WOMEN AT OLYMPIA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22904, 11 June 1936, Page 17

WOMEN AT OLYMPIA

HOUSE FOR WOMEN ATHLETES POSITIVELY NO MEN ALLOWED.” The men who are to take part in the Olympic Games having been assigned comfortable quarters in the Olympic Village, far from the noise and distractions of the big city the Comradeship House of the German Students’ AthleGc Society has been set aside ns the temporary home of the women athletes (says Marie Haberinanii in an Olympic Bulletin). This house is situated very near the Olympic Stadium at the north-east corner of the Keich sport field, and for the duration of the XI Olympic Games will be known as the “ Frauenheim.” In case the 150 double rooms, equipped with every comfort and furnished in tasteful style, will not servo to accommodate all the young women who are to take part in the Games one of the wings of the School of Gymnastics will also be requisitioned for the purpose. This w'ould mean that living quartens would be available for 000 women. Just as out in Doeberitz the bodily and spiritual needs of the men are being looked after, so also in this home the young women will be cared for in every way. For the physical comforts of the guests Freifrau von Wangenheim has assumed the responsibility, while for their recreation and entertainment Counteas von Wartcnslcben will have charge of all arrangements. At the close of the “ burdens and labours ” of a day of training the sportswomen, so far as their time permits, will gather for a congenial hour in the library, reading room, music room, or games room, as the case may be, and will also be able to hear music and song programmes so arranged as to inspire international fellowship. Each of the 150 bedrooms contains two beds and a clothes press. The dressing rooms, with shower baths, and connecting swimming pool and Turkish baths, are for the use of all the visiting athletes. In particular the “water rats” will be pleased to have a swimming pool so handy, with even a springboard for diving. _ As the girls from Japan, as well as the girls from England and Germany—in short, every duaghter of Eve—set great store on caring for their hair, expert friseuses will be on hand, who understand the art of permanent waving, undulating, etc., and will see to it that the young sportswoman at the “ Frauenheim ” always wear their hair to the best advantage. One of the biggest problems—that of assuaging the healthy young appetites—has already been solved. The North German Lloyd, with its knowledge of international taste in cooking, has arranged to furnish a sufficient number of female cooks. No man will be permitted to set foot inside the “home’--to provide each and every one of the young women with her favourite national dish, whether it be a delicacy known only in Japan, or Italian spaghetti or macaroni, which are already known to the German cuisine. Serving-women will take care of all laundry. including mending and other necessary sewing. Librarians, interpreters, masseuses, nurses, and other attendants will be 'constantly at the beck and call of the guests. It will bo an easy matter for all to understand the rules of the house, posted up in five languages. So far as time permits, the young women may visit all the interesting sights of Berlin. This personal contact, coming from living under the same roof, in the hospitable atmosphere of the “Frauenheim,” will contribute no small share to a feeling of understanding among the nations who will be' gathered together from all parts of the earth under the banner of the “ Five Hinge of Olympia.” The “ Frauenheim ” will be ready to be turned over to the Olympic authorities by the beginning of July, and will be ready for occupancy on July 15.

WHY AREN’T THEY OUT OF DOORS? So many children, even in these en-, lightened days, are what one might call “ fine weather ” children. Their mothers will say, “ Oh, we mustn't waste this beautiful day indoors,” and will send them out early to play, or hurry over the housework so that they themselves may take them out—only if the air is mild and the eun is shining! On a wet day what happens? They are kept indoors because mother is afraid of “ the damp ” giving them a cold. Or, on a windy day, what ie mother’s verdict? She says, “They’re better at home; you know bow easily they take a chill.” I don’t pretend that all mothers are like this (says the Glasgow Herald). But you and I probably know a good many! And the worst of it is that if on our suggestion they for once take the children out on a wet or blustering day the little monkeys probably do develop “streaming colds,” and we reap the comment, “ There you are! You see, it may be all right for your children, but mine are different.” But the whole reason why these particular children take cold is that they have been made into hothouse specimens by coddling methods in the past. One cannot harden children suddenly. The only way to fortify their systems against cold-catching in bad weather is to train their throats and noses by gradual degrees to become accustomed to air of all temperatures; to begin from their babyhood a routine of daily outings. (The only exceptions would he premature babies or those predisposed to had bronchitis and croup.) The average young child can perfectly well stand up to most of the changes of our queer climate en long as he is fitted out with, the right clothing and is not taken out in the fog or strong east wind. Baby, for instance, will be quite all right in his pram on the wettest day if his pram apron has a “storm-front,”

which keeps the drips from running down onto his little chest. The necessity of having the pram hood up will, of course, mean that he is not having quite such a generous allowance of fresh air aa we should wish; so when he comes indoors, it will be a good plan to let him spend part of his time lying or playing in his pram, with the hood down, close by the open window in a room with no fire, or, better still, stand it just inside an open door that leads into the garden. Naturally, he will keep on his outdoor clothes. Toddlers will need mackintoshes, waterproof hats, and rubber boots or goloshes and gaiters. It is wise to put on an extra pair of stockfhgs with rubber boots. There should at all events be no expanse of bare leg between the top of the boots and the bottom of the mackintosh in wet weather. A wet mackintosh chafes little bare legs severely, and,gives the child a general ‘feeling of discomfort. And I think youngsters are too often bundled up in weighty wraps to “keep out the damp,” so that they come to associate wet weather with physical weariness, and this, added to their elders’ remarks about the “ awful day,” makes them look upon rain as an unmitigated evil. It would be better to implant in them the spirit of the old gardener -who said, “There’s nae such thing as bad weather; there’s just different kinds of guid weather! ” But, apart from considerations of rain and cold, many mothers will tell you that they “ simply haven’t the time ” to take the children out a s often as they would wish. They should try to remember, however, that fresh air for the children during these body-building early years, which mean so much for their future, is infinitely more important than a spotless house, a faultless appearance, or even that wellordered “routine” which the good wife loves. In serious illne.ss they’d have to “ let things go,” but why wait for baby to be ill before you decide that be counts for far more than the multitude of “ things ” with which we are apt to surround our lives?

