MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1928, Page 3

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OE INTEREST

(Notes By

Marjorie)

MORE PEOPLE MARRYING. SOME BRITISH STATISTICS. Interesting features of the British Registrar-General’s- Statistical Review for 1927, recently issued, were published last month in the “Daily Mail.” For instance, there were 308,370 marriages, the most in any year since 1921, equalling a rate of 15.7 persons married for 1000 persons living. Fiftyeight thousand couples were less than 21 years of age. Most of the brides were less than 23, and most of the bridegrooms less than 24; The most popular age for girls to marry was 23 .and for men 24. Thirty-four brides were only 15 years old, and 383 only 10, while 184 bridegrooms were less than 18. Strange to say, 1295 bridegrooms and 362 brides were 70 or more. The marriage rate of 15.7 compares with 14.3 in 1926, which -was the lowest recorded since 1886. The third quarter of the year was the most busy for marriages. A preference for this quarter has been a feature of the returns since 1900. Before then the highest proportion of marriages was in the fourth quarter. Most; bachelors married spinsters, but 8765 married widows. -Most widowers who re-married chose spinsters, hut 9157 married widows., . Dealing with divorce, the review states -that the number of decrees nisi made absolute was 3190, an increase of 568 over the 1926 total. In only one year, 1921, with 3522, has the total been greater. This increase is a strikin illustration of the effect, of- the Judicial] Proceedings (Regulation of Reports) Act, which restricts the reporting of matrimonial cases in newspapers. . This Act came into operation on 16th December, 1926. Of the divorce suits begun in 1927, the greatest number were by people who had been married between ten an,d twenty years. More than one-third' of the couples seeking divorce were childless. Births, registered during the year numbered 654,172, equal to a rate of 16.6 per. 1000 of the This is the lowest recorded rate, being 1.1 per 1000 iless than the abnormally low rate for 1918, the last year of the war. Not only has the birth-rate declined, but the actual number of births is, also the lowest registered since 1885, when the population of England; and Wales' was- only 18,829,000, compared with an estimated 39,290,000 last year. ■

A SUCCESS OF HER LIFE. From her native home in Denmark she came to America to make a success of her life. The following will show whether she has achieved it. Astrid Rosing’s education was of the sketchiest, but she managed to fill its numerous gaps by an. extraordinary talent for observation and by her innate intelligence, sharpened and deepened through years of sorry financial plights. Need it be said that she belongs to those women in the world who fully realise that ambition, unless it be coupled with hard and unremitting work, leads to nothing. Poor, unknown,- boasting of very indifferent health, and further embarrassed by inadequate mastery of English, Astrid Rosing crossed the Atlantic. Many and bold were the ideas she had, but she talked little, if at all of them. “Work” was her only slogan. To-day in her adopted country, they refer to her as a phenomenally successful busines woman. She has taken up dealing in brick, tile, sand, gravel and othei- heavy construction materials. Her initial capital had best be referred to in terms of energy and of an almost uncanny business ‘sense.’ Her venture brought a perfect victory. To-day she is standing at the head of a big firm, founded, organised and run by herself. And yet pure undiluted business does not quite encompass her life. In spite of her numberless commercial enterprises, Miss Rosing has found time to marry an American, and she is now happy to look after him, to run a splendid and comfortable home, and to enter into her child’s life as well. Her story reads like an unbelievable romance, but there is nothing really fantastic about it. Effort, energy, enterprise, these were and still are three big factors in her life and her extraordinary success has come about because she hoped and dared and did. Surely her example should serve as encouraging and helpful inspiration to all those women the world over who have to fight their own life battles — alone and unaided.

novelties for the home. AND A LIFE-SAVER! Nothing, perhaps, is so unpleasant to look at as soiled wallpaper; yet to renew it continually is beyond the financial powers of the average housewife. The difficulty is now effectively overcome by a specially prepared brand which can be washed and even scrubbed. Made in a. wide variety of tints and patterns to match almost any colour scheme, it has the additional advantage of being very long lived. The automatic parcel receiver will save many runs to the door to answer tradesmen. It is fixed to the inside of the door and is absolutely burglar proof. When a parcel is' placed on a shelf inside, the shelf sinks; and the lever-lift principal causes another to rise in its place. This ingenious device holds three sets of parcels and locks automatically. Housemaid’s knee and uncomfortable travel need no longer trouble and annoy. There is an inflated rubber “kneeler” which protects the knees from the hard ' hard floor, and can also be used, as a cushion when travelling by train or car. Another useful double-purpose cushion is specially suitable for the light canoe type of boat. If you are so unfortunate as to be upset, it will save your life, for it is filled, with a special down substance, which causes it to float like a lifebuoy. As an ordinary boating or garden cushion it is very comfortable.

