MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 August 1932, Page 3

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INTEREST

( Notes by

Marjorie )

FOLDING DOORS. A VICTORIAN REVIVAL. One of the characteristics of the large London drawing-room of Victorian days was the pair of folding doors that divided the front drawing-room, sacred to afternoon tea parties, from the back drawing-room, where household business was transacted in the mornings.

These folding doors have been re vived in modern flats, where the living room takes the place of drawingroom and dining-room, to divide ths one end of the room from the' other during meals. There is, however, a world of difference between the creak ing Victorian doors, painted in sober brown or grey, and these folding doors installed in the Hampstead Heath flat of the famous lawn tennis player, Mr H. W. Austin (writes a London correspondent). Primros© yellow, apple green, flame and beige are the colours used- in the two halves of the room. The side of the.doors facing the drawing-room half of the apartment is covered with a modern tapestry, of mixed silk and wool material in tones of beige, gieen and flame. The other side, looking on to the dining-room half, is covered with apple-green velvet, to harmonise with the apple-green painted dining table and sideboard. Flood lighting has been arranged under the wooden pelmet on either side of the' folding doors, which slide right back -when desired behind a portion of the wall. The dining-room curtains are the same green velvet as those on that side of the folding doors, while tho.se in the drawing-room portion are of three-colour tapestry. In this way the illusion of two separate rooms is complete when the doors are in use. When 'only one reception room is needed for parties, the wails in both halves of the room are seen to be painted the same varnished primrose yellow, tr» carpet is the same buff pile, and th J flame colour of the painted fruit on the dining-table is repeated in a modern picture over the mantelpiece and in the cylinder scone lights either side of the chimney breast.

POINTS ON PEELING.

While no one has yet found a method of eliminating the peeling ci fruits and vegetables, still there are ways of cutting down on the time involved. Good cutlery is the first isquisite. Have plenty of paring knives and see that they h?ve good cutting edges A dull knife wastes both time and food, since it is more difficult to make thin- parings. Paring knives with gay enamelled handles make' the ever-recurring peeling process a bit more colourful. Stainless knives are good in that they require no scouring. In the next place, why peel things when it is not necessary to do so ? Apple sauce is quite as good made from unpeeled apples and requires much less time. Wash the apples. Quarter, remove the cores and any blemished parts. Cover with water and boil till soft. Mash through the colander. The shells will stay in the colander < while the pulp will go through. There is less waste this way than if the apples were peeled, since only a thin part of the skin is discarded.

Young carrots, oyster plant, an-l similar vegetables should be scraped much as new potatoes are. This removes only the outer film. Vegetables that do not scrape easily can be cooked for a very short time, and can then be drained and the loosened skin will come off easily.

Boiling potatoes in their jackets should be much more generally practiced, as paring them after they arc cooked is a much speedier process. To peel oniops, scald them in much the same manner as tomatoes and the outer skins will then slip off easily.

WOMEN DOCTORS

LONDON, July 27

Whether women doctors are a success is the subject of a sharp division of opinion among doctors attending the centenary progress of the British Medical Association.

One woman doctor of 10 years’ experience says their success has fulfilled expectations. Some women doctors draw £2OOO a year, and women surgeons get £lOO for an operation.

A. male doctor says'that women doctors are, not progressing because nowadays they have average personality and ability, instead of exceptional, as when the profession was first, open to them. “No woman has achieved a national medical reputation, or made an important discovery,” is this doctor’s charge.

IDEAL HOSTESS GOWN. The ideal gown for the at home in formal entertaining is worn by Sylvia Sidney in her latest offering for the screen. The gown is of black georgette, cut with a full bodice, high in the neckline, and puff sleeves ending with a tight cuff. The skirt is beautifully cut and fitted with V-shaped pin tucks and an eight-gored skirt sweeping the floor. With this frock Miss Sidney has add od black velvet pumps, and her only jewels are a string of exquisite pearls and the stud pearl earrings.

PETTICOATS. LADIES STILL NEED THEM. LONDON, July 29. A plea, for the petticoat of old is made ’ by Lady Oxford —the famous Margot—in discussing modern girls. “I view with grave concern the modern girl’s fashions and habits and wonder whether, when she marries, she will provide the proper spirit for her home, which is the only foundation of human, progress,”' writes Lady Oxford in an article “Then and Now.” “Although drinking is more fashionable than formerly among both rich and poor, to-day’s cocktail bottle anil pyjama parties are less intoxicating, but equally noisy, dull and injurious as the champagne of my youth. I wonder if the belief in 'equality of the sexes is to the advantage of the modern girl? - ’

“Lady Tree, widow of the famous actor-manager, once asked a famous lawyer if he liked blue stockings, and the lawyer replied, ‘Yes; when hidden under a petticoat.’ That is an ob-ject-lesson, for the modern girl who is not ‘hidden under a petticoat’ expresses a not sufficiently interesting self too soon, with too much complacency.'

100th. WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Two aged peasants of Serbia, who, It is claimed, are the oldest married couple in the world, celebrated the 100th anniversary of their marriage in their little native village, near Nisch, at the end of June.

WOMEN AS TOREADORS.

With the recognition of the equality of the sexes by the Spanish Republic, Spanish women are throwing off the centuries old restraint which previous. lv governed their actions. ' Recently a football match took place here between two teams of senoritas, while in the neighbouring town of La Linca, a bull fight was Staged, in which women acted as toreadors.

FASHIONS IN THE RAIN

Umbrellas —not the usual rainy day kind —furnished the colour splashes for wintry styles at a Melbourne race meeting recently. They provided an interesting fashion feature on their own. Seemingly, the utilitarian Umbrella has been put to rout by an invasion of shower-proof ones in a variety of cheery colours. Hoisted by leather-coated and fur-clad figures were umbrellas in such shades as brick red, rose pink, purple, green both bright and dull—and even beige. Those iji brown tones were numerous. One in caramel shade, says the Melbourne “Herald” showed a violet border in double lines. Nearly all umbrellas sported fanciful rib tips from simulated amber and ivory to, compositions in lacquer red. There was another point to be noticed. The smartest shapes were flat, after the style of a Japanese parasol. A figure in a sapphire blue leather coat shielded herself from the intermittent showers with a flat umbrella showing a light blue geometrical pattern on a sapphire blue background. There were amusing style contrasts. Some women were gloved in white kid and booted in goloshes. Remembering the way certain parts of the course became waterlogged on rainy days, number of women patrons placed comfort first and waded through the puddles in high leather boots or bootee goloshes. A new kind of golosh in very fine beige rubber fitted the wearer like a glove, from toe to the upper, w’hich reached almost to the knee..

TAKING OUT THE SHINE

A. correspondent sends in a useful hint for renovating clothing:— *“ln these days of adversity when clothes ‘reflect’ the attenuation of the pay envelope, the enclosed newspaper cutting showing' a method of removing shine, if published, may be found useful by those whose suits cannot yet be passed over to the ‘Smith’ or any other family of philanthropists.” The cutting states: “‘Shine’ can be effectively treated in the following manner, dissolve a little powdered alum in water in the proportion of one part, of alum to sixteen parts of water. Sponge the shiny parts of the garment with this preparation. If the whole garment looks shabby sponge it. all over, rubbing any very bad patches vigorously. While the garment is damp it should be steamed and pressed lightly. If there is still any sign of shine the portion so affecte dshouid" be rubbed very gently with the finest grade of emery paper, rubbing the way of the pile and being careful not to overdo the friction. This treatment will raise new pile to replace the nap which has been worn away. As a final process the garment should be well brushed.’ ”