Thursday 6 February 2014

The Rules for a Good Housewife.

The Times printed a page from Woman's Weekly of one hundred years ago earlier this week.   The page gave woman tips on how to be a good wife.

Looks were terribly important - the wife should endeavour to keep a hint of mystery in the relationship and should pay particular attention to how she dressed, how she maintained her looks and how she presented herself in her husband's presence.

It was also important that she had his dinner ready on time.   That one struck a cord with me as my mother used to stand in the front room window and watch for the bus carrying my father home from work when it went past the window to stop a hundred yards down the road.  At this point she would rush through, put hot water in the bowl and lay out nail brush and towel so that he could wash his hands at the sink and while he was doing this she would put his dinner on the table and pull the chair out for him to sit down!

Another thing the article suggested was that a woman she do exercises to keep her figure in trim and should on no account allow flabby upper arms!!  For some reason whoever wrote the article in the Times said that this flab was referred to as 'salt cellars'.   

I know this is not true.   Salt cellars referred to that hollow at the base of the neck and between the collar bones.   So yesterday morning I sent an e mail to The Times telling them this.    And lo and behold I have a letter printed in The Times today.

Fame at last.

19 comments:

John Going Gently said...

Bingo wings
The scourge of the lower classes

Gerry Snape said...

I find that the letters that my aunt wrote regularly to newspapers and magazines to my bewilderment when young...have now caught up with me and I write and join in when the feelings are strong...I too love a reply!!

angryparsnip said...

hahahahahahahahahahaha !
Oh Please ! Flabby upper arms ? if that was my only problem.

cheers, parsnip

Cro Magnon said...

Just wait till I hear the first Cuckoo of 2014!

Cloudia said...

Good for your publication. Enjoyed this post. thanks



ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

=^..^= <3

Arija said...

and what a lot of male chauvinist bunkum the Weekly's advice has been over the years!
I had lost my father when I was 4 so I had no experience of the behaviour of married couples when I was first married. The Weekly's advice almost wrecked my marriage as my husband had no wish to reproduce his parent's relationship with the whole household revolving around the father=god .
Give me equality, not subservience and pandering to one partner's vanity any day.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I didn't see that article in the times, but I've definitely read something similar somewhere.

Congrats on having your letter published!

Gwil W said...

The Times they are a changing :)

Heather said...

Fancy The Times not knowing what salt cellars are! Life is fairer these days - I notice there is a lack of advice for our menfolk who might have beer bellies or flabby jowls!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Writing letters to the papers! Good heavens, woman, get back to the kitchen!

Em Parkinson said...

I'll go and see if it's on their web site as I can't get to town again today. Congratulations!

Twiglet said...

Brilliant!! Take a look at my "Friday smile" this week - we seem to be on a similar theme! x Jo

thousandflower said...

My mother was really good at getting a meal ready at a specific time but then my Dad came home from work at 5:30 and left again at 6:30 to teach piano lessons so if he were going to eat he did have a pretty small window for it. I think in this case she was just making it possible for him to be a music teacher which he loved.

MorningAJ said...

Oh well done! I hope you bought lots of copies and put at least one in a scrapbook!

Golden West said...

How fun you were published, correcting the Times, no less!

Yes, Thomas the visiting cat has a tinge of orange - he's an apricot point Siamese! His markings are getting more pronounced as he ages.

Hildred said...

Flabby upper arms, - I call them crepe de chine. Only see them when I put my arm up to turn off the bedtime light and then it's only a quick glance!!!

Dominic Rivron said...

Your letter - it's here!

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/letters/article3996693.ece

Terry and Linda said...

You are now a PUBLISHED Author!! How cool is that!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
*♥´¨) ¸.-´¸.-♥´¨) Happy Valentine’s Day¸.-♥¨) (¸.-` ♥♥´¨

Stuart said...

I saw your letter in The Times. Welcome to the club......;)

Now your aim is to get a letter in the bottom right corner. That's the holy grail.