PLAIN LIVING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 65, 18 March 1930, Page 6

PLAIN LIVING.

Plain living, if not high thinking, would seem to be as out-of-date to-day as when the poet deplored that they were no more, judging from the appeal recently made at a gathering in aid of the Plnnket fund for-simpler fare at social functions, and more especially at afternoon teas. A number of women have pledged themselves to reduce the cost of these entertainments and give five shillings a week of the money so saved towards deserving causes. Originally the afternoon tea was a simple form of refreshment provided by hostesses for casual callers, and only elaborated on those occasions which were known as "At Home" days. These days are now passing into the realm of what has been, and the modern afternoon tea is given on a much larger scale to mark an entertainment which has in part taken the place of luncheon invitations. It has been said that these elaborate teas are a reflection on lunch , and an insult to dinner. They certainly often spoil the appetite for the more formal evening meal. Critics tell us that we have lost the art of conversation, and that we endeavour to atone for this loss by over-feeding, perhaps from a vain hope that the heart may speak from the fullness of /the mouth. Hostesses do not like to provide a simple tea for fear of being compared unfavourably with someone else whose ent attainment has been on a more elaborate scale. New forms of savoury and sandwich, new linds of cakes and cream confections, are pro - ided, until the simple tea becomes an elaborate meal. The same extravagance is seen in the suppers provided at dances, and in most entertainments given for the younger generation. Instead of being asked what the conversation was about, or what kind of entertainment was provided, people are often asked, "What did they give you to eat ?" It is well that attention has been called to the growing extravagance of what ought to. be a simple form of refreshment for the meeting of friends. A hostess can seldom be at her best when her mind is diverted from conversation and the humanities of life to the distracting questions of food over-elaborated. Simpler hospitality would leave room for those smaller courtesies and personal interests which do much more than cakes and ale to promote the amenities of life. —W.M.