FOR WOMEN Are We to Have Women Diplomats?

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 July 1946, Page 10

FOR WOMEN Are We to Have Women Diplomats?

The British Foreign Minister, Mi’ Ernest Bevin, appointed a committee at the end of last year to examine the question of opening to women some of the more important posts in the British Diplomatic Service. The committee has presented a favourable report and it seems likely that some day our diplomatic circles will be graced by ambassadresses as well as ambassadors. This is not a thing which has sprung up over night. During the war many women were chosen as secretaries attached to British Embassies, and for similar positions. But their appointments in the higher branches of the diplomatic service ’were temporary. The social service counsellor at the British Embassy is a woman; a 21-year-old girl, Miss C. M. . E. Hastings, was made temporary viceconsul in New York only a couple of months ago; an older woman, Mrs Marjorie Spikes, is attache for women’s affairs in Washington; in Greece and in Norway temporary secretarial positions have been held by women at the British Embassies. Overseas Precedent Neither is women’s work in diplomatic service without precedent in other countries. There was Mrs Ruth Owen, who was America’s first woman diplomat, she was in Denmark until 1936; Mrs Florence Harriman was United States representative in Norway until the German invasion.

More recently there is that perfectly charming creature who was Mlle. Suzanne Borel before her marriage to France’s Chief of Government, M. George Bidault. Her marriage. which is only six or seven months old, found Suzanne Borel with the rank of Counsellor. In London there are about 25 women in the Foreign Office in the top grade, and- they have been classed as temporary administrative assistants/ It is because women of this type have done such good work in temporary positions during the war that their suitability for permanent work in the diplomatic service has been examined. Dominion Appointment There seems no doubt that Britain is prepared to use capable women in the higher ranks of her civil service. A case very close to home is the recent appointment of Miss •H. B. M. Staple to the position of assistantsecretary in the office of the United Kingdom High Commissioner in New Zealand. Miss Staple will fill the position in the Wellington office which has been held by Mr CostlyWhite. In the latter part of her war work in England Miss Staple was engaged at the Dominion office as a temporary assistant principal. Since August of last year she has been private secretary to the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State, Mr John Parker. Personal Notes I Miss M. Gilbert left for Nelson by| air this morning. Mr. and Mrs. J. Forrest left for Wellington by air this morning. Miss K. R. Johnson left to-day on return to Christchurch.

Mrs. Van der Plas, wife of the leader of the Netherlands delegation to the Tasman tercentenary celebrations, left yesterday for Wellington after a visit to the West Coast. She was interned in Java during the Japanese occupation and expects to leave in a few weeks. on return to that country.

Fashion Parade in Aircraft

Always keen to be first our American cousins outdid themselves recently when they staged the world’s first aerial fashion show. They called it an “airborne” fashion parade, and-the area chosen was high in the clouds above New York. Guests of honour at the airborne mannequin parade were fashion magazine editors and fashion writers, plus a Mr. Bruce Hopkins, who had an insecure job up near the nose of the aircraft photographing . the models as they paraded from . their dressing room at the. rear of the plane. . ” Clothes shown included day and evening wear, while the main accent was on change-of-season “fall” fashions —a fate-provoking choice for an airborne showing. From fall wear, the show wont through the fashion seasons to summer, finishing up on beach wear.

Incidentally, the aircraft chosen for the show was a Pan-American Constellation which, with 54 persons- in its pressurised cabin, including guests and models, cruised at 10,000-odd feet: There aircraft have just been banned from flying in America until the causes of several serious and fatal clashes concerning them have been investigated. Hirds and Recipes Variety. Tiny shreds of lemon-peel give piquancy to stewed rabbit. A dusting of spieje will give a distinctive note to steak and kidney pie. A nice variety of sausage-roll can be made by adding sliced apple to the sausage meat.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread. Take 1 cup each of sugar, dripping, treacle or syrup, and sour milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon bicarb, soda dissolved in hot water. Take enough flour to make a good batter (4 or 5 cups)—not too thick. Stir spice, sugar, dripping and treacle , together, keeping the mixture slightly warmed; then add milk, eggs (beaten lightly), then soda and flour. Beat well, bake in large greased dish or, if for cakes, patty-tins. If adding raisins dredge with flour and put in last.

Honey and Walnut Biscuits. Four ounces shortening; 2 cups plain flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 egg; 1 cup sugar; 1 dessertspoon honey; 1 cup chopped walnuts; vanilla to taste. Cream shortening with sugar, add honey and well-beaten egg. Sift flour and baking powder and mix it with the chopped nuts. Add to sugar mixture with vanilla and mix well. Roll out and cut into finger lengths, then bake on a well-greased baking tray for about 15 minutes.

Vice-Regal Reception for Debutantes

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 29. Their Excellencies Sir Bernard and Lady Freyberg propose giving a dance at Government House, Wellington, during the fourth week of September, at which a limited number of debutantes will be received by Their Excellencies. Applications for.. presentation should be addressed to the Aide-de-camp-in-waiting, Government House, Wellington, not later than August 12 by the mother or other nearest relative of the prospective debutante, whose usual Christian name and age should be stated.

