WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 5, 14 August 1931, Page 32

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Brotherly Love. AMONG our classical ecco of the devotion which sometimes exists between brothers and sisters, Charles and Mary Lamb, or William and Dorothy . may possibly be the most familiar. To these should certainly be added the names of T. B. Macaulay..and his sisters Margaret and Hannah "My sisters are more to me than any sisters ever were to a brother," Lord Macaulay once wrote, and every page of his Memoirs, and every act of his life which had relation to domestic arrangements bears out the truth of the assertion. The love he bore them was passionately reciprocated, and the- diaries and letters of these three are full of pleasing evidences that no sacrifice was too great on the part of the one for the other. "I think I was about twelve when I first became very fond of my brother," writes Margaret, "and from that time my affection has gone on increasing. I shall never forget my delight and enchantment when first I found that he liked talking to me." ° To Blame or Not to Blame? MORNING’S shopping last week made me wonder how the ordinary dressmakers are earning a living, much jess making money. For the readymade frocks which many women buy from the peg and walk away with (which I know is bad construction, but quite plain fact) are a very serious rival to those which have to be thought out, for material and style, fitted perhaps several times, and, in the end, after postponements and delays, may not look as one fondly believed they would look. Perfectly charming frocks are to be had at less than one would pay for material and making, plus fatigue; but even while admiring them and feeling grateful for the convenience they suggest, one has a halfguilty feeling about the private dressmakers. Yet in some cases they are to blame. They keep up their prices, irritate customers by breaking appointments, and very often show a marked distaste to remodelling, which in these days is often a necessity. There are shining exceptions who degerve success in this life and monuments when they die, but there are many of the other kind, who mourn that we buy ready-made clothes and spoil their business, yet offer no coun-ter-attractions, so to speak, and are too short-sighted to realise the need to do 90.-"Pamiora." Madame Walks in Broadcloth. JRREDFERN was one of the first couturiers in Paris to foster broadeloth for’ evening modes. Of course it is very fine and looks splendid this season in sky blue trimmed with black. One dress has the full skirt cut in deep gcallops round the hem to correspond to the hemline of a hip-length coat lined with black velvet. Velvet also forms the high Medici collar and the bunch of black camellias that graces the point of a low-back decollete. Zo Those About to Write, Y candid advice is-don’t! Go ‘and buy a Sewing machine, or 2 knitting machine, or a washing ma¢hine, or even a mowing machine, and earn a steady living with it. Tap somebody else’s typewriter until your fingers ache. Sell hairpins, hats’ or Hoovers from nine till six. Goon the stage and dance until your muscles bulge, your heart palpitates and your morals show signs of strain. Break @ishes in a restaurant, break records

on land or sea or in the air-but don’t break your own heart by trying to writel!-A Woman Journalist. The Gentle Art, LORD MAYORS ‘and other worthy gentlemen often get up in public and say that no girl should be allowed to marry unless she has a certificate to her ability to cook. There seems to be a great conspiracy to emphasise the magnitude of the responsibility of the housewife, to treat her as an object alternately. of admiration and pity. But why? Many housewives are admirable, and some, many, perhaps, are deserving of pity. But none because of the fact of being housewives. To cook a good meal is neither difficult nor dull. There is just the spice of uncertainty about the success of one’s effort which makes any task interesting. The telephone bell may ring just as the milk for the custard is ready to boil up. The joint may, while the pastry is being cooked in the necessarily hot oven, harden a little. The rice pud-éing-most incalculable of all dishesmay be either stodgy or sloppy. But on the other hand, care and forethought prevent most calamities, and every slight error is a piece of wisdom gained.. There is variety in housekeeping ; there is need for brains, and scope for considerable imagination; there is the pleasant sense of "being in charge,’ without any worry or responsibility beyond one’s capabilities. Decorative Indeed. TLOWERS down the centre of the table are no longer the thing, according to many smart hostesses. This meportant position is now occupied by anything decorative, from the modern glass tank, complete with gold fish to

o.d silver candlesticks if the hostess loves candlelight. That popular hostess, Lady Cambridge, whose husband is the Queen’s nephew, has original views on dlurer-table schemes. She has silver cundlesticks down the centre and flowers confined to the four corners of the tabse-the fashionable place for flowers at the moment. Pach corner is occupied by a little camellia tree in a bright-green pot. Humour of Sorts. waar is the first qualification necessary in the ideal husband? Scores of women have been giving their views on- this subject in the Press, and the majority appear to attach more importance to a sense of humour than anything else. To be able to see the funny side of troubles and difficulties is indeed a very useful gift, and it is generally believed that women are Jess generously blessed with a sense of humour than men. Some rather crude comparisons lend support to this contention. A man, for instance, will not get angry over remarks about. his baldness or his fatness. If there is anything funny in such references he will laugh and enjoy them, but it would be dangerous to venture on such personalities with a woman. At the same time that is not to say that women have no sense of humour. In a general way they have it as highly developed as men. The Friend of Kings. BESIDES the presents that the King received on his birthday was a surprise gift from the Duke of Gloucester in the form of a charming little Scoitish terrier. Dougal of Waroona, who has a very aristocratic pedigree, is fourteen months old, but was the

winner of many prizes. before he attained the age of one year, and sper the week-end with the Duke of Gloncester at Tidworth. The Duke has already made him a member of the Dogs Bath Club in Beauchamp Place, and his portrait is being painted for the club-room.

A Mirror Held to Nature. I you have any odd circular pieces of plate glass or mirror in the house, have a circular piece, about 5in. in diameter, cut out of the centre and place the remaining section over a flower bowl. The flowers, which should be supported by a glass block at the bottom of the bowl, rise up through the centre gap and mirror themselves in the glass rim round. The effect seen with parrot tulips and a big Lalique bowl is much loyelier than, it sounds, and it can be even heightefied by having the piece of glass mirrored on the inside and left clear on the outside. Effective Colour. . ITs Paris, brightly-coloured shirts as ~ well as white are worn with dark suits Yellow crepe de chine with navy is smart, or the new red-pink with brown. Darkest olive-green shares popularity with black for street suits, and looks charming with a splash of colour for the shirt and searf. Tilleul or banana-green is good with the dark suit, and mushroom with brown. The large coloured beads should take similar colouring. But with the white and paler tone in washing blouses and deecorative cambric a necklet of white, china beads shares with crystal a cer: tain favour. Decorative Indeed. Mux jugs should have a special cleaning at least once a week during the summer. Place at the bottom of the jug five or six small pieces of soda, and pour on to them boiling water. Leave to stand until cold. Rinse with hot water until clear and give another rinsing with two or three grains of permanganate of potash dissolved in water. Rinse in hot water again until quite clear. The jugs will be perfectly sweet and disinfected if kept like this. Vacuum flasks can be cleaned by crushing up a few eggshells and putting them into the flask with a litile vinegar. Shake well and half fill with water. Allow it to stand for a short while, then shake again, empty the contents, and invert in a jug to « Do not replace the cork in the} after using, as this tends to ma Ke it musty. Brown shoes may be darkened by rubbing them with a cut potato or with a banana skin. Remove stains with a weak acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice mixed with water. Ohamois leather gloves are reappearing, and to wash them proceed as fol-lows:-Cleanse by gently kneading in warm, soapy lather, and when this process is completed place the gloves in a towel and squeeze out the moisture, then blow into the fingers in order to fully distend them. The last clean soap should not be rinsed out; it is needed to soften the leather; the gloves should be hung in the wind, and not the sun, to dry. Before becoming quite dry they should be drawn on the hands and coaxed into shapa,