Mundane Musings

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 254, 17 January 1928, Page 4

Mundane Musings

A Cure for Colds One advantage of having an extenj sion of the telephone in your room is | that when you are temporarily indis- ! posed with a cold your robust friends j can enjoy themselves ringing up and telling you what to do about it. I You are just dozing in a semirecumbent state, beside a piece of cold toast and a copy of “Be Good and You Will Be Well,” lent to you by dear old Mrs. Crummitt, when the telephone bell rings. “Hullo!” “Hullo! ” “I hear you’ve got a cold. How did you manage that?” “Dunno: got eold feet on account of the over-draught, I suppose.” j “Well* I’m awfully sorry to hear — oh, I say, that’s rather good! Cold feet—overdraft —ha, ha! ” “Glad you’ve seen it. I saw it at once—in “Snappy Snippets.’ ” “What are you taking for it?” “Something based on decomposing iron the doctor calls a tonic.” “Have you ever had Spoof’s BlimoBlatherites?” “Never. Where do you get it?” “Any chemist—or almost any. I’ll send you round a bottle.” “Good heavens! Is it a medicine? I thought it was a disease. Don’t bother, please ” “No bother at all. I’ll send it round this evening. Cheerio.” =? « c You are just reclining in an exhausted state, wondering exactly why you were born, when there is another ring. “Hullo!” “Caught a cold, I hear. How did you get it?” “Got wet feet swimming on Saturday, I expect.” “Good. It’s the best thing you can wear.” “What is?” “Flannel —didn’t you say you'd got both feet sitting in flannel? By the way, would you like the name of a really good tonic?” “No.” r “All right—l’ll give it to you. It’s called Hogger’s Anti-koff Co-operative Extract, and it’s simply wonderful. I’ll send you round some at once.” “Oh, I say, please don’t- ” “No trouble at all—only too pleased. Bye-bye.” You have cast a philosophical and rheumy eye over the general complicated structure of life, and decided it simply was not worth while, when there is a third ring. “Hullo!” “Gr-r-ough.” “Sorry to hear you’re laid up, old tiling How on earth ” “Got into a cold-air pocket while driving the car!” “What!” “That was what you were going to ask me, wasn’t it?” “Of course I wasn’t. I was going to ask you how you caught your cold. But I suppose it’s made you a bit thick in the head Have you tried putting your feet in hot water and mustard?” “No!” “Then why don’t you?” “Because I don’t want to.” “My dear girl, you must be reason- j able. By the way, have you tried ” | “No, I haven’t.” “Why, you haven’t even heard what j I was going to say.’* “No, but I can guess. You were I going to ask me if I’d tried Bumpus’s Non-stop Accumulative Hydro-predi-cates.” “I don’t know that one. Is it good " I was going to ask you if you’d tried Stringhammer’s Patent Polyglot Syrup. It’s marvellous.- It cured our cat in no time. It quite stopped him losing his fur.” “Thanks—but I’m insured against the loss of mine,” “As a matter of fact. I’ve sent you round a jar. It ought to be with you presently. Chin-chin.” The fact that the fourth ring concurs with your decision that, since life

is clearly futile, it seems merely weakminded to prolong it, may- be coincidence, or again it may not “Hullo.” *Tm so sorry about your cold. I wonder how ” “I got stuck head downwards for some hours in the Goodwin Sands, and I only had my thin shoes on.'" Yes, thanks, I’ve tried putting my feet in Spoof’s Blimo-BlatheriteSj and I’m now taking Hogger’s First Debenture Hypopredicates and Stringhammer’s 6 per cent. Co-operative Extract, and Bumpus’s Gilt-edged Mustard and water, so don’t bother to send anything round. So-long.”

COFFEE AND COLOURS

BRIGHTER BREAKFASTS By‘PAULINE BOUCHIER It is just at this time of the year, when the house has been cleaned, and perhaps redecorated, that one is anxious to devise distinctive schemes of table decoration. All the meals deserve careful thought, but if anything can be done to make more delightful the first meal of the day—and all realise how important it is to start the day well — this will be one’s first consideration. Simple and effective schemes are lay no means expensive. The first thing to do is to have the table nearer the window, if possible, in order to get the very best of the bright mornings. Blue, besides being fashionable, is a bright but soothing shade to have on the breakfast table. This might well be the plain colour of the cloth and napkins. Or a white damask cloth with a broad band of blue is very attractive when laid with blue and cream china. Bright pottery breakfast-sets •with a purple ground, have orange and blue stripes, and flower vases can be bought to match. To go with this crockery is an unbleached linen cloth, inset with lines of stitching which again introduce the gay blue note. Fruit being so popular a breakfast dish, there are many charming bowls, standing on plates which are just large enough to hold an orange -or grape fruit. Foliage jars in dull pottery could harmonise with the colour scheme, or they might be in black. A large black jar would provide a fashionable note, now that black is so generally used for furnishings. A black jar on a lemon cloth, laid with lemon crockery, and filled with seasonable goldencoloured flowers would not be at all sombre. The vogue for straight lines is responsible for bright green and orange jam and marmalade jars, and condiment holders, which are made of china in the shape of straight cups with lids to match. Two very useful gadgets which have been seen on the breakfast table are a couple of rings attached to a handle so that the top of eggs can be snipped off with the least trouble. Then a mustard pot has been made which is pressed from the base, when the mustard squeezes out at the top, giving just sufficient for one dish. This pot is airtight. Knives with glass blades are used to cut the breakfast fruit. For those occasions when breakfast is served in the bedroom, there are pretty coloured enamelled trays, which can be bought to tone with the walls of the room, and they look well l<tdened with crockery of a contrasting colour. A vivid scheme is provided bimagenta cups and saucers on a blue enamelled tray, with a buff aqimalcosy over the tea or coffee pot.