RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30737, 29 April 1965, Page 34

RANDOM REMINDER

TWIXT CUP AND LIP

It’s all very well having a wife who always, but always, looks after the comfort of her guests, their tea, their ashtray, their place by the fire, an extra cushion perhaps, another cake, sugar and milk, or perhaps lemon, Turkish or Virginian, may we drive you home, etc. These little attentions, of course, give the guest a warm, wanted feeling and they are rather better disposed to pay some attention to the conversational efforts of the host, whether they be stimulating or plain dull. A Hornby man we know is blessed with a wife whose attentitaveness to the

guests is matched only by his eagerness to get to conversational holts with them; but he has found now that it does not pay to rely too heavily on the little woman. In fact, his experience should be a warning to ell males to pay some small attention to the culinary arts. The trouble was that she was away. And who should call but a tribe of little-known inlaws. He greeted them civilly enough, established them in reasonable comfort in the drawing room and suggested that in view of the hour, coffee might be welcome. They agreed and sat back expectantly while he disappeared into the kitchen. An odd smell pervaded the house some

minutes later, but the reappearance of the host behind a steaming coffee service quelled any apprehensions. He served it reasonably well, but could not understand why, after an exploratory sip, no one drank any more. A quick sip of the strange-coloured stuff raised some doubts in his mind and a second confirmed them. He made an excuse, dashed back to the kitchen and checked his

measurements. All seemed well. But the guests were restive and ready to go with their drinks scarcely touched: and he did not find out till his wife returned that the beans he had ground for the coffee were tn fact roasted peanuts.