WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 18, 14 November 1930, Page 33

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

For rejuvenation there are many ‘methods: advocated, from the Voronoff gland downward, but surely the most pleasant of them all must be the grape cure, Every September many «English people go to a little village in the Tyrol, where they live entirely on ripe, luscious grapes for two or three weeks. They begin with small quantities, gradually increasing to several pounds a day, and the rejuvenating effect is said to be really marvellous, @ s =

To prevent bottles containing liquid from leaking when travelling, it will be found effective to. seal. them up with candle-grease. While _ the grease is still warm, smooth it over the edge of the brim, and there need be no fear of leakage om the bottle. . @ * * URBELY those who admire Mr. Arnold Bennett did not know he sings and composes acceptably. His accompaniments are always simple, and his singing voice is good enough to secure him _an engagement in any chorus. What is more, he has the rare gift of knowing what his words mean, and he gives them every possible point. Ld * ® HE famous Oberammergau Passion Play is to be produced in HEngland for the first time. The site for the: production has not yet been chosen, but it will very probably be some village ‘with beautiful: surroundings, not too far from London. ‘A huge covered-in ampitheatre and a shecially large stage would be erected. The profits from the presentations are to go to charities. * ° * » _ PRESENT-DAY fashions decreeing, as they do, long, picturesque frocks for evening and short modern dresses for day-time, make the hair- dressing question rather a problem. But whatever style is chosen, it is necessary that the contour of the head be clearly shown if one wishes ’ to be fashionable. Fussy and elaborate coiffures ‘are quite definitely ruled out as incorrect, * & £ From Budapest comes an account of a case in _ which a lady sued for damages for a ruined dress and compensation "for feelings of shame." Wearing a dress with a very long train, she was standing on the platform of a tramecar, when a man, in jumping from the car, tripped on her skirt. « The next moment the lady found herself clad in a‘ dress reaching only to her waist and a blush reaching to the roots of her hair. Fortunately the hour of crisis produced its Solomon, the judge announcing that it was uncertain whether the fault was with the fashion or with the lady who followed it. So women must understand that they &re no more entitled to compensation from a man Who breaks his neck in tripping over their skirts than from a citizen who damages a hatpin by knocking his eye against it. ea x * Miss ELEANOR LODGE, a sister of Sir Oliver ' Lodge, was the first woman to receive the degree of Doctor of Literature at Oxford. She was also Principal of the Westfield College for Women (University of London), and has only recently resigned her position. * Bd e & ie "Jockeys, Crooks and Kings,’ written by Winnie O’Connor, the "winning jockey," who has ridden in ten thousand races and -won twothousand five hundred of them, tells of the use of elastic accelerators. It seems uncreditable ' that such things were used, but it is true.’ There were electric spurs which were worked by having a battery strapped round the jockey’s waist, under

his packet, for secrecy. There was a wire connected to:each spur, and to get the full benefit of the shock;. both spurs were used simultaneously. Then there was an electric ring, the battery of which was. small and could be concealed in the palm. This ring was pressed against the horse’s neck; but it was only used near the post and halfway round.the course. Another electric device was a whip in which a small battery was concealed. A.fine-copper wire ran to the copper tip of the whip, and the jockey pressed the button, simultaneously pressing the copper tip against the horse. The jockeys of those days certainly had more knowledge: of electricity than the trusting and simple stewards, who probably knew, little or nothing about electricity. & * s [HE 25th Crystal Palace Brass Band Contest was held. at the end of September, and the test piece for the championship was specially written for them by Sir Edward Elgar. The first ‘eontest piece Sir Arthur Sullivan composed. An-

other musical note of interest is that Signor Toscanini, the celebrated conductor, will in all probability take charge of the Bayreuter musical festival in future. 2 & 5] ie is apparent from the winter lists of the English publishing firms that a reaction is taking place from the type of literature that has hitherto been most popular. War novels are still with us and new ones are appearing, but-it is evident that their popularity is on the wane. Biographies, on the contrary, are much in demand. Not the heavy, stodgy type of biography, but works from the pens of eminently readable authors like Andre Maurois, Lytton Strachey and Philip Guedalla. In order to put the matter to the test, I asked six people whether they had read Buchan’s "Montrose." Four replied in the affirmative, and three of them, I am certain,-were telling the truth. The point is that these were not specially "high-brow" people-just ordinary humans who appreciate a well-told tale when they can get it. So those pessimists who are constantly bewailing our depraved taste in literature will have to begin looking for another grievance. * * bd Miss ‘MAY EARDLY-WILMOT, who -wrote the words of "Little Grey Home in the’ West" and several other popular songs, is also a lecturer and a leader of community singing. We are to have the pleasure in New Zealand of a visit from her at an early date.

