Warm, But Weak

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 479, 27 August 1948, Page 13

Warm, But Weak

AM always willing to sample a new brew, but I found that Afternoon Tea with Eleanor, from 4YA, wasn’t as well-made a cup as I could have wished; however, I judged it from one sip only, and future tasting may reveal a different flavour, Eleanor’s session is labelled "For the Scottish Housewife"; it is introduced by some lively modern music with a Scottish-airs sound, and the speaker’s voice has a charming hint of Scotland also. The programme which I heard consisted of two extracts with a similar background-an account of the woollen goods and hosiery turned out in a Scottish town (this piece was nicely calculated,- with its descriptions of tweeds and woollen materials of delightful colour and design, to arouse the envy of the majority of New Zealand housewives), and another equally interesting account dealing with a Scottish worker in metalcraft and woodcarving. It was a pity that Eleanor didn’t put her good material and her rather "different" voice to better use. Instead, the rattling of pages and her rather flat delivery, with a few hesitant slips, revealed the fact that she was merely reading her notes and gave the session the suggestion of a lecture-room. Had it been presented with the impromptu gusto of some other sessions addressed to women (sessions whose sole merit, often, is the informality with which their announcers impart a great deal of practically. useless information), this particular tea-cup session would be of appeal to women whose intelligence demands something more than recipes for sponge cake and beauty treatments.