MAINLY FOR WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 November 1932, Page 9

MAINLY FOR WOMEN

ITEMS OF INfEREST

( Notes by

Marjorie )

FRESHENING A ROOM To perfume and freshen a room and clear it of flies, put some clean sponges dipped and squeezed in some hot water into fancy dishes or saucers and sprinkle well with lavender water. You will be surprised what a Cooling and sweet effect it has in a ;oom on a hot day. * TO CUiAN A SEWING MACHINE Fill the oil can with methylated spirits and oil the machine thoroughly with it. The machine will become stiff and hard to work, and the dirt will be seen coming out of the holes. After working the machine for about 10 minutes, oil again with a little kerosene and olive oil mixed together, then work for about 10 minutes. It will then work quite smoothly. Then, to finish off, oil it with proper machine oil. By doing this you will have a clean and smooth-running sewing machine. GLOWING HEADS Phosphorescent hair-dressing, which enables a woman’s head to glow in the darkness, is the latest thing in fashions. Women may choose between pale blue, red and green, so as to match most dresses. It is dope with a spray and a harmless powder, the invention of a famous hairdresser. The hair is first dressed in numerous loose-curled locks above the temples and at the neck, and afterwards painted with a slightly glutinous liquid. Then the phosphorescent powder is sprayed on. The effect is extremely striking. The powder will not full olt, but cun be removed by brushing or washing.

WOMEN FAIL, IN EXAMS. LONDON, September 27. The result of this year’s annual competition for the Administrative Class of the Civil Service, announced on Saturday, will prove a. disappointment to women. They have failed to win a single place at the examination, which is regarded as one of the most difficult in the world. Eleven vacancies were offered, and only six women entered —the lowest number since women first became eligible in-1925, when thirty-one competed. Since the first year there has been a steady decline in the number of women candidates for administrative posts at Whitehall. This has been women’s worst year in examinations for the higher . appointments in Whitehall. In addition to their failure to win a place at the Class 1 examination, they only secured throe vacancies out of fifty at the competition for the executive group of appointments, though 302 women competed. At the examination for inspectors of income-tax, women, with 88 candidates, won only seven places out of 40. In previous years women ( more than held their own in their contests with men.

COSTLY WEDDING CUSTOMS. To eradicate extravagant wedding customs the Women’s Association of Miyazaki prefecture, Tokyo, has formulated regulations for wedding expenses which all members are pledged to observe. , According to these, the cost of a marriage should not. exceed 30 per cent of the bridegroom’s annual income. The betrothal money which the bridegroom sends to the bride is to be one-third of the whole expense of the wedding. One-fifth of the money is to be returned to the bridegroom, and of the balance one-third is to buy the furniture, a small item in Japanese homes, and the remaining two-thirds is to pay for the bride’s trousseau. Wedding receptions are to be abolished. The regulations add the Spartan proviso that all men who hav e enjoyed a middle-school education should, pay their own marriage expenses instead of depending on their parents.

AMMONIA DOES LT. Carpets that are faded can be brightened wonderfully and the colour restored by rubbing them with a solution of ammonia and warm water —- about one part of ammonia to two of water. In addition to this it takes out acid and grease stains, so that the carpet looks almost new again. Varnished wallpaper which has been splashed with grease from the stove can be washed with a pailful of warm soapy waler Io which a tablespoonful of ammonia. has been added. This will dissolve dirt or grease.

Wash down the walls with a chamois, starting at the top and working downwards, then dry with the leather wrung out of clean water, not with a cloth. Linen and blankets that have become discoloured with repeated washings may be bleached white by soaking them in a solution made with tin ee-quarters of a pint of hydrogen of peroxide (that sold for home purposes) and a few drops of ammonia to a gallon of water. i-tecp the articles in this for half an hour, then dry them slowly. Repeat the soaking if necessary.

COLOURED II AN DKERCHIEF S Coloured handkerchiefs are claiming more and more attention from manufacturers, states an English correspondent, and the newest, stocks show some interesting experiments in coloured patterns. White spots on a wide red border, reminiscent of the once accepted covering for the road; mender’s luncheon, are being made in medium-fine grades, while some handkerchiefs add to this border a centre pattern in a variety of spotted colour schemes. Borders in a massed floral design and black and white handkerchiefs are available in an attractive variety of styles. Large unbleached handkerchiefs patterned in colour make suitable accessories to a sports outfit. BABY’S WARDROBE. One of the chores no well-constitut-ed young man ever neglects is to carry the family garbage can from domestic headquarters to the front gate in readiness for the gentleman with the cart (says the Auckland Star). On a recent day the youngman of a suburban menage, having valiantly performed this duty, returned, to the house chattily commenting on the fact that there were three receptacles, chaffing the housewife on the unusual circumstances and speaking of his own nobility in tackling the heavy job. Next day mother, after a somewhat fruitless search, communicated the dreadful news that a close search of the house failed to reveal baby’s garments, inor did an intense combing of the bungalow elucidate the mystery. It remained, indeed, a mystery until the ardent young man returned home, when it was found that the kerosene tin in which the baby's clothing “for the wash” had been placed had been hastily filled up with old newspapers and what not and that the scavenger had borne them to the place of destruction. So there is a lot of knitting going on in that house at present.

“BELIEVE IT OR NOT.” NEW YORK, November 3. When Robert Ripley, the creator of “Believe it, or Not,” was in Australia, he received a writ from a notable Hollywood actress for breach of promise. Now he has • returned from Australia, and Believe it or Not, has became the third party in another form of writ. Ripley missed a golden opportunity to reiterate his famous line on his own behalf in the Divorce Court, when Julius Goldstein, a wealthy silk merchant, was granted a divorce from his wife, whom he said he found in Ripley’s company when he made a raid on her flat. Ripley did not appear in Court. “Well, Believe it or Not,” said the judge, “Goldsteiu is entitled to a decree, anyway.” > AMUSING FASHIONS.

There is a girl in the West End of London, who, although only 15, runs her own beauty parlour and invents all sorts of amusing things to add to feminine attraction. She is an expert in the intricacies of modern nail varnishing. One of her recent “creations” was a set of nails made to look like marble, with, on each finger, a letter of the owner’s namp, -which happened to be Molly. A Spanish Royalist, who happens to be one of her clients, has her nails varnished red and yellow*—th;© Spanish Monarchist colours. The same youthful beauty specialist has invented the most amusing ringlets, or rather roses, to wear in the hair at night. If you are a black-haired brunette, for instance, you wear a garland of roses made from platinum blonde hair; but if you are fair, a circlet of black ringlets will prove vastly alluring. TO SHORTEN A FLARED SKIRT. A thing that puzzles many home dressmakers is how to’ shorten a flared skirt without losing its fullness or taking in its top. Run a tuck round each flare a little lower than half way between the waist and the knee. You will find that this makes the edge of the seams crooked. This is easily remedied by taking a straight line with your inch tape from the top to the bottom of the pattern. If you are very short you can take a little off the bottom too, for in such cases slightly less fullness is an advantage. Flared skirts often drop unevenly after cutting and in wear, so if you can possibly spare the time hang up your dress for a day or two before having the edge finished off. .