news and jottings for... WOMEN

Lake County Mail, Issue 15, 3 September 1947, Page 10

news and jottings for ... WOMEN

by "Beatrice”

All correspondence connected withthis column should be addressed to “ Beatrice,” Box 434, Dunedin.

Women Drivers . Turn Deaf Ear To Male Critics

Special advice to women drivers —stop listening to men who com- ■ plain about your driving.^ Since the invention of the motor car fhe “woman driver,” that wayward, reckless, irresponsible agent of terror and death (as compared with her cool, efficient, accident-free male counterpart) has been a natural target for motorists’ scorn, ridicule and contumely. Woman’s place is behind the pram, not behind the wheel. But, according to Howard Spring, research writer for the American “Woman’s Home Companion,” extensive canvassing of authoritative opinion resulted in a 63 per cent, verdict in favour of women as being “ as good or better drivers” than men; 30 per cent, on the side of women being worse; 7 per cent, evasion of the vital issue involved. «By a greater than two to one majority,” says Mr Spring, “ the old wheeze about the woman driver was debunked.” Proof during the war years of women’s mechanical aptitude in factories and of their capabilities as truck, ambulance and tractor drivers in the armed services should ha<ve dispelled the notion that a woman behind the wheel should be classed in insurance cover as an act of national fatality. Nevertheless the criticism “ woman driver ” is still advanced as the natural and inevitable reason for road accidents. This may be because woman has habits and customs, natural to herself but incomprehensible to the male, which do lend themselves to criticism in connection with the manipulation of so lethal an instrument as the motor car. In this connection the following “ special advice ” is tendered in addition to that at the head of this article. Don’t drive with small children in the front seat if you can avoid it. They arc bound to require attention and all your attention should be on the road. , Wear proper clothes for driving. How can you expect to work the pedals when you are wearing three-inch heels? Or grip the wheel when you arc afraid you might soil your clean gloves? Or see out the back when you are wearing a hat like a Chinese pagoda? Don’t powder your nose at intersections. Watch yourself when you light a cigarette. Unless you’re thoroughly experienced don’t smoke while driving. Don’t blow your horn so much. It won’t blow them out of your way. Remember hand signals. Don’t keep it secret where you’re going. A motor club official give this tip. “ Please don’t window shop while driving. I saw an accident recently, in which a woman driver. piled her car up to the tune of £25 while craning her neck at a 50 shilling bargain in a shop window. No economy there!” A little basic knowledge of automobile mechanism is recommended for the woman driver. It helps to cure faults to which she is admittedly prone, as hcsitance with the gears and a tendency to “ ride the clutch.” By and large, 'there is no ground for the belief that woman plus car equal chaos and destruction. Every physical attribute necessary to a good driver she shares in common with the male.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPE FRUIT BISCUITS lib plain flour lib margarine 11b castor sugar | teaspoon baking powder 2oz currants or sultanas 1 beaten egg. Sift flour into a basin. Rub in margarine. Stir in sugar, baking powder, fruit and enough egg to make a Tollable dough. Turn on to a lightly floured board. Roll to Jin thickness. Cut into fancy shapes with floured cutters. Prick centres with a fork. Place a little apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a moderately hot oven, 375deg P. (Regulo 4), for about 20 minutes. Dredge with castor sugar. Cool on a wire tray.

HAVE YOU TRIED—? The safe way to poach several eggs at a time. Break your eggs into a bowl. Stir boiling salted water —one cup per egg—with wooden spoon until it whirls. Pour eggs all at once into the centre of the whirl. Cover and cook just below boiling point for three minutes.

WATCH THOSE SAGGING NECK MUSCLES

Hollywood Expert’s Advice

“ You’re only as old as your neck it sounds a little peculiar perhaps but nevertheless it’s correct. Hollywood make-up ~ expert Wally Westmore contends that the neck shows age more quickly than the face. “At 20, because the average woman’s neck is slim, beautiful and without lines, she takes it for granted,” says Westmore. “At 35, she’s bemoaning her early lack of attention —and* at 40, she's constantly taking care of her face to guard against the -inroads of time, but that’s as far as she goes.” More Care Urged Westmore urges even more careful attention to the neck and under-chin care than to the face. To young girls in their early twenties, Westmore offered these suggestions:—Cleanse the neck nightly just as you do the face — using two applications of cleansing cream,. rubbing the cream in with an upward and outward movement, then removing it with tissue and washing with warm water and a good, mild soap. The use of night cream is of major importance in the care of the neck. The procedure should entail a nightly five-minute exercise—using the tips of the fingers and patting the cream into the skin—always with an upward and outward motion. Night cream, however, need not be kept on all night. The skin absorbs as much as it will in 15 or 20 minutes, and the surplus may then be removed with tissue. * A Double Chin? For "those with double or flabby chins a piece of cotton soaked in skin fresheners and held under the chin for five minutes will prove beneficial. Morning cleansing should be done with cleansing cream and tissue, followed by a skin freshener. The woman who follows these procedures religiously from the tender age of 20 never need fear a sagging of neck muscles.