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.