WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 51, 3 July 1931, Page 34

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Too Much Accent. A PARAGRAPH from "John 0’ London’s" :- . "T have been troubled for some time by that aristocratic accent which is usnally practised by the richer classes, and often imitated by the lesser ones. A person I know thinks that it is a mark of good education and good taste. I maintained that it is bad taste, and that it would not be used by a well-educated person of good sense, whatever he was brought up in. Would you mind putting us right?’ My friend must remember that what he calls the "aristoeratie accent" is acquired in aristocratic surroundings in just the same way as the Whitechapel accent is acquired in Whitechapel, and that those who are early-trained to use them are to an extent blameless. This does not alter the fact that both accents are bad. It is as bad to pronounce "refined" "refayned": as it is to pronounced "paper" "piper." Bach may be a mark of education of a certain grade, but neither is a mark of good taste. The Tint That Cheers. 'H® narrow hall in small houses is usually badly lighted, as far as natural light is concerned, usually depending upon the fanlight over the front door or the light that trickles downstairs from a landing window. For this reason it is a wise plan to keep to a cheerful colour scheme, and avoid. dark tints. Wailpaper may be used, but largé patterns must be avoided; indeed, one wellknown decorator advises against patterned wallpapers for halls, and makes this a general rule. Plain papers, distemper or paint can be used with good effect. Warm tones of yellow are generally successful-they suggest sunshine and brightness, and as well as reflecting more sunlight than dark colours, they yield better results for any given amount of artificial light. Warm tones of cream or beige or 2 earefully-chosen pale green tint that are also pleasing and certain tones of grey are satisfactory, if adequate colour relief is afforded by carpets aud curtains. A. cheerful colour scheme for a tiny hail in a small house or country cottage can be achieved with whitewashed walis and ceiling, brick red stair carpet or rush matting, and a floor surround of red tiled linoleum (if the hall lacks re tiles) round a square of rush mat- g. Life Aboard a Soviet Ship. A WELL-KNOWN resident of Wellington, now abroad with her husband, writes thus concerning the Sovjet, with which they are both entirely in sympathy :-‘We embarked for Red Russia at London Bridge, in a. Soviet ship, and sailed away down the Thames on a spring evening under the great uplifted span of the Tower Bridge, our passengers singing lustily the International, to the delight of our Russian crew and the English dockers on the wharves. It was most interesting to observe the attitude of the crews and passengers of other ships as we passed them. One pleasure steamer returning from Margate, and crowded with readers of the ‘Daily Mail’ (the most scurrilous and popular Tory paper jn England), received our farewell wares in stony silence, with the exception of one steward in the bow, who waved unobtrusively as if frightened the captain might see him. but a Soviet incoming ship shouted friendly greeting to us. Mostly, though, we were coldly received by all nationalities

with the exception of a sailor here and there. Our cabin was far more com-~ fortable than any we have had on the crossing to Australia, though not so elaborate as the one we had on our last voyage to England: two real beds, dressing-table, wardrobe, water laid on, electric fan, steam heat and reading lamps, with simple and tasteful decoration. It is only costing us £25 a head for a month’s trip in the Union, travelling, theatres, concerts, sightseeing, May Day celebrations and all included! "The voyage was a revelation, crew and passengers mixing together like friends and all class distinctions gone. The food was truly. marvellous, well cooked and quantities of it. It is merely put before you on huge silver platters and you help yourselves. The eabins of the sailors were identical) with ours, and so was their food. At the end of their mess-room was the Lenin Corner, with a little bronze statue of their great man draped in red, a long table spread with a red cloth and covered with attractive

magazines and papers printed in the Soyuz (the Soviet Union). "There was a wireless set and 424 gramophone and dance records (though the prevalent taste seemed for classical music), dominos and chess. Never have I seen such men as these-gen-tle, courteous, intelligent, magnificent workers, and working with an enthusjasm for their Union which seemed almost unbelievable. The third mate waS a woman, a charming looking girl of 28, dressed in her officer’s coat, The attitude of these Communists toward women is something most interesting to see. There is absolutely. none of the gaucherie and unpleasant lovemaking so common among our menfolk, but a real camaraderie, and work for the Union comes before anything else. "Their Caucasian dancing was 2 revelation to watch, and their singing of ‘Stenka Razin’ and other revolutionary songs to the music of ‘Balalaikas’ was wonderful and moving to hear."

Those Intimate Garments, ODERN underwear is tailored so f earefully to-day that the smart woman considers a visit to the lingerie fitter’ as essential as the visit to the dressmaker and tailor. Never before in the whole history of fashion have "beneaths" been of more importance than that. which is worn over them: With the slender frocks of to-day, one garment, or at the most two, are considered necessary, and all superfluous fullness must. bé eliminated, Modern lingeries moulds the figure-it is spacesaving and must also act as the foundation of one’s frock. There are slim little under-shirts made to wear ‘with little satin shorts or tailored culottes which have a hip. yoke and are. cut like riding breeches. Two-piece foundations for sports or dance wear con- . sist of these tailored satin shirts attached to a brassiere which are yyorn with tailored knickers. Soft wa x satin is first favourite among lin}, materials both for appearance and durability. Coffee-coloured spotted net or applique motifs of the reverse side of the satin trim the most modish underwear in this material. Not So Easy. \ "['O be a, successful short-story writer you cannot afford to make mistakes.: You must have the gift of vivid and terse expression and be able to suggest more than you have to say. Character has to be delineated rather than developed-in fact, you must be a master of dialogue. If yow can cut out 100 words and not upset the story, then surely it is not yet a good story. De Maupassant is the great master of the short story. Kipling, unlike Edgar Allan Poe, whose short stories are fantastic, noisy and emphatic, says things y quietly and obtains his finest effects ' with the utmost economy of literary means. His tragic tales are examples of masterly simplicity. Woman as Artist. FEMALE doctors are now fairly numerous in all civilised countries; and there are female lawyers, bankers, accountants, architects and politicians ; with women painters of eminence like Mrs. Dod Proctor and Dame Laura Knight, There isa sculptress now in England who gained public attention by a masterly bust of a well-known judge. Mrs, Mitchell lives in a Somerset village and has chiselled portraits of Mr. Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy and other notable people. There are some who speak of her as the feminine rival to Dpstein, and no doubt they mean it as a high compliment to the lady’s great originality and technical Cras manship. X Back to the Land. JN the. 1921 census of England and Wales 20,000 women were returned as farmers, and it is said that there are altogether more than 100,000 women working on the land. Many are trained in horticulture and fill well-paid posts in the gardening world. Some are in charge of large private pleasure gardens, of which they undertake the whole organisation and direction. They are better educated and more scientifically trained than . the ’ average head gardeners on estates, and are not infrequently preferred to men for that reason. Others manage small gardens where they carry on all the work with the help of casual labour for the heaviest jobs. There is a demand for college-trained women for managing private gardens and those attached to schools and institutions. ‘S