WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 25, 2 January 1931, Page 31

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

WOMEN of to-day pay little attenz tion to rainy days.:. They simply \ don appropriate clothes and sally forth unconcernedly, knowing, probably, that a ‘brisk walk-in the rain is ‘the finest beauty treatment they can get. Soft rainwater, splashing on the face, tones up the circulation under the skin and makes lines and wrinkles disappear. A bath or jug set out in a down-pouring shower "will collect enough water for the toilet and both hair and complexion will benefit thereby to an extraordinary degree.

RATHHR bizarre fashion in Paris is to have one’s cigarettes to match the colour of the finger-nails! At fashionable women’s clubs you will see nails of pale lilac, amber, rose colour, ‘apple green, and the owners of which, in order to it," will smoke monogrammed, coloured cigarto match... ne : * 2 * T ERD is a beautiful line of china with a virtue all its own, known as Lustre Ware. You will see men, women and children fascinated by the exquisite.designs of tea and coffee services. They will stand with faces glued to the windows before old lustre ware, which has become. very popular lately, and that of the modern potters is of a very’ high quality, quite worthy of the old models they. have followed. . = * = HENEVER Americans want something done they get together and do it. During the month of October they were credited with having had a strenuous campaign for making all true Americans "doughnut conscious." They called it a "National Doughnut Month" and devoted the services of a complete office staff to the task of making people eat doughnuts, all day and every day up to October 81. What happened after that date has not yet been disclosed, but the doctors’ income-tax contributions will doubtless make a substantial addition to the national exchequer. an * * . s A FRIEND who has just returned from London, tells me that the new fashions in long trailing dresses have forced women to adopt a new movement in walking. This is called the "lazy-glide" walk, reminiscent of mannequin parades and the glinking slither adopted by film vamps. From this you may gather that it is not in the least becoming to the average woman. Often in West. End restaurants and theatres one sees a woman progressing in the prescribed manner along the aisle till suddenly she forgets, and takes to the freeswinging stride of the unfettered female. Result: Disaster to a forty-guinea frock. * * " ‘HE almost world-wide use of electricity. should \ _ help to solve the unemployment problem, for it is quite possible to scatter small electrically equiped factories all over the country districts, which might prevent the deplorable drift from the healthy and cheaper living conditions of the country to the already crowded towns. Blectricity also allows for work being carried out under pleasant conditions, and removes the necessity for a large amount of manual labour, thus lessening the differences between town and country life. If this question were considered carefully, and money was used for electrical factories, in time there would be a reduction in the flow of population citywards, and it would help to bring about instead the population of country areas. / Wit the forthcoming visit of Lord and Lady \- Baden-Powell to the Dominion, the Girl ' Guides will be very much in the limelight. It is twenty-one years since the movement was begun by the Chief Scout’s sister, Miss Agnes BadenPowell, in response to hundreds of letters from

girls, begging to be allowed to join the Boy Scouts. At the béginning Miss Baden-Powell met with many difficulties, for she had no money and no office, but ‘she carried on courageously, and she herself wrote the whole of the first Girl Guides’ Handbook, published in 1910. Now the movement has spread all over the world, and at the head office over-one hundred .and: twenty secretaries are employed. . *x , * x HENRY FORD, in his autobiography, said that Thomas Edison gave him his first ‘encouragement thirty-four: years ago. Mr. Ford, having described the making of his first and second horseless cars to Mr. Edison, was encouraged by these words from the great man: "Young man, that’s. the thing; you have it. Keep at it. Elec-

trie cars must keep near to power stations. The storage battery is too heavy; steam cars won’t do either, for they have to have a boiler and fire. Your ear carries its own power plant-neo fire, no boiler, no smoke and no steam. You have the thing. Keep at it." moh * ed * H2ARING sundry groans from the male members of the family at the breakfast table this morning, I inquired the reason thereof, and was nearly deafened by the reply. ‘"Income-tax," they roared in unison, brandishing their assessment forms in my face. "Well, well: no need to get hot and bothered over it," I replied; "just listen to this," and I read them the following tale from my "Daily Sketch." "Reuter tells of a Holstein peasant who, unable to pay his income-tax in cash, decided to do so with deliveries in kind. Driving up to the local tax office, he deposited in the-court-yard four tons of red cabbages, with the remark: ‘I have paid my taxes.’?" "Now," I continued, reviewing the assembled males with a critical eye, "You, George, could roll up with a few bales of wool; Jack with several samples of ‘gents’’ natty suitings from the warehouse; while young Mick, who thinks he’s a second George Robey, might sing a few comic songs outside the Government Buildings." Yells of derision from all but Mick, who demanded hotly: "And what do you suppose you could do, Smart One?"’- "Oh, I’d leave a few prize poems on the tax-collector’s desk," said I modéstly.

