MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1922, Page 8

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

NEWS AND NOTES. (The Lady Editor will be pleaded to receive for publication 1.1 thia column items of social or personal news. Such items should be fully authenticated.! There is very little emotion shown in the Divorce Court nowadays. In the cases put through by his Honor Mr Justice Reed last week at Wellington only once did a witness show signs of grief or nervousness. Petitioners seem to take their petitions as a matter of course, and the whole thing is carried out as if by machinery. Banana Trifle.—Required : Four to six bananas, half a gi'.l of sherry, apricot jam, half a pint of cream, 'fake off the skins of the bananas, cut them lengthways, spread with jam, and lay in a glass dish, pour over the sherry, and allow them to soak. Just before, serving puur over tin' cream, which should be half-whipped; garnish with some banana on the top. In the village church of West 1 burrock, Essex, recently, Mr. W. Beaumont, 70. married the belle of the village. Miss Qticenie Seaton, who is 20. Precautions had been taken to prevent the news of the wedding leaking out, but the fact that the couple were to be married became known at the last minute. Deter mined to have the wedding in secret they altered the time of the ceremony and arrived at the church accompanied only by the driver of the car and the verger, who agreed to act as witnesses, and the vicar married them. They left at once lor Loudon, where the honeymoon was spent. On the same day Mr Edward Armstrong, a pro-provost of Queen’s College, Oxford, who is 74, was married to Miss Geraldine P. Harris, the 23 year-old daughter of a former Oxford vicar at Oxford. Kararaina Wliitu, a native woman, 52 years of age, resident of Holmwood, near Pahiatua, with her husband and daughter, visited Ratana for pains in the heart and legs. She was there, about a week and her condition improved. She left on Saturday and became worse on the journey. She left the train at Pahiatua, went to Mangarnutti, and was assisted to bed. She had faith in Ratana and thought she would get better. No doctor was called in, and the woman died on Tuesday. At an inquest, the. medical evidence was that death was probably due to heart disease and dropsy. 'J he Coroner, .Mr Wilson, told the natives not to rely on Ratana, but that they must call in medical aid for organic diseases. Deceased was attended by a Masterton doctor for about a year. A year or so ago a “Safety-first” campaign was launched in Wellington, and after staggering along in the face of certain difficulties for a few weeks was forgotten, not, however, til Isoine useful !• s sons had been impressed upon the public, t lit istchurch has now undertaken to launch a li\e campaign and as one of its features proposes a scries of h-ct incites to school children on the following main points:—(l) Keep off the roadway except when you must cross it. (2j Look for danger, first to light, then to left, before crossing the road. (3) When crossing the road, always cross at right angles to footpath. (4) Walk quickly, bill do not run across the road. (s)’ When in the city, only cross the streets at defined crossings. (6) When leaving the traincar or vehicle, look both ways for other vehicles, and go straight to footpath. (7) Do not play or stand talking on the rdadway. (8) When riding a bicycle, be careful to keep on the left side of the road, sound bell when coming to corners, keep well on the proper side when turning a corner. (9) Teach hildren direction signals. 'I he model “hello girl” of Paris is one who apologised for a sister operator who had cut off ;ni irritated subscriber during in important business conversation. This

young woman, Mlle. Dube, to-day receiver the fust prize of 500 francs in “L'Oeuvres’ divisional national courtesy contest tnnom telephone girls. Mme. Guipal won tin second prize of 250 francs for answering t subscriber’s wrathful words with the polite assurance that she would do everything in her power to get the number. The winner of the third prize was Mme. Haguct, who received 250 francs for ringing back a subscriber after getting a number which had previously been busy. The grateful caller in proposing her to the contest jury declared lie had never had better service in any country than that given by this operator. It has been a matter of common note that the telephone service in Paris has been improved since the opening of the contest. In several communities (says the “Springfield Republican”), the good old custom of calling on New Years Day is being taken up again—a line old custom, that of paying one’s respects to one s good neighbours on this first day of the New Year, and carrying in person one’s greetings and good wishes ! Ihe old custom fell into disrepute back in the ’eighties, when because of greater and greater formality and the effort of every home to excel every other home in lavish bos- - pitality, the affair became too great a burden. Hostesses were worn out and pocketbooks depleted in the struggle to have more things to eat, more things to drink, more flowers, and more guests than anybody else on the block. And the men folk who did all the calling and carrying of greetings (because every woman was entertaining in her own home) were worn out too—trying to get in all the necessary calls and let no omissions cause hard feel ings at the end of the day. So one or two independent hostesses hung up baskets in which callers could deposit cards. Each year there were more baskets hanging to front doorbells. And by and by the custom dropped out altogether. Now it is being revived in a, quiet way. No elaborate spreads, no lines of “receiving ladies” in evening dress, no costly floral decorations or awnings at front steps. But mine host and his wife at home on New Year’s Day—if anybody cares to drop in with a “Happy New Year”; and something good to eat and drink passed about as people sit informally around the fire. May this beautiful old custom grow in its observance, but not in any change from its present expression of simple and modest hospitality from friend to friend!