Novel Floor Coverings in Britain New ways of covering floors have had to be found’ in Britain because of the shortage of earpets. One good substitute is a layer of underfelt surfaced by matting or closely-woven canvas. This last has the advantage of being cheaper than a carpet, and can be bought by the yard and fitted to the size of the room. An architect has furnished her small lounge successfully in this way in pale brown canvas, and has added an attractive colouring effect by painting.. .(in. oils). a. one-foot wide pale green border around two sides of the canvas. This, bordering makes the room look much larger.

Sir Charles Reilly, the well-known British architect, fitted coconut matting for the floor of his study. He poured several layers of cream gloss paint on to the matting and left it to dry out. The result is hard, yet resilient as moorland turf. It looks faintly honeycombed, and lends a unique air of lightness to his basement flat. .

This treatment is suitable for any type of worn fitted carpet. A wet rag or wax polish keeps it clean, and in years to come another coat of paint renews the whole thing. On rugs or mats, however, such treatment, would be impractical, for‘they would slide on polished floors, crack, and. fray at the edges.

Care- of Your” Range is Important

Some housewives are in the habit of using asbestos mats on the plates of itheir electric ranges and then they wonder why the elements do not last long. . Many of the ranges m use to-day are fitted with both the cast plate and coil type of element. Some housewives, in order to get, a very low temperature for simmering certain foods or when making jam, place asbestos mats between their saucepans and. the heating elements. This drives the heat downwards and the overheating causes the cast plates to crack and the tube casing of the coil elements to buckle and break, expos- { ing the element. If a saucepan boils over and liquid penetrates through the cast plate, or the broken tube casing, the elements are ruined and require, replacement. An important point to remember , is to keep your range plates clean. 1 Any rust should be removed with sand or emery paper. A trace of oil rubbed over with a rag will keep the range plates clean and prevent rust. Range elements are in short, supply these days and much dearer than formerly. Care of your range -will, more than repay you.

Canadian Sisters on New Zealand Visit

“Cotton materials are particularly scarce in Canada at present, and we sometimes pay more for a good cotton dress than for silks,” said Miss Louise E. Bridges, a Canadian librarian, who, with her sister, Miss Dorothy Bridges, has arrived from Canada on a visit to New Zealand. Stockings of all kinds appeared to be more plentiful in New Zealand shops than they were in Canada, where the stores kept their customers’ names on a list and notified them on the rare occasions when' they had any pairs available..

Canadians were rationed to about half a pound of butter a week, and cooking fats were extremely scarce,

said Miss Bridges. The manufacture of margarine had been prohibited by law to protect the dairy industry. All meats ■ were rationed, pork being practically unobtainable. i Miss Louise Bridges hopes to spend about a year in New Zealand to gain some knowledge of library methods here. She graduated bachelor of arts at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, and obtained her degree of bachelor of library science at McGill University, Montreal. She has held responsible posts in Montreal, Newfoundland, Vancouver, Ottawa and Alaska. During the war she was purchasing officer for the educational services which kept the forces supplied with reading matter. Miss Dorothy Bridges graduated bachelor of arts at McMaster University and has since held a number

lof secretarial posts in various parts |of Canada. After spending two and a-half years in Bermuda with the company responsible for building the United States naval base there, she returned to Canada and enlisted with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. Home Health Guide Sore Throats. Some mothers have an entirely wrong idea about sore throats, says a Health Department bulletin. They become confused because of diphtheria immunisations. The reasoning is that because their child has been protected by the full course of immunisation against diphtheria there is no need to worry unduly about a septic sore throat. Let us think- of the septic throat alone at first. The tonsils and neighbouring parts of the throat are attacked by germs, and the chief danger is in the sepsis that is occurring inside, on the surface and around the tonsil. This poisonous material is, some of it, getting into and circulating in the blood stream. Chills and fever may follow and there is always the risk of germs settling in joints or heart or other organs, or of setting up rheumatic fever. So supposing the idea of absolute safety from diphtheria was correct, that would be no excuse for treating any sore throat lightly. A little child was seen recently \vith grossly enlarged septic tonsils and acutely' inflamed throat. Up till then it had been without effective treatment or medical attention, just because mother thought there was nothing to worry about, since the child had had injections against diphtheria. That mother did not realise how a septic throat lays the whole body open to risk. A septic throat demands immediate treatment. Now let us look at the diphtheria angle. It is not true that diphtheria immunisation is an absolute protection against diphtheria. What is established is that immunisation so reduces the risk of getting diphtheria qs 'to make it foolish to chance the disease any more —if in spite of immunisation you should be unlucky enough to contract it, the disease will be mild and risk of fatality immensely reduced. ■ ■ No septic throats should be neglected. Modern drug treatment so shortens the illness and reduces likelihood of complications that medical attention should- be obtained.