CWI MEETING

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 29, 18 December 1984, Page 21

CWI MEETING

The November meeting was held at the home of Mrs Bev Yewen. Three visitors were welcomed: Mrs Hazel Stuart, her daughter Sandra and Mrs K. Horn, the mother of one of the members. To celebrate International month members were entertained by two speakers, Mrs Zoe Norman from Malaysia and Mrs Irene Barnett, who grew up in Singapore. Mrs Norman described to us her elaborate, traditional, Moslem wedding. There were more than two thousand guests at the wedding which involved three ceremonies. The bride and groom are not supposed to smile or laugh at all and the guests and onlookers delight in trying to make them smile by telling jokes and warning the eouple of tjie freedom they are giving up. Unlike the usual dowry system, it is the man who gives the woman a dowry. Mrs Barnett told of her life as a child. It was a very hard life, with many children and few luxuries, no running water or electricity. Irene was. taken out of school at ten to help run the household. The food eaten by the Chinese people of Singapore is very different from Western fare. Irene was used to eating boiled rice and dried salted fish for breakfast. There were few problems with tooth decay as the diet consists of few sweet foods and an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh fruit juices were drunk all the time. At the conclusion of the talk members shared an international feast with dishes from all over the world.