And because of this, I do plead with you all to train your child from his earliest years to play alone. Don’t talk to him all the time you are out with him; don’t be constantly drawing big attention to this, that, or the other. If only babiey were trained to play alone sometimes —I don’t say always—we should not hear so much about mothers who arc nearly distracted because their children won’t play happily in the garden for more than a-quarter of an hour at a time.

THE TWO E’S IN ELECTRICITY

Many readers who have comfortably settled themselves in now homes where there is an electric supply will find that their lack of knowledge of electrical matters gives rise to a number of problems, and it is possible that they are not making the best use of that supply from a practical and economical point of view (says the Glasgow Herald). The first important thing to consider is the lighting problem. A little knowledge in this direction will ensure better lighting conditions and a distinct economy in the consumption of current. When buying an electric bulb the following factors have to be taken into consideration:—First, the voltage. This will be common to all your lamps, and the same as the main’s voltage, which will be specified on the meter card. Say, for the sake of example, that this is 230 volts D.C. The letters D.C. mean “direct current,” while A.C. would mean “ alternating current.” Whatever your main’s voltage is, therefore, will be the voltage factor you will specify when buying a lamp, and a lamp having a different factor from that on vour mains will not be suitable. The next factor is a very important one —the wattage of the lamp. There is no need to go into technical figures and formulas providing we realise what watt means. A high wattage lamp represents a greater consumption of current than a low wattage one, and, of course, a greater brilliancy of light. A 100-watt lamp would consume twice as much current per hour, under given conditions, as would a 50-watt lamp, and at the same time give twice the density of light reckoned in candle-power. Knowing this,_ you are now able, with only these two things in mind, namely, volts and watts, to choose house lamps with economy and discretion. In the room which is moat used you naturally need a good light, as a bad light is decidedly harmful to the eyes and nerves. For this purpose a 100-watt lamp is advisable, but there is no need whatever to have 100-watt lamps all over the house. In the bathroom, the h«ll, even the bedroom. 30-watt lamps are quite suitable. In the kitchen and for reading

lamps with & good light are essential; lamps should not be less than 60-watt ones.

How often one sees a room in which the light ia very badly distributed and wrongly shaded! A step forward in this direction is the pearl lamp, which in itself gives a soft and diffused light which does not directly strike the retina of the eye. Shading is, however, still necessary, both for the eye and the’pleasing effect which has its due influence upon the mind and the entire nervous system.

In many cases pleasing effects can be obtained by the use of coloured bulbs, 'which can be chosen to harmonise with the general colour scheme of the room. For reading purposes, however, a white diffused light is most suitable. Now, as regards shading, choose a shade which is a good reflector and throws the light evenly over the entire room. So many shades leave large portions of a room in semi-darkness, and in such places as the kitchen, for instance, this is undesirable. For the reading lamp the shade should direct the light in one definite direction on to the book.

A very useful little lamp for a number of purposes is the “ glow lamp,” which is about equivalent in power to an ordinary candle and which can be fitted to any lamp holder. It makes an excellent night light, and if left alight all night it would not consume one farthing’s worth of current.

NEW COLOURS ♦ Colours from pottery made by men who died 2000 years ago will adorn the hat of fashionable Miss 1936 (says an exchange). For the past few months Mr R. F. Wilson, of the British Colour Council, has been working at the museums in South Kensington, adopting subtle shades from Chinese vases, many of them dating back to 200 u.c. Now he has produced a new colour card with 24 colours, most of them Chinese, for millinery in 1936. Here arc some of the colours, taken from the pottery of ancient China:— Coolie, an unusual type of saxe blue which the coolie of China dyes his clothes with to this day. Corn stalk, a golden yellow, with which the Chinese loved to decorate their beautiful vases. Mandarin blue, made specially in Yorkshire for export to China. Ruby, the red for the precious stone, taken from Chinese vases. Lotus bud, a delicate pink, the same colour as the flower. Faience blue, a ver- pale blue of the type known to the Chinese as “sky after rain.” Tropic red and sail red, two “ iron rust ” colours. Mr Wilson said: “ The Chinese were masters of colour. I have spent a long time with the kind assistance of the museum authorities matching my colours up.”

WALNUT CREAM Required: Half a pint of custard made with 2 eggs, a little lemon jelly, threequarters of an ounce of gelatine, 1 gill of cream, 2 teaspoonfuls of water, vanilla, 3 ounces of sugar, quarter of a pound of shelled walnuts, glace cherries, angelica. Melt a little lemon jelly and pour a little into the bottom of a fancy mould. When this has set arrange on it a decoration of glace cherries and angelica, pouring a drop of jelly over each to keep in place. Allow this to set firmly. Put the walnuts on a tin and roast them in the oven for a few minutes, then chop them very fine. Have ready the custard sweetened with the sugar, and when it has cooled slightly add the cream and vanilla to taste. Dissolve the gelatine in the water and strain it to the custard. When beginning to set add the nuts, and put the mixture into the decorated mould. When set, turn out carefully.