures. Quietly give them to the dog or dispose of them by some discreet method, and then turn to the tin-opener, and proceed to make one of those emergency meals which are the strongest point in many a woman’s knowledge of cookery. Believe me, it’s the far more economical method in the long run! No man will really mind such a meal once in a way, if, as a result of his enforced frugality, he gets a “dish delectable” now and then, and a change from the eternal “joint” that massive pillar of the “safety-first” housewife. IS THE SKIRT TIDE TURNING SHOULD IT BE LONGER BY PAULINE BOUCHIER Skirts remained extremely short all last season, and now the fashion-de-signers, those very restless people, whisper that it is quite time they lengthened the frocks. That is why many extra touches are introduced, such as net hems, hanging points, fringes of beads and exotic scallops, all of which give the illusion of length, even though the foundation skirts may still be no more than knee length. Undoubtedly the vogue for big hats with broad brims is gradually, but surely, asserting itself. These are aptly labelled Valencia models. And when a woman is so well-hatted, she is inclined to look askance at her brief knee-length skirts. With the Spanish hat she desires a cloak made with numerous folds, and, simultaneouslv she discovers that an inch or so much be added to cover a little of her legs. SOME STAGE FROCKS In a charmingly-dressed revue in town, where the leading lady wears many ultra-smart and attractive gowns, one is made with a drapery that cascades, to give added length to one side of the skirt. There are seen, in another musical show, many delightful models, including a black taffetas frock, with a wide band of ecru net at the hem, worn over a shorter, pale pink slip. Here the frock dips at the back, making it several inches longer than in front. Some charming models, shown in a West End modiste’s the other day, were all made with tight, knee-length skirts, but with original, hanging ‘‘additions.” For instance, on one frock, numerous flounces were arranged in front of the skirt only; they ran here and there and floated down well past the hem line. COVERED WITH RAGS Another frock was adorned by a silk apron which dipped at one side. Then on a very striking model long, ragged silk panels were sewn over the front of the skirt. All these floating, and uneven, trimmings were in front of the frock, while the backs were left severely plain.

arrangements for everyone’s enjoyment left nothing to be desired. Among those present were Mesdames Taylor and Willis, Misses A. and L. Taylor, J. Wernham, M. Wooley, K. McGill, B. Wardell, J. Johnson, W. Barnes, O. Hewitt, P. Keys, C. and R. Sharp, P. Sutherland, Wilson, Parkes, Simpson and Walters, Messrs. G. Willis, J. Willis, W. Davies, P. Fullbrook, A. Walters, G. Brown, H. Simpson, L. Newman, J. Lyons, B. McGill, A. Coles, J. McPhail, D. Newman, D. Leslie and J. Fernley. GIRLS OF THIRTY (By MRS. ABBIE HARGRAVE.) When the girls of to-day count up their blessings, I wonder how often they give thanks, not alone for their youth, but for the time it lasts? My thoughts were set in this direction by reading an advertisement in a daily paper in which a “girl of 30” was sought to fulfil some post. Not so long ago, as a girl, anyone aged 30 didn’t exist, she was a woman from whom all signs of youth had been mercilessly striped away. If she was still unmarried she was considered an “old maid.” If by some strange chance she did marry as late as that, it was hardly considered “the thing”; unfair on the younger set; a dangprous experiment for a faded woman of ripe years to undertake! BONNETS AT EIGHTEEN People who are middle-aged now can remember tales of their greatgrandmothers, or possibly their grandmothers, who, marrying at 18 or so, were forced by fashion to hide their hair away for the rest of their lives under caps and bonnets! Their manners matched their caps in sedateness. They were slaves to their large families, and to their overbearing husbands. Their personal lives centred in the past—the short past of girlhood that was all buried with their teens.

In their trailing skirts that were so cramping in, the ball-room, so unsanitary in the street, with their dangerous 19-inch waists; their many petticoats and their chaperoned lives, life was tame as compared with the free, sensible lives of their daughters and nieces. No one who might advertise f#r their services thought of them as “girls.” So it isn’t just because present-day girls wear their skirts short, leave their pretty arms bare and shingle their heads that they score. The time they may go on doing these things, and their like, counts. —Married or unmarried no one need look or behave—except as she feels. HAPPIER DAYS Here and there, of course, there are people still lamenting that times are not what they were. The wise say, a good thing they are not! No woman who is treated as young, who is heaithy and in good spirits, is likely to make a dull, care-laden wife, a depressed, uninvigorating mother —or even a gloom-bringing maiden aunt! Good spirits are infectious, homes tend to become brighter and brighter, and the world a better place to inherit. By holding fast to what they have in this matter of youth, the young 'people are doing more for the generation to follow than has ever done before. Yet it won’t hurt them to count the opportunity among their blessings!