MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 October 1928, Page 8

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OE INTEREST (Notes by Marjorie)

“THE PERFECT WOMAN.” DANCER AND SWIMMER. “It may interest those who are trying to practice food reform, and are coming' in for all sorts of gloomy strictures from friends, to hear what Annette Kellerman, who has been described as ‘the most perfect woman in the world,’ does,” says a writer in an exchange. “It is said she. started life as a puny, semi-cripple. Since her debut on the stage as a dancer and exhibition swimmer and diver, she has had several nasty falls and accidents, one of which injured her spine so that she was told she would never walk again. But she did, and the amount of energy expended by a hard work, both as dancer and swimmer and gymnast, is comparable to the amount of energy expanded by a hard worker. She never eats meat, noi’ drinks tea, coffee, or alcohol. She has breakfast early in the day, and supper after’ her show at the theatre. She eats oranges or dates in between two strenuous houses at the theatre, and lives for the rest on salads, fruit wholemeal brep.d, and vegetables. She thinks that most people dreadfully, and that the reason most of us have no energy is because embodies are overworked in expelling the poisons of bad food and too much food from the body.” This follows amusingly on the recent messages about the “slump” in chocolates and other rich foods. Miss Kellerman evidently has no intention of “bulging beyond the line of beauty” or comfort, in order to satisfy an overgrown appetite.

OVERCROWDED PROFESSION. The Vienna corresnondent of the “Daily Mail” says:—“The wretchedness of professional dancers of both sexes has led to a series of suicides. A girl threw herself from a fourth floor window after three days of starvation, and several young men gassed themselves. The chairman of the Variety Artists’ Organisation is forming a mutual help association. But the dancing profession is so overcrowded that 500 of the city’s 1000 dance partners are out of work, and how the others live is a mystery. The wages are 2/6 a night, from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m., and the profession demands that members must be well dressed.” DAINTY POWDER-PUFF.

“The latest handkerchief powderpuff for the mondaine’s. handbag from Paris is the sweetest and most decorative etcetera I have seen for a long time,” remarks a writer in an exchange. “The handkerchief part is the same with a draw thread run round it, but the puff itself is not attached to the hanky, but is separate and attached to a dainty little china doll’s head. This fits neatly into the handkerchief, and is kept there by a draw thread, which comes, up tightly round the doll’s neck. An idea which could easily be adopted.” , A GIRL’S MOTOR-BOAT. A British-girl, Miss M. B. Carstairs, who has already won fame by her mo-tor-boat racing exploits, is to attempt to beat all records for crossing the Atlantic by water, says an English exchange. She is to make the voyage—possibly in October—in a motor-boat, built in secret, which can attain a speed of fifty-six miles an hour. It is said that she hopes to manage the crossing from Ireland to Newfoundland, and then on to New York in three and a-half days. The complete trip is 2835 miles. At present the Cunard liner Mauretania holds the Atlantic record with a crossing from New York to Queenstown in four days thirteen hours and forty-one minutes. But the quickest way to cross the Atlantic, is, of course, by air. SOME NOVELTIES.

Realistic butterflies, their spreading wings made of delicately painted silk, are being introduced in poise on madame’s shoulder, instead of the flowers and posies she has worn hitherto (says an English exchange). A very smart note for the toilette is handbag, waistbelt, hat strap with buckle, and gardenia buttonhole, all made of leather to match. This ensemble is being displayed in the best shops of Paris. The short veil which, with black beauty spot disposed on the cheek, has had its day, is now worn across the close-fitting helmet, so that a softening edge veils the hard line of the hat over the forehead. The veil should be of a colour to match or tone with the hat.

