Let’s Go Gossiping

Waipa Post, Volume 51, Issue 3694, 6 December 1935, Page 4

Let’s Go Gossiping

(By Miss Mary Tallis*—Special Service to The Waipa Post.)

j FASHIONS. : INGENIOUS LITTLE IDEAS. A Military Touch:- Contrasting cord or braid can be used with very smart effect on a simple jacket suit—brown on beige,-or navy on light blue. It will bring a new interest to last season’s suit. The Bride in White: The charming bride arrives in a hooded cape of white silk net demurely held at the neck with two camellias. Instead of a bouquet she carries a white prayer book which is delightfully in keeping with the simplicity of her gown. For your Evening Shoes: Single small .flowers, to match a posy worn at the waist, are sewn across the front of a pair of evening shoes. This subtle and attractive finishing touch is well worth adopting. The New Gauging: Last year’s full puff sleeves? Yes, but they can have this year’s gauging! Hold the sleeve in with a band of gauging a few inches from the shoulder, where the sleeve fullness begins. The neck line looks very smart finished-with dome buttons in graduated sizes, to give a choker-necklace appearance.

Spotted with Linen Buttons: White spots on a navy ground are smart and they can be very new when the effect ia produced in an original way. Sew white linen pillow case buttons here and there on the corner of a navy handkerchief, and also on the turnup brim of a Breton sailor hat, faced up with any navy material.

BEAUTY. SUNBURN. Sunburn can not only mar a woman’s appearance, but it can he extremely injurious when it is at all severe. Of recent summers a tan tint has been the fashion, but comparatively few women burn a really attractive shade; the poor blonde’s face becomes a deep red and the majority of brunettes turn far too deep a brown. Toilet aids as a protection against sunburn, and as a remedy when the skin has been caught by the sun, are a very important part of the holiday season's outfit. It is well to remember that a severe sunburn is a real burn, so it is very necessary to protect a sensitive skin against such trouble, and also the hands and arms, but these do not suffer so badly because they are far more hardy. During the summer months the skin must.be kept hardy, then it will hot be liable to sunburn. When washing the face, very hot

water must never be used; it should be just lukewarm. Although all skins need a certain amount of greasy cream to keep them in good condition, an excess must be avoided. There is a tendency nowadays to apply far too much cream, often as a matter of habit, and thus a really useful cream gets abused. When it is important to use a greasy cream, it must be reserved for the last thing at night; such an aid must on no account be applied in the morning. What the skih\ needs is a protecting aid. Before /gj/ing out into the sunshine, a little of a vanishing or other protection cream must be well rubbed into the face, the front of the neck and the arms, if short sleeves are worn and the arms are at all sensitive. On returning indoors, a heated face must never be washed; cleanse it with a little good skin food, of which two or three applications on cotton-

ffOMEN’S INTERESTS: THE HOME.

wool will make it quite spotless. A cooling lotion is a satisfactory aid for sunburnt skin, for not only will it make it feel more comfortable, but at the same time it will help to check sunburn, preventing discolouration.

A cucumber lotion will always give satisfaction. This must be applied very gently—just dabbed on, using a little cottonwool to apply it. This lotion is so mild that it can be used several times a day.

THE HOME. THE CARE OF YOUR FURNITURE. We are all agreed that castors on chairs and sofas, etc., should be oiled once or more a year, and should be mended at once when they work loose o£, get broken, or they will soon mark the linoleum or carpet. If they are loose because the screw holes have worn they should be taken off, the old holes filled up and the screws put back in sound wood. Next, we suggest having a look, at the leather seats of the dining room chairs, to see if they need any special treatment. In the end we decide that they should' be rubbed with a rag moistened with the following mixture: One part of turpentine to two parts of raw linseed oil, well shaken in a bottle. After a good rubbing with this mixture they should be thoroughly polished with a clean, dry cloth in order to remove all traces of oil.

The question of loose covers and upholstered furniture comes next. Should the loose covers be dry cleaned or washed? How could the upholstery on the chairs be freshened up? We advise having the covers sent to the cleaners, as there is always the danger that they may shrink if washed.

The fixed upholstery looks dusty, and some of the older things a bit dingy. First remove the dust with a vacuum cleaner, or if you have not that machine, beat the upholstery well and then finish with a thorough brushing. After that a good rubbing with hot, dry bran will freshen up the material, but, of course, the bran has to be removed afterwards, either with the cleaner or with a brush. It may be that you have a chair whose springs are sagging. Buy some good chair webbing, some webbing tacks, small tacks, and a piece of strong coloured linen for the bottom cover. Then find a strong piece of wood, 3 ins. wide and Bins. long, and not less than j in. thick, to act as stretcher for the webbing. Remove the old bottom cover and the broken strips of webbing, by knocking out the tacks ■with a hammer and cold chisel. See if any springs are broken and replace these (they can be bought in all sizes cheaply). Remember the new webbing is not to be cut until it is fixed at both ends to the back and front, or both sides, of the chair frame.

Where the old webbing is sewn to the springs, the string will have to be cut, but the cut ends must be carefully tied together or all the springs under the sound old webbing will be loosened. To replace the webbing, first take the end of the new roll and weave it in and out, either from side to side, or from front to back, of the chair, where you want the new strip, and after turning in the end, fix it with three webbing tacks to the frame.

Now wind the long, free end of the webbing lengthwise round the wood-

en stretcher until you have enough at the fixed end to enable you to stretch it tightly by levering one end of the stretcher against the outer end of the frame. While the webbing is stretched in this way, tack it down at the unsecured end, then cut it, allowing a piece to turn over, and nail it down with two more tacks.

