OF FEMININE INTEREST

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 39, 8 April 1932, Page 24

OF FEMININE INTEREST

By

Patricia

I LISTENED to a talk from 4YA the other evening, and it struck me that any housewife who gave some thought to the social problems of to-day would have been interested in what Miss Findlayson, organising secretary for the Otago section of the Women’s Division of the Farmers’ Union, had to say. She spoke of the work that is being done by this organisation, and explained that all women, no matter of what class-wives of clergymen, doctors, etc-were all eligible for the eountry sections, which help to amend the social conditions that are so sadly lacking in the more or less isolated parts of the country. * s @ "THE work that is done by the Women’s Division is much appreciated by those who have benefited by their’ assistance. For instance, among their activities ig the supplying of housekeepers and dressmakers. Should the wife of a farmer be ill or in need of a holiday, a woman is sent to look after the house and children, and those who ean afford it, pay for the help, but there are many others who, were it

not for this assistance, would fare badly.. There is also a weekly exchange for surplus products; these products are either sold, or exchanged for other goods, In co-operation with the Y.W.C.A., the Women’s Division finds work for unemployed women and girls, and assists them in every possible way. This organisation is undoubtedly doing a great work, and town people should be better acquainted with it. = Pd * J IRKCALDIE AND STAINS’S lady "~ speaker who gave a short lecturette on "Fashions" from 2YA on Friday morning, addressed her remarks more especially to the debutante. I hear there are quite a number of girls "coming out" shortly, and they will be busy planning what to wear on this auspicious occasion, and it is on this subject that Miss Thomas’s talk should be very helpful. She emphasised most emDhatically the importance of well and closely-fitting lingerie as a foundation, for on this depends the set and finish of the frock, and her information on the choice of materials, and colours specially suited to the blonde, or the

brunette, and those who are ’twixt and between, shows that she has studied her subject. Her talks on matters sartorial should be welcomed not only by debutantes, but also by their elders. , cA * * OW to build strong and healthy children was the subject for the lecturette put over the air from 2YA on Thursday morning by the representative for the Department of Health. This was the first of a series of talks, and mothers who have their children’s interests at heart would find these discourses helpful, and the remainder of the series should not be missed on any account, A gentle hint, however, might be given to the speaker that the whole of his audience is just inside the microphone and he would be listened to with more pleasure were he to realise that his voice ‘has not to reach an audience at the back of a hall. His delivery was also of a too "sing-song" character. z * L "THERD is a great deal of charm and grace in the latest ways of sleeve treatment. The slight "puff" above the wrist has definitely given place to

the "elbow" puff. Very modified sleeves are far more general in everyday wool frocks. The less formal types of evening gowns will be more in evidence during the chilly season. They suggest economy, as in towns such garments are wearable when one travels in bus or tram. * * * "THE other evening one of the broadcasting stations put over the air a humorous recording number of John Henry and Gladys Horridge. On this record John Henry was being treted to a version of the "Pied Piper of melin.’" Now we all know this famous poem by Robert Browning, and it may interest readers to hear that plans are being made by the citizens of Hamelin for a festival in 1934, in honour of their legendary "Pied Piper." A distinguished author has been asked to write a play for the occasion ang practically the whole of Hamelin is to take part init. A memorial to the destroyer of rats will also be unveiled during the festival. (Continued on opp. back cover.)

i. "THE J. B, Lippincott Company has recently published a book that ‘Should appeal to all who take an interest in the culinary department of their home. This book is entitled "The Art of Cooking for Two," or "Feeding Peter, " by Mrs. Iris Prouty O'Leary, The book is charmingly written in the form of letters to a young bride by her friend Caroline, who gives Judith instructions on how to feed Peter. Tt is just full of valuable hints of a domestic nature, from planning the necessary equipment for a kitchen to preparing the "three meais a day," and should be.a veritable godsend to the young housewife. The recipes, although they sound delectable, are for the plainer kind of food that a restricted income demands. Here is a paragraph from the chapter in which Caroline discusses the problem of luncheon :- "Most luncheon menus which I see in print have no resemblance to our midaty meals. They call for expendituré of much time and effort in the preparation of an unnecessary amount of food. It may be that these meals are not evyeryda¥Y luncheons: prepared by women like you and me, who wash their own dishes. . . . Now luncheons can be quite successful without both a soup anda salad. James and I have a good many that are just a sonp.or a salad and not very much else. But. of all the luncheons that L prepare I think James’s grin of pleasure is the widest when he sees hot gingerbread with whipped cream and a glass of milk. Plenty of all three but very little else, unless it is a little fruit for a finish. Just as soon as you ’ hae made the gingerbread hy the 1ethod which I am going to give you Peter will. Iam sure, cast his vote with James." This book should occupy a place in every kitchen, and if the instructions contained therein are closely followed by the young and inexperienced house"wife she will find that instead of grumbles and growls there will be only smiles and appreciation from her own particular Peter. = % ba THERE are quite a number of thril!a ing events in W. HM. Lane Crawford’s new novel, "The Hawkmoor Mystery" (Ward, Lock and Co.). About the time of the Indian Mutiny a young officer, Lieutenant Berrington, at the instigation of his colonel, goas secretly and disguised as a fakir to an Indian temple and smashes the one-eyed god round which much superstition revolves, The diamond eye of the god. which is of untold value. he takes away with him to England. Some ae after he is murdered. and later h¥s son also meets with disaster. There is a mystery surrounding these two deaths, and it is the solving of this mystery which creates the interest in this story. * * x MR. JOSEPH HOCKING has added yet another book to his long and entertaining list of novels, In "Caleh's: Conquest" (Ward, Lock and Co.) we have «a stirring Cornish romance. Caleh Baxsowsa, on the death of his father, Who during his lifetime treated the boy with great cruelty, leaves his home to seek his fortune elsewhere. He is engaged by a small farmer as a labour-. er, but his ambition leads him on, und his experiences, adventures and conquests during the next few years make a typical ‘Hocking story.