WOMAN’S ENDURANCE. SWIMMING OVER TWO DAYS. After setting a world’s endurance record by swimming continuously for ■54 hours 28 minutes in the Metropolitan Pool, New York, Mrs Myrtle Huddleston collapsed as she was being assisted out of the water and was taken to hospital. She was suffering from exposure and exhaustion and could not return home for nearly a Two nurses were assigned to give Mrs Huddlestone constant attention. She awakened from her sleep every four hours, being engaged in conversation for a few minutes and then allowed to sleep again. The break in her sleep was to relieve her shock by gradual stages. Mrs Huddleston previously held the endurance swimming record, having remained in the water for 50 hours and 10 minutes at Chicago last May. She expected to increase her time by at least ten hours in her latest performance. Mrs Huddleston weighed 200 pounds before starting her swim, but her condition was so serious that she could not be weighed immediately. It is estimated that she lost 25 pounds.. ' The swimmer was making her first attempt at the record in an outdoor pool. She complained that she was considerably weaker after having to withstand three rainstorms. Also, she suffered from the salt water,, her previous mark having been set in a fresh-water pool. The salt water had a deletei'ious effect upon her skin. Her hands and feet were swollen abnormally, and when she was lifted from the water her skin was wrinkled and tender. Mrs Huddleston is the only woman who has swum the Catalina Channel. She is 30 years old and has a son 12 years old. The son, Everett, lived in a tent near the pool, and cheered his mother during the course of her trial. TIREDNESS A HOBBY. There are some women who make tiredness a hobby, as it were. They emphasise every moment of fatigue by- a mental if not actually a vocal insistence on it. They take a sort, of dreary pride and joy in reiterating that their work ’is really far too much for them. And they keep up this attitude till they go to bed at night. They prepare for rest to the same eternal accompaniment, and then lament that the sleep they profess to need so desperately is eluding them. From morning to night, theii’ nervous system is keyed up to the fatigue pitch. And all their will-powei' is directed towards increasing rather than decreasing wearniness. Their last waking thought is not of the repose the bight will bring, but of the fatigue that awaits them next day! And still they go on wondering why they wake, up with that born tired feeling! 1 “CHILDISH THINGS.” A writer to an exchange discourses on some of the “foolishnesses” of the days as follow: —Do we women ever entirely put away “childish things?” To judge by certain manifestations of fashion it seems that we do not. A short time ago it was considered the height of smartness to display an overdressed doll reclining on the sofa cushions; a little later we went one better, and attired the doll in a miniature reproduction of our own gown. Could anything be more childish? Now our childlike fancies have taken a rather different direction. A guest arrives with an imitation dog under her arm, her newest handbag taking this form. As she shakes hands, she says with a childish appealing look: “You don’t mind my bringing Fido, I hope? He goes everywhere with me! we are never separated.” Charming, of course, in the very young! But when the lady is stout and middle-aged, it is a little difficult to applaud the occasion. Yards of imitation gold chain, reminiscent of the days when we used to “dress up” and use brass curtain chains for necklets, are our latest fad. No one pretends they are anything but make-believe jewels, and it is quite a childish delight we are all taking in these things. TRAINS TIGERS. Miss Mabel Stark, of the United States of America, has chosen a queer calling. She devotes her time to training tigers, and states that while these animals can never be tamed they can be taught to perform tricks, and are much quicker understanding than are lions. Great patience is necessary in handling her charges. It took her six months to train one animal to wrestle after which she was badly .. mauled through accidentally falling on him during a lesson. The dangerous nature of her chosen profession does not deter her, though she wisely remarks: “Great care must always be taken when in the company of tigers.” A GIANT BABY. A boy aged three and a-half is already nearly four feet high; can pick up his mother and carry her round the house; shaves every morning; and smokes cigars! says an exchange. Six months ago Clarence Kehr, of Toledo, Ohio, was an ordinary baby, scarcely able to walk or speak. Then something happened to his glands, which suddenly became abnormally active and made his brain and body develop at an amazing rate. At three and a-half he has become a man, with a man’s strength and powers of speech. His biceps measure nine inches, while he refers scornfully to his old playmates as “these kids.”