MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1930, Page 3

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(Notes by

Marjorie)

“MAKE HOMES.”

ADDRESS BY MRS EDISON.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 9. Mrs Thomas A. Edison, wife of the American inventive genius and daiigh ter of Lewis Miller, co-founder of the Chautauqua Institution, in the course of a broadcast radio talk froip New York urged women to return to home making and to pay less heed to the allurements of professional and business careers of their own. Because the art of home making has declined so much in recent years, due to the trend originating in woman suffrage and the world war, according to Mrs Edison, the. United States is facing a situation of widespread restlessness. Men no longer find satisfaction in their homes. “Unless the women of America ’•make a decided effort to return to the business of home making the most vital institution of the country is threatened;” she said. There was art aversion to housekeeping, Mrs Edison admitted, on the ground that there was too much drudgery connected with it, but “every business and everything in life is 98 per cent, drudgery.” As a matter of fact a good home maker rtntst have ' executive ability and be a good purchasing agent; an economist, some thing ctf a cliemlst to supervise the diet of her- family, and a gracious hostess. She al9o should be versed in music, art and literature to have rt proper background and be able to entertain herself, her husband and her friends. A college education was invaluable for such a homemaker, and if the family finances made it necessary to cltoose between sending a boy or a girl to college the girl should be the one elected. The boy could get his broadening contact in business and elsewhere. The college woman, however, must realise that home making- was her highest goal and that it was a full-time proposal which was as much of a business as running an office. Mrs Edison said her opinion was that in flocking into outside business women had lost their prestige in their own field, without making up for it by accomplishment on a par with that of men in business.

TRY VEGETABLE WATER. By Catherine, Countess of Westmorland. Some years ago, 1 was put on a vegetable diet after ' being poisoned in the South of France, and since then, although from time to time I eat fish, eggs and game, my principal diet has always been plainly-cooked' vegetables. They are boiled in plain water with a little salt only, and when cooked the water is drained off and served to me as a cup of soup.

My second course is the vegetable served alone. It is put into another saucepan with butter, pepper and salt, and thoroughly heated; when served in this way it is delicious. Too much butter is fattening and should be added with discretion if you are inclined to put on weight. Carrots, boiled with a little onion, cabbage, spinach, or any vegetable that is in season, arc excellent, and once this diet is adopted, the wonderful value in vegetable salts usually thrown away in the water they are cooked in becomes a daily necessity. The liquor from a number of vegetables basiled together is delicious. 1 always drink a cupful of it between meals, as if it were ordinary soup. Pers- dally I do not like it cold, although there is no reason why it should not be enjoyed that way. I have frequently given plain carrot water to my friends without telling them what it was, and they have, without excep tion, pronounced it excellent. Make-a habit of drinking this clear soup, and you will notice how beneficial it is almost immediately. You will feel and look fresher, aiid fatigue after any exertion will be less. Best of all, indigestion will vanish.

“MANNED” BY WOMEN. What might be described as an allfeminine theatre has recently been opened in Tottenham Court road, London, says an English writer. It is owned, managed, and “manned” bywomen, the only man in this Amazonian venture being the giant commissionaire. Appropriately enough, a war play is being presented now, which is written by a woman from a woman’s point of view.

By a Physician.

THAT TIRED FEELING.

Our bodies are fields of battle. Every day a contest is waged there between the forces of destruction and the forces vffiich support life and recreate, it. , A man wakens in the morning and begins the day feeling so fresh and vigorous that everything seems- possible for him. Alas, when evening comes he feels tired and sleepy and wants nothing so much as to go to bed. What has happened to him that he has lost all that vitality which gave him so fine a start in the morning?

It is no bad thing to try to discern which are the enemy forces that have exhausted our morning vigour and which are the influences that have helped us to withstand them so far as they have been withstood. In this way we can do so much to oppose the wearing out of our force. Fatigue—to the extent to which it afflicts the average person every evening of his life—is not inevitable. We can do much to lessen, if not to prevent it. The natural fatigue which follows prolonged effort is not the chief cause fbr common fatigue. The chief cause is generally blood impurity, brought about by excessive or ill-chosen diet. During the working day a man must eat only those foods that can be easily and rapidly digested. In this way he will not only add nothing to the forces which wear him out, but he will do much to prevent their effect and to rebuild the tissues which are being drawn on by his work. The more mental his work is the 'more important is it' that his diet shall be light during the hours of work. When evening comes and his work is over for the day he may take a substantial meal and a substantial quantity of time for its enjoyment and its digestion.

Next comes the question of resting all the faculties during the day, at those times when they are not being used for work. There are minutes, possibly hours, for all of us, while we are going to or from our work or about our business, during which, if wd are wise, we can rest. Practice closing the eyes and relaxing every muscle of the body as you sit in the tram or omnibus. You will put to valuable use moments which are otherwise wasted, and you will do much to support the creative forces of yoiir body and defeat those which daily combine to wear you out.

BONDAGE OF BRIDGE.

OBSESSION IN SYDNEY.

While some citizens of Sydney are worrying themselves and others with talk of financial stringency, there are some constantly engaged in an opposite manner, says the correspondent of the ‘Argus.’ They are spending freely and enjoying themselves. The races, the theatres, and all places of entertainment are largely attended. All the golf clubs are adding to their waiting lists, and bridge bondage is noticeable through city and suburbs. Several of the large stores have bridge tuition as a special side line. Women who have heard from others that if they wish for social success, they “must learn bridge,” and from others that if they ask questions of innocence while fingering their cards in doubt they will be socially excommunicated, are feverishly learning or partly learning just what to do in all circumstances. They are meeting at the stores each day in their hundreds, meeting to learn, while in almost all the women’s clubs and in scores of other places there are bridge parties every afternoon and evening. One great store has morning and afternoon sessions of bridge beginners at 3/6 a session. The charge covers morning or afternoon tea. There are in addition two afternoon practice sessions each week, with drilling in the intricacies and etiquette of the game, at 2s a person. These likewise include tea, and beingconsidered “good bargains” will be constantly rushed. Bridge is no longer a game in this city. With many it is an obsession.

LUCKY BRIDESMAIDS Seldom, if ever, has a'bevy of bridesmaids been rewarded on such a princely scald as the, long retinue of 17 girls who attended Miss Margaret Darell at her wedding to Mr. Helmet Schroder, says an English writer. The bridegroom gave an enormous dinner party at the Embassy to the bridesmaids and the 20 ushers, and when each girl took her place at the long table she found a flat leather case, with her initials stamped upon it. Inside each case was a pair of long diamond ear-rings hung with a tourmaline drop, and no sooner had the delightful surprise worn off than the recipients realised that Mr. Schroder had even taken the trouble to find out who had pierced ear-lobes and who not.

AN AGED “TYPISTE.” To be able to use a typewriter expertly at the age of 101 is the distinction of Miss Eleanor Hadow, of Leamington, England, who has, just celebrated her 101st birthday. She has not long been acquainted with the working of a typewriter, but since she studied it she frequently resorts to its use. JEWELLERY AT BALL All-British jewellery worth half a million pounds was worn by the mannequines at the jewel and fashion parade staged during a ball recently, says, the “Daily Mail.” This is yet another effort to popularise British-made frocks, and some of the committee, among them Lady Trevor Dawson, Lady Augusta Fane, and Lady Mullen- , eux Grayson, wore gowns made by English designers from English fabrics. To show the durable qualities of British-made fabrics, brocade woven in Stafford over thirty years ago with gold thread from Lancashire, was worn as an evening cloak by one of the guests.