TAKE PITY ON YOUR GUEST!

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 137, 31 August 1927, Page 5

TAKE PITY ON YOUR GUEST!

Don't confuse hospitality with excessive fussiness. It is embarrassing, and a little irritating, as well, when one’s hostess seems to concern herself effusively about one’s general comfort and contentment. Such behaviour makes the unfortunate guest fear and regret that he or she is causing a great deal of trouble, a state of mind one should always be at pains to disperse. And don’t offer a continual series of apologies for this, that, or the other small shortcomings in your domestic and household arrangements. A simple preliminary statement, “I hope you’ll excuse anything that isn’t quite right.” or some remark of the kind, should be explanatory, and quite sufficient. It becomes an effort to have to keep reassuring one’s hostess at frequent intervals that everything is just what one could desire, as of course out of politeness one is forced to do whether it really is or not. PROTECT HER FROM YOUR PETS Don’t let your pets worry and distract the attention of your guests. “Oh, but I like animals,” protests your friend, with a set smile, while your spoilt terrier rubs multitudes of short hairs off on her smart costume, or your cat’s muddied paws mark her stockings. The thing is done, and she has to say it doesn’t matter, but you should not have exposed her to such accidents. The same may be said

of your children. It is not everybody who enjoys listening to precocious youngsters “showing off” at the instigation of fond parents, or cares for jammy fingers in too close proximity. If you are short of “help,” and your guests seem genuinely anxious to lend a hand, do let them. They will enjoy waiting on themselves, and lose the uncomfortable feeling that they might have if you refused and left them to sit in state while you worked. BE TACTFUL WITH THE SHY Don’t be too insistent, and deaf to genuine protests, if you are trying to persuade a shy guest to contribute to the general entertainment. Some people hate to be dragged into the limelight, and are miserably aware , that they have no “parlour tricks.” If ! you live in the country, and enjoy | long swinging walks, don’t be too certain that your town-bred guest will be delighted to accompany you, , though she may be too courteous to | make a determined demur. Don’t map out a concise programme of events for i a week-end visit, and insist that every- j one shall adhere to your plans. People are much happier if they are allow r ed to do just as they like and nobody persists in “entertaining” them. If you live any distance from a station, arrange that there is some conveyance to fetch your guests to and from your house. Don’t leave this to chance, and possibly otherwise engaged cabdrivers. INDISPENSABLE LUXURIES Don’t expect guests to go to bed in cold bedrooms after sitting over the fire downstairs. Most people are ac-

customed at least to a hot water bottle, and miss the small luxuries of a warm room and bed when away from home. Put an extra blanket or rug handy in case they feel the cold during the night. Make breakfast a movable feast. Don’t be uncompromising about the exact time when coffee will be served hot, and the eggs and bacon will be put on. the table. Do arrange that there shall be hot water available for the guests’ matutinal baths, and admonish the family about leaving damp towels, and their respective sponges, shaving tackle, etc., all over the place. An untidy bathroom has a sadly inhospitable look on a chill morning, and tepid water is the finishing blow.