L0oOEkING back: on-the past year, we recall many things we made up our minds to do, but they were not done, especially connected. with our home; those cupboards we intended to turn out, and all the household re ceipts of long ago that we meant to sort out and burn. ‘Then there was our cookery book, which we intended to compile ourselves; to typewrite neatly on paper all the recipes which our friends gave us. We were going to have them bound in book form. . "Do

ye the nexte thinge"’ is a good motto for a housekeeper, and the New Year is the best time of all for forming our resolutions of last year all over again. , sit * * ‘ % . HD new fashions for the English winter season demand a somewhat darker shade of hosiery for out-of-door wear;. mushroom and nut ‘brown shades predominating. Many stockings are decorated with slender clocks, the embroidery of which is carried out in contrasting colours. Heels compromise between square and pointed, starting with a slope and ending squarely. Hyven stockings for evening wear are in darker hues. Gunmetal, ina very fine gauge, is the favourite wear with black frocks, beaver and mole being chosen for evening gowns of the darker colours. For white dresses champagne tints seem to be holding their own, but pinky beige has quite definitely gone out for day or evening wear. x Py * JN a letter I received from a friend in Germany, it was stated that "Englishmen and colonials are warmly welcomed in Germany, and are made much of; and it is a very easy matter for an Hnglishman to obtain a good position here. Living is ridiculously cheap. I am living in the greatest possible comfort for the large sum of thirty shillings per week. Perhaps our excellent reception in this country is due to the fact that our army of occupation left a very favourable impression behind them. A prominent German, expressing the voice of the people, said to an Anglican bishop: ‘We shall always remember you sent us an: army of gentlemen.’ Therefore, we have to thank the courtesy and self-control of the British soldier. Perhaps it is the first time in the world’s history that foreign troops have occupied a country without arousing bitterness and hatred. We liked the Germans and the Germans liked us,’ (says a soldier from the Rhine). ‘We have always had a square deal from the British. (A resident of Wies-baden).-Mary HE." ° FrASHION S in habies’ cots and their trimmings change from time to time, in the same way as do those for baby clothes and. nursery furnishings (says an English writer). The canopied cots that have been popular so long, are run very close in favour to-day by those with a hood, or a simple head rail. Some mothers prefer a cot without any of these, but with a mosquito net support, which allows a net to be thrown at night over the cot, and protects baby from fiies or other insects, These nets look very dainty edged with lace, and as they are transparent, the cot trimmings can be seen through them. Net, organdie, spotted muslin and voile. frilled or hemstitched, are favourite materials for, trimming cots, because they are so easily kept clean and look so dainty. When in: plain white, they are usually lined with a colour that is repeated in a large rosette on one corner of the cot cover. White organdie with pink or blue floral sprigs is often used with linings and trimmings to match the sprig. When more elaborate materials are used they are chosen, as a rule, to fit in with the colour scheme of the nursery, One pretty cot I saw recently in a nursery with pastel blue walls and cork floor-covering in the same shade, was trimmed with lace-edged ecru net over blue satin, and. it had large bows of blue satin ribbon to finish the hood and the cover. An equally happy idea was a cot trimming of smoke grey ninon over pink ninon, having pink flowers and green leaves appliqued on it.

THD. fashions for men’ seem to be equally as important as those for women. This year the shops have very pretty brocaded rayon dressing: gowns for’ men in brilliant colours of rich reds, blues and greens, One -very charming. gown I. saw. in a. window the other day was of artificial silk in gold shot with blue. There are other gowns of plain face cloths ‘in maroon, blue, grey, brown and fawn with .pockets embroidered with fancy badges and monograms. These would make an ideal New: Year’s gift. Mss. . ANITA LOOS, author of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," is topublish another book very shortly. It will be called "The Better Things of Life.’ At present it is running in "Cosmopolitan" and "Nash's "? magazines, *. ee Sime HERBHRT AUSTIN stated at the annual banquet of the Austin Motor Company: that the sales of Austin motors showed an increase of 80 per cent. over those of last’ year. Fo a * PROBABLY. .the most popular and most useful of fruits is the lemon. No, one does not eat it for pleasure, but it is of tremendous household =-

value. We fiy to it to remove a stain, for hot drinks to prevent a chill, to give flavour to an insipid dish, to take away the over-sweetness from. another, to whiten our hands, to shampoo our hair and give it a glossy look, to ease a sore throat, and singers are known to suck a lemon before a recital. It also cleans brass, cures rheumatism, and is a health-giving fruit, and no home should be without it. VISITING a house the other day, I saw two things there I was determined to improve my home by having. One was a kitchen table with a white porcelain enamel top, which was fitted with a most useful cupboard underneath. The other was an ironing cupboard recessed in the wall, with an ironing board. which lets down for use. It is impossible almost to be without these ironing boards in summer if you launder your own summer frocks. a 2 = [THE other day I asked an old couple aged 93 and 92 what was their formula for longevity. ‘Plain food," replied the old lady promptly, "and hard work. When I was. a little girl I was sent out to work and for 1/6 a day I worked twelve hours." Her husband added cheerfully: "We both of us have never known anything but hard work, and it doesn’t look as though it hurt us, does it?"

ALISON