Evening star., 1943-03-24
Nine. FRANCES
Speaks Before
Washington Club
Wife of Yngoslavian
Counselor Speaks on
Rationing in England

How the English housewife carries
on in bomb-scarred Britain with a
weekly meat allowance of 80 cents
per person; where guests thought
fully contribute ration coupons to
weekend hosts and lady shoppers
carry purchases unwrapped whether
they are intimate ''undies" or sturdy
broggins was described by Nine
Ivan FRANCES before members of the
Washington Club yesterday.
In a talk drawn from personal
experiences in London during the
years 1940-l, Nine. FRANCES, wife
of the Counselor of the Yugoslavian
Embassy, told how Englands daily
domestic life was carried on during
the first two years of the blitZ.
The housewife may be rationed,
Nine FRANCES commented, but it
has not curtailed her hospitality or
the sharing of her table "delicacies'
with others.
If there are several in family
the combined rations may be enough
to purchase joint, either lamb or
mutton" she explained. The joint
is usually cooked on Sunday and
that is when you invite your friends.
If it is carved in the kitchen it may
last part of the week. she con-
tinued humorously, but if husband
carves it. it is finished that meal"
Meat or no meat, however, the
Britisher always finds something to
put on the table.
Fish and game are not rationed,"
Nine. FRANCES explained Neither
are sausages. They, however, are
usually made of 10 per cent bread.
They do not have white bread in
England. but a whole wheat bread
called national bread So your
Britisher usually says there are two
kinds of bread in England-national
bread and sausages.
Ration books in England looked
complicated at first. the speaker said,
but simple solution has been found
to the housewives headache over
units.
"The grocer keeps the book" she
explained. and once a week he will
make delivery of staples which are
allowed. Every person in England
receives exactly the same ration. "
Soup bones are not rationed. nor
such items as liver, sweet breads,
brains and kidneys. Nine. FRANCES
said. Chickens are rationed. but
the only chickens sold are old and
tough, the younger ones being kept
for laying.
That humor still prevails in Eng
land in spite of Nazi bombs is evi-
dent from an anecdote related by
Nine FRANCES.
My cook boiled chicken for
four hours without making it ten
der" she commented. She turned
to me and said, This sure was the
grandmother of the hen that laid
the eggs for Oliver Cromwell
Clothes rationing has been the
most difficult for women, the speaker
continued. Everything is rationed
except hats she laughed" If a
woman is out of uniform she will ap-
pear in some of the most fantastic
creations possible
When woman shops she carries
container for her purchases, the
speaker continued wrapping par
GELS ceased in England many months
ago. No matter what you buy
whether it is a corset or a pair of
shoes, it it handed to you unwrap-
ped" she added.
Gardening, ever popular among
residents of the British Isles, is
found almost everywhere in Eng
land where piece of land is avail
able, according to the diplomat S
wife
"On a tWo-and-a-hal acre farm
near our home in OXfordshire tended
by an old man over 80 years old, we
produced all the vegetables we used
throughout the year. she explained
Those who have no ground build
greenhouses, she continued. Some
of them are small but every one has
a greenhouse. You'd be surprised
what they grow in those greenhouses
There are always salad greens and
tomatoes, and in my sisters green
house there was lovely little fig
tree. Flowers also are grown" she
continued The English believe
flowers are cheering and good for
morale. You will find Gala lilies
and bulbs, and at Easter there are
always flowers"
Holly Wreaths, however, will al
ways represent unforgettable tragedy
for Nine. FRANCES.
The English only Use holly