MADAM ALBANESI has the gift for story-telling and tackles it in a workmanlike manner. "The Moon of Romance" (Ward, Lock and. Co.) is quite up to her usual standard, Out of the rain, Roderick Mallat: boards an omnibus, and there meets Katherine, the daugkter of his old tutor, now an orphan and in straightened circumstances. . He persuades his godmother to befriend her, and out of gratitude Katherine accepts Sir Julian Symmington, the nephew of her benefactress, although her heart is already given to Roderick, Fortune, however, favours the lovers, and the romance has a happy ending. % * * (CAROLYN WELLS keeps her reputation as a good storyteller in her latest book, "fhe Umbrella Murder’ (J. B. Lippincott Co.). The cast is an unusual one. Janet Converse, sitting alone on a gay and crowded beach under her big umbrella, is murdered, An orphan, heiress and popular, she had lived with an aunt in a gloomy turreted house, from which in less than a week after Janet’s death the ‘aunt suddenly disappears and Detective Stone is completely baffled, As the gay and, cheery crowd who had surrounded Janet under the umbrella had but a second before left her, who could have had the heart or the opportunity to murder her? Several people are suspected, among whom is her fiancee Stackpole Meade. While investigations are in progress a second murder horrifies the community. The attempts to solve the riddle and the finding of the murderer keeps the reader engrossel from start to finish. bad = HE Union of British Housewives has as its object the furtherment of trade within the Empire. lts pro-

moters point out that a nation’s fate is determined by its women, who represent the bulk of the spending power, and members of the union are asked -te buy only Empire goods. They thus will erect an invisible but impenetrable wall, more powerful: even than the highest artificial taviff barriers, It will probably take time to teach the average housewife that the goods that can be bought for the least money are not necessarily the cheapest, and that it is better to pay a little more if needful to get Empire products, and so help toward the reduction of unemployment. * * * "THE Queen has been making it known to her friends und those around her that she considers it desirable that the dresses of those attending Court this year should be as simple as possible, The general regulations for these dresses are to be precisely the same as those of last year, but it is an open secret that the Queen desires that British materials shall be used whenever possible, All her own gowns, and those of other Royal ladies attending Court, will be productions of the Empire, ; 8 * % "RicHt OF WAY" (Ward, Lock and Co.) is a powerful novel by Harold Bindloss, and will be welcomed by his many readers. Edward Preston, the head of a large mercantile firm in Liverpool, has occasion to go to Canada on the firm's business. Wanting money badly, he is induced to join a bootlegging gang. Falling in loye with the daughter of a staunch prohibitionist, who points out his folly, he gives up the business, but finds it expedient to leave tor England. On his arrival he buys land in Cumberland, and the chief

interest of the story is in the building of a factory and dam. He has much opposition to contend with, and an enemy tries to wreck the dam. From this incident romance enters, and what follows shows that the author has lost none of his power to interest and enthrall, * * * [tz is not generally known that down by the Black Sea, Russia has its own Riviera, partly in the lovely Crimean peninsula and partly in the narrow bend of sub-tropical country at the foot of the western end of the Caucasus Mountains. Before the Reyolution the rich and mighty went south to their palaces and villas during part of the autumn or winter. Czars and princes built one palace after another, all in marvellous positions, though few were good architecturally. To-day, allthese palaces, owned by the State, are: used as hospitals, sanatoria, or holiday’ hostels, by Russia’s people, who before the Revolution had only heard of the Crimea and Caucasus. Conditions are now much improved, for it is said that every worker, whether learned or unlearned, shall have from a fortnight to a month’s holiday with full wages! The less well-paid get their fortnight in ihe rest homes free; those better off have to pay. It is the ambition of everyone to visit the Crimea and the Cancasus, the most heautiful parts of Russia, but the three days’ journey from the north to the south is expensive. Some people have to. pay the full fare, others get a reduced rate, and only 2 few go free, so that many Russians are just as busy saving for their holidays as we are for ours. * bd * FRASHION is always changing, and the first movements and alterations commence with a collar and a sleeve, One hears (and sees) all sorts ot fanciful ways with sleeves, but for the future [ am sure that neither the balloon nor the leg-of-mutton variety will command any following, and no distortions of the body will be welcomed by the woman of 1932, * * * . A FINAL CHANCE," by Paul Trent * (Ward, Lock and Co.), is a story of Pamela, the wilful daughter of a newspaper magnate who falls in love with Richard Clyne, Sir Philip Gower's "star" reporter. Sir Philip is distinctly antagonistic to the match, and declares his consent will never be given and does his best to part the lovers, Pamela puts up a. strenuous fight to keep the man she loves, but complications arise connected with illicit diamond buying which result in some thrilling experiences in Africa hefore a happy ending is consummated. The book is light in tone. but colourful. and distinctly readable. * * * A TINY wireless set. guaranteed to get foreign stations, is a recent addition to the model cottage which the people of Wales are giving to the Princess Elizabeth and which will be large enough for her to play in. The kitchen in this model structure is very modern and fitted with a metal sink and a real gas cooker. There will also be'a supplementary gift of a Welsh terrier puppy to decupy the kennel in the cottage garden,