FROM A PARISIENNE’S NOTEBOOK (By Yvonne Rodier). Swathed hips and uneven hemlines are still the recognised features of up-to-date evening frocks. The adroit use of basqued effects, Hading to more elaboration; serves to emphasise the feminine note. In plain materials such, effects look notably well, although very happy results are achieved along similar lines with patterned ones. Typical is a flowered grey muslin gown. On a plain corsage are a basque and cape of floral muslin of a darker shade in grey; while the wide circular skirt has a deep border of’ the floral pattern. A full taffeta coatee and a poke-bonnet shape in grey straw complete an extraordinarily picturesque revival of an oldworld muslin vogue. Quakerish greys and lavenders are now rivalling the pinks and blues and the yellows.and, greens. Neutral tones indeed, are coming into special favour. Meanwhile, the younger generation of Parisiennes still clings to the two most modish blue tones' of the moment; turquoise, and a deeper tone of Mediterranean blue. So far as fabrics are concerned,, the prestige of taffetas remains unassailed. The fact that it so admirably, combines smartness, with the picturesque trend is in itself a sufficient explanation _of its popularity, with matron and maid. One very charming youthful model at a recent display consisted in a full frilly skirt; ca-ught up in the centre to disclose a petticoat of deep ecru lace, and a stiff V-shaped corsage curving in pronouncedly at the waist and finishing with a la,c,e basque. Among the favourites. are faille and ribbed ottomans. These two fabrics will share popularity with a really wonderful range of velvets. Especially beautiful are the printed satins and velvets that make the advance pat-tern-books so thrilling. The smaller designs in brilliant colours on dark grounds are perhaps the most effective and hitherto are. more generally selected by the couturiere. One would have thought that the lace vogue had been exploited to its utmost; But no. The dernier cri is the lace tailleur. Perfectly tailored little sac coats and exquisitely cut skirts, in a fabric hitherto epitomising the femininity of frills and furbelows, are really remarkable tributes to the tailor’s art, that already has experimented so successfully in silks and satins and satins and even frailer materials.

The backs of coats and dresses are assuming a new importance. Fanshaped tucks narrow the back m a most becoming manner, and are finished off with a flat bow at the back of the collar. New models in. tailored coats and skirts are studies in browns and greys. Almost invariably the coats are. lined with matching crepe de chine. Exceptions are the new long coats lined, with the same soft stockinette that composes the slim-fitting en suite frock. These new two-pieces are being displayed in fascinatinghues. One in a grey speckled design with a fleck of dark red shows the red reappearing in the stockinette frock and lining. Brown flecked materials are enlivened by the introduction of yellow.

CRYSTALLISED FRUIT. It is not a bit difficult to crystallise most fresh fruits, and they make a pleasant change for dessert on special occasions. Plunis are very delicious treated this way, and so are pears. Orange quarters, too, can be dealt with very successfully and are always acceptable to those who do not care for the sweeter fruits. Beat up the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and have ready a quarter of a pound of crushed loaf sugar. Castor or granulated sugar will not serve nearly so well. If you are using plums cut them across neatly with a sharp fruit knife and remove the stone. Now dip them into the white of egg, see that they are well covered, and then roll them in the crushed sugar. Dip again in the egg, and re-coat with sugar, and repeat this process until the “icing” is as thick as you want it to be. Children love cherries done this way.

For oranges, you can use icing sugar, the whites of two eggs should be allowed to each pound of sugar. After peeling, see that every scrap of pith is removed from the orange, which shSuld be a small one. Take a perfectly clean darning needle, thread it with thin silk, and pass a thread through the centre of the fruit. Have your sugar and egg mixture quite ready—it should have been beaten until p|erfec|tly smooth —and dip each orange into it. As you take it out by the thread of silk tie it to a thin stick which r will fit into your gas oven, which should be nearly cold. When the stick is comfortably full fix it across the oven so that none of

the oranges are touching anything, leave the door open, and let the fruit stay there until the sugar is. absolutely dry. The oranges will look like I snow balls when they are ready, k