i setting out to select the design of one’s future home, there are four styles from which to choose: the Georgian, the Spanish, the Tudor, and the Elizabethan. Tirst, let us take the dignified Georgian, with a character all its own. ‘The planning is usually square, with a portico, sash windows, and very often shutters are used. Everything is built simply, but there can be no corners or anything "shoddy." Bverything must be of the very bestjn other words, a well groomed and tailored house. ‘The Spanish house is

totally different. This is a sunshine home, and is built to protect the occupants from the sun. The windows are small, and the planning irregular, Outside the windows little balconies with decorative ironwork can be used. This type of house has great possibilities. Now comes the Tudor and Blizabethan. These are informal, and allow for small -corners, ingle-nooks, odd windows. A woman ‘with an artistic nature can do anything with the interior of these houses.. They just spell opportunity. ’ * % ERE is an honest stupidity in which there is a touch of the "pathos and sublime of human life’ :-At an American railway: terminus a coloured employee was complaining to an official that he had not hada rise for over thirty-five years. "What is your job?’ he was asked.- "Oh, when ‘ the. trains come in I hit the wheels with a hammer." "What do you do that for?" "I dun-no." * S 2 OW to wash cretonnes, chintz or coloured linens repeatedly and yet retain their decicate colourings is a problem that has exercised many housewives. The solution lies in bran--water. Put some medium bran into muslin bags, leaving enough room for it to swell to about four times its size. Put the bags into a large enamelled pan of water and boil, or rather simmer for about an hour. One gallon of water to each pint of bran will be enough. When the boiling is completed, strain the liquid into a basin and repeat with an equal quantity of water. When washing, use the stronger brew, then repeat with the second. Unless the article is very soiled, soap will not be necessary. Anything requiring a slight stiffening can be rinsed in the weak bran water, and starch is unnecessary. Do not rinse ' in clear water afterwards if the article is to be stiff. For all linens, chintzes and cretonnes this slight bran stiffening will be quite enough, as too much stiffness spoils the hang of draperies. R S ig F{CCENTRIC creations were to be seen at the opening night of the new Cambridge Theatre, London. Beatrice Lillie, starring in ‘"Charlot’s Masquerade," appeared in exotic pyjamas, the trousers of which gave the effect of a full skirt when standing and only disclosed their real identity when in motion. An unusual and very modern touch was a hip yoke of lume tissue. % g a N a magazine recently I saw the title of a cookery article, "What shall I make for a change?" But it is a moot point whether the average person wants a change. Have you ever watched the tourist on his travels abroad? Every time he makes straight for a hotel which advertises itself as "a: home from home," and where he will be sure of getting the dishes he has been accustomed to in his own household. I was confirmed by the following words from a correspondent in the "Radio Times": This year I spent part of my holiday in the little inn of a Spanish fishing village (he says). The cooking was excellent, but uninteresting. Outside were the gnarled olive trees and the fantastic prickly pears, but on the table were the dishes which the standardised Continental hotel has learnt to provide for Hnglish guests. At last we dared to ask the pleasant manageress if we might not have a Spanish dish. The request astonished her; experience had taught

Thought for the Week

‘Tt is a great satisfaction to think that although you have failed. to. achieve all that you had hoped for, you may have been able to make the world a little better for your having

lived in it."

Philip

Snowden

her that English travellers abhor adventures in food. But with this invitation the cook gave rein to her fancy-. I dare not trust my memory to record the more elaborate triumphs of her art. The simplest of her dishes showed daring. It was a cabbage boiled with raisins and pine-kernels. To so ennoble that proletarian vegetable was an inspiration of true art. OWADAYS people are very keen on’ collecting; it may be stamps, birds’ eggs, old prints, coins, old china, butterflies or first editions. Mr. A. H. Vachell had a love of collecting, and he writes of it:-‘"I find something that pleases me. I buy it; and when it has: become mine I set perhaps, an inordinate value on _ it. This attachment is sentimental. When I glance at it, I recall the circumstances under which I bought it, the pleasant companion who was with me, the haggling, the triumphant acquisition, the happy moments finding the right place for it . . . It ceases to become a ‘stick’ or a ‘stone’; it has become part of myself; part of my past. I lack the heart to throw it into the street." Mr. Vachell does not claim to be a "true collector," because the true collector will get rid of any specimen to make way for a better.

ALISON