Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1960-01-21, Page 2In France They Love Him And They Also Detest Him! ME MOTHER TAUGHT ME MANNERS — Daintily folding one paw across his chest much as human diners keep one hand on their laps while eating, this little bear shoves his snout into his dinner pail. He's sampling a meal of bread at the Chessington, England, zoo. By Rosette Ilergroye NEA Staff Correspondent Paris, — Edouard Leclerc is at 80 the most beloved and at the came time most hated grocer in France. Leclerc initiated a minor revo- lution he this family of small shopkeepers eight years ago by eliminating the middle - man in the food business. Recently he opened his first store in the Parie region in an old working class suburb. House- wives fought to get near the counters. The small grocers are fighting too — but against him. Born in a bourgeois family (his father is a major in the French Army), he was the sev- enth of nine children. The fam- ily tradition was that the boys. Were either soldiers or priests. He chase the church, But as an 18-year-old seminary student, Edouard began reading Karl Marx and immersed him- self in the study of sociology. At 22, he left the seminary and was married after doing his miltary service. He worked on the docks and saved some money. Then he and his wife, Helene, put into action his plan for lowering the cost of living by opening their first store, The shop was in the din- ing room of their three-room apartment in a run-down house near the railway depot at Lan- derneau. With $10 to his name, he plac- ed his first order directly with e. manufacturer for $600 worth of cookies. Th e manufacturer granted him a month's credit when he learned he was the son of Major Leclerc. He placed ist second and much larger order. Ile also bought candy, oil and d ry groceries. The town's house- wives flocked to his store. His secret? He was selling his goods 20 per cent cheaper than his tompetitors. Lecleres crusade to lower the toot of living got off to a good start and a year later he opened *nether shop in Grenoble, said be the "dearest" town in nce. The other shopkeepers ap- pealed to the town authorielet, raying Leclerc w a s an unfair mkompeeitor, He also was accused If defrauding the tax collector. ePomptrollers went over le i s ipooks but could find no irregu- gaieties. The factawaei that Edouard Le- elerc was guilty of an unheard- of, and inadmissaible, concept of business — that of abandoning part of his profits to his custom- ers. Leclerc, as a matter of fact, is a wholesaler who is also a retailer. He has one' golden rule — never to take more than nine per cent profit on any one item. "After three years," Leclerc says,„ my annual turnover had reached 70 million francs (about $135,000). Today it is over 300 million francs. And wherever I have started a store prices have gone down all around. If this is war, I am on the winning side,” There are 800,000 small shop- keepers in France to whom the name of Leclerc is like the red rag to a bull. Yet when he opened his 'first Paris branch he said: "I do not aim to head a great chain of stores. I am on the small shopkeepers' side. My ori- ginal store in Landerneau is quite enough for me. What I want, as. I always have, is to see the cost of living go down." Leclerc thinks that this would be automatic if 40 grocers in Paris and 1,000 in the rest of France. would apply his method, "But for this they must have sufficiently large stores," ' he added, "covering a minimum of 600 square feet, phis a oapital of 15 million francs to pay cash for goods and serve as a re. serve." Leclerc, who now has 10 shops scattered throughout the coun- Tly , recently gave some hints to Wile shopkeepers over the nee onal radio. lee told them to group their PurChases with those of either' grocers around theme. Every grocer should special- lee in one product. The reason why so many small businesses fold up is that they want to stock too many items, (This (lees, not apply to vellage stores.) Don't fall for the slick sales- man Wk. that you will do more, business if you have neon ights and plate glass windows, These cost money and eat up profits. Beware of the "help your- self" system. This is the best way to lose money unless you have sufficient staff to super- vise customers. Laughter Is Good For Health. Do you laugh