Put each new strip on in this way then, after adjusting the springs; stitch the webbing to each spring over which it is passed with some fine strong string. When the new piece of linen is nailed to the bottom of the frame with ordinary tacks, the chair will look nice and tidy and the seat will be comfortable to sit upon.

COOKING. TWO FAMOUS PIES. Melton Mowbray Pork Pies: Sieve 3i lbs self raising flour. Add to it 1 teaspoon of salt and set. this is mixed well, then rub in I lb lard with your fingers. Take another pound of lard, set it in a saucepan with 1 pint water, let it melt and then come to the boil. Beat up 1 egg. Make a hole in the centre of the flour and when the lard is boiling, pour in half, stirring well with a wooden spoon; then add the beaten egg, and finally the other half of the boiling lard. Knead well and let it stand for ten minutes. Usually 20 to 30 minutes kneading is given. If a pork pie mould is used, the paste is put in while warm, but a cake tin will serve for making the pie. Line bottom and sides then fill with 2i lbs pork (which should be 2-3 lean) and which should have been put through a mincer, seasoned with 1 teaspoonful of good anchovy essence and salt and pepper (black pepper for preference), and moistened with a little cold water. Dot the top with a few bits of butter before putting on the pastry lid. Fasten this securely, wetting the edges first. Crimp the edges, or twist, make a hole in the centre, and decorate the top with leaves of pastry. Brush over with a beaten egg and bake for about two hours.

All the gristly bits of meat should be simmered with trimmings and bones, then this stock is strained through a funnel into the hole in the middle of the pie when it has been out of the oven for 10 minutes or so. If a little gelatine is dissolved in this stock it will help to make the stock set in a stiff jelly when the pie gets cold.

Devises Pie: You will want sufficient pastry to cover the pie dish used; a few slices of bacon, a cold calf’s head; the cooked brains and tongue; a few slices of cold lamb; 2 or 3 hard boiled "eggs, cut in slices; salt and pepper, a little of the liquor which the calf’s head was boiled; a teaspoonful of fresh minced parsley, a little gelatine to set the stock in jelly when cold; and a dash of cayenne and also of spice.

If the liquor from the calf’s head has set in a jelly no gelatine will be necessary, but if still liquid dissolve in it sufficient gelatine to set it, allowing this in proportion to the amount you use.

Line the pie dish with rings and slices of hard boiled eggs, then arrange the sliced meat alternately, putting bits of brains and the neatly sliced up tongue among them, so that all is well spaced. Season each layer and add the spices and minced parsley, then fill with the gravy. Now cover with a good crust of pastry and bake in a slow oven. Leave to get cold, then turn out on to a dish with the pastry underneath. Garnish with parsley and watercress.

LAUNDRY. DEALING WITH STAINS. In dealing with stains, most of them can be removed if you use the right remedy in the right way, but many will be fixed for evermore if the wrong remedy is used. If you attack a stain as soon as it' is made, you have every chance of success, but if you leave it for several days it will have time to affect the dye of the material, which may mean the article will have to be re-dyed before it looks really fresh again. Never try to wash out a stain until you have found out whether the material will wash without . shrinking, and whether it is dyed with a really fast dye. The way to make sure is to cut off a tiny piece and draw the shape on a piece of paper, Then you can wash the cutting, and after ironing it, compare it with the drawing to see if it has shrunk, and also notice if the colour has faded or run. If you find that the material does not wash well, then the stain must be removed by the dry cleaning method. Artificial silk: If artificial silk is ironed while very wet with too hot an iron, stiff, greasy looking patches are often caused. These shiny marks can only be removed by soaking the material in hot water for 15 minutes, kou must be quite sure, however, that the colour is fast and the material one that will pot shrink in hot water.

Blood stains: Before cleaning these stains, rub off any blood that has dried on the surface. Then soak in cold, salt water until the stains disappear. Never use hot water, as this hardens the stains. Clothes lines: When a clothes line is dirty, it can be coiled up and placed in the copper with cold water and some soap and soda. Bring it slowly to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, then rinse and dry in the sun or

in the oven before use. Dye stains: Dye stains are often caused through a loosely dyed garment touching another whilst in the wash, or it may be through holding a brightly coloured book against coat or frock, when out in the rain. The remedy is to soak the material in equal parts of hot water and methylated spirit to which a tablespoonful of ammonia has been added. Eiderdowns: Soiled eiderdowns can be washed, but very cool, soapy water should be used, as hot water dissolves the “dressing,” so causing the down to escape. Do not use soda or ammonia, as a strong washing solution would ruin the colour. After the eiderdown has been rinsed, put it very slowly through the wringer, taking care not to allow the down to collect in one place, for fear it bursts the cover. Dry in the open air on a windy day, and shake up the down frequently.

Gloves: Washable leather gloves should be washed by squeezing in cool, soapy water containing a little olive oil. Chamois leather gloves should be rinsed in gool, slightly soapy water, to keep them soft. Smooth washable gloves like pigskin, are washed on the hands and rinsed in clear, cool water. Dry all gloves slowly. Kid and suede gloves that are only slightly soiled may be cleaned with soft rubber, otherwise they should be squeezed in a small basin of petrol. Dirty finger tips that are stiff with perspiration can be rubbed firmly with a damp cloth to clean them a little before the spirit is used. These gloves must always be dried well before cleaning.

Suede shoes are maintained in perfect condition if they are rubbed regularly with a light pad of steel wool used for aluminium ware. This gently raises the nap if used dry.