much? The an- swer may depend on your age. The older we grow, the less we laugh. Children laugh much more than adults. If yours is a sendentary job, laughter is one of the finest exercises for y o u. It exercises scores of different muscles in the body which in turn have a massaging effect upon the body's organs. Watch that laugh of yours if you find yourself rocking in your seat at a humorous show sometime. It may betray your character to an acute observer. Who says so? A serious-minded psychologist who boasts that he rarely laughs himself, although he's been studying the laughter dl men, women and children for some years. The best kind of laugh is the hearty "Ha-ha-ha!" he asserts. The person who laughs like that has a frank and open disposi- tion and is not likely to de- ceive you, The "He-'he-he!" laugh is not so good, according to the ex- pert. It's a sure sign of a moody and gloomy man, he says. What about "Ho-ho-ho-ers?" They are usually strong and generous. The worst kind of laugh is t h e "Hu-im-hu," says the psychologist. It reveals that the person is selfish, mean and may have criminal tendencies. Some people may find any attempt to assess a person's character by his laughter laugh- able, but whatever you think, it's a fact that there have been men and women who frankly confessed that they were unable to laugh. An F4esex man used to say sad- ly that he had gone through his long life trying to cultivate a hearty laugh. He offered $300 to anyone who could make him laugh. Many tried, No one suc- ceeded, "It's no laughing matter try- ing to learn how to laugh," quipped an. American university student who took a course aim- ed at developing his sense of humour. He said he was so grimly determined to benefit from it that he did not laugh o ii c e throughout the seven weeks' course and even forgot to smile when he failed in, his exam. T h e German general, von IVIaltke, who died in 1801, hated eo hear people laugh. All his life he found it almost impossible to laugh at anything or anybody. He was reputed to have laugh- ed only twice after his twenty- first birthday, In Ceylon a small outcast tribe exists whose members never laugh. Ask elle reason why and they reply: "What is there to laugh at?" A Briton who spent years ana- lyzing laughter came to the sur- prising conclusion that it is "directly or indirectly related to the behaviour of the instinct of love." He contended that only men and women in love know how to laugh well and got real physical benefit from laughter, End Of ,Historic Mountain, Climb So at last to Camp IV again, out of, the cruel white desert of snow. The tension and suppressed emotion that now filled this camp emanated from it like rip- ples, so that far down the Orem, when the tents first appeared as blobs on a distant ridge, a sharp tang of expectancy suddenly struck us. It was midday,, and most of the climbers were gath- ered there. . And there in his shanty tent was Hunt . a heroic figure:1 thought, like some grizzled' Han- nibal in climbing-boots, awaiting the arrival of elephants. This was nearly the end of the adven- ture. Soon, within an hour or two, we would know whether all his careful plans had succeeded, whether his own Wonderful climb to 28,000 feet had been justified, whether the loading tables had been correct, the choice of climb- ers wise, whether the weather he had trusted had turned sour on him, whether the equipment he had chosen had proved sound; or whether, when Hillary and Tenzing returned defeated from the last ricleee of Everest, he would have to begin all over again..'. . "There they are" s o n eone shouted. "There! Just behind that big sarac! See them? You know the one, Charles, that brute of a thing with the Fe crevasses just behind it. See ee set: There they go! just creciesle i e gap!" I looked again, ai— oil. on the face of the in o U1 t On, sure enough, there they were. Five little figures were moving slqw- ly clown the snow: Hillary, Ten- zing, Lowe, Noyce, and the re- markable Sherpa Pasang Phutar. How were they walking? Jaunt- ily, like men who have reached a summit? or dragging their feet in. the depression of failure? No- body could tell, for they were just specks on a mountain wall. "There they are!" I rushed to the door of the tent, and there emerging from a little gully, not more than five hundred yards away, were four worn figures in windproof cloth- ing. . I could not see the returning climbers very clearly, for the ex- ertion of running had steamed up my goggles, so that I looked ahead through a thick mist, But I watched them approaching dimly, with never a sign of suc- cess or failure. . Down they tramped mechanically, and up we raced, trembling with expec- tation. Soon I could not see a thing for the steam, eo I pushed the goggles up from my eyes; and just as I recovered from the sud- den dazzle of the snow I caught sight of George Lowe, leading the party down the hill, He was raising his aim and waving it as he. walked! It was thumbs upl Everest was climbed! Hillary brandished his ice-exe in weary triumph; Ten zi'h g slipped suddenly sideways, re- covered arid shot us a brilliant white smile; and they were among us, back from the sum, mit, with men pumping their hands and embracing. them, laughing, smiling, crying, taking photographs, laughing again, cry- ing again, till the noise and the delight of it all rang down the CWin and set the Sherries, fol- lowing us up the hill, laughing in anticipation. —Prom ,"Corona- tion lilverest," by Tames Morris. They were talking of a new neighbour "What's she like?" asked one Woman, curiously. "Well, she's a woman of sixty Who looks 'fifty, thinks she'S... forty, dresses like thirty, and acts like twenty."' Thank you for the gifts of prized recipes that you send in during the year. Your motive in sending them is to share the things you like with other read- ers, and this surely is true giv- ing, writes Eleanor Richey John- ston in the Christian Science Monitor. Sometimes a reader's sharing goes further, as in the case of Mrs. Elizabeth Bowden, Cow- bridge, Glamorgan, Wales, who writes, "My hobby is collecting historical kitchen secrets." She sent in one about George III of England. "The third King George's dis- crimination in cookery was nicer than in politics..I give you heree. with his favorite cakes," she e writes, then quotes, "'Excellent small cakes which are much esteemed at Court, the King himself having eaten of them (1760 A.D.). "'Take three pounds of very fine flour, one pound and a half of butter, and as much currants and as much sugar, seven eggs, and four yolks, and knead it well together into a paste, adding one nutmeg grated and a little rose water; so make them up about the bigness of your hand and bake them upon a plate tin. When baked, scrape on some sugar.' I generally use one- quarter of the quantities men- tioned and only half the eggs given, using self-rising flour," said Mrs. Bowden, e From Bristol, England, comes a possible holiday recipe with a history copied just as handed down for generations. Mrs. A, R. Richardsen writes: "Dear Friends: 1. thought you might be interested in the enclosed recipe which has been handed down through the aunts of my hus- band who lived at Kirklands, Scotland. I have copied it with the 'footnote, 'This recipe was al- ways used at — Kirk- lands was the home next to Sir Walter Scott. I also make this cake at Christmas." AUNT :JOANNA BAILLIE'S GINGERBREAD December 25, 1843, Kirklands 1 lmb.oltarsesaecslc (black) — 'A lb. butter 1/2 lb. soft sugar (brown) Melt all in pan over fire and let it cook and add 1 lb. flour 2 oz. ground ginger 1 oz. ceirawarseeds 4 eggs, well beaten 1 deseertspoon baking soda lb lb. citron To be baked in a moderately hot oven, "I would like to share with readers of the Monitor a recipe I obtained from my grand- mother, It is an edser-tdonake and easier-to-eat, simple but ver- satile cake — good' when top= pod with powdered sugar and served with ice cream — superb when filled and topped with ,sweetened whipped cream and fruit, calmed Or fresh," writes Mrs' Robert Orr, Palisade, N.O. MILT{ SPONGE CA-Kt 4 eggs Silt (pinch) 1 tup boiling milk 2 cups Retie leaeeideriie cootie-at ring "baking teeePoine Beat eggs and sugar together for thintites by hand tir about 10 Minutes at moderate` §-peed with electric mixer — mixture must be very light and creamy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together three 'times. Add flour mixture alternately with hot milk to the egg-sugar mix- ture; mix well after each addi- tion. Add vanilla and mix well. Pour into well-greased 10-inch pan (it should be 3 inches deep) or 2 9-inch pans. Bake single cake 65-74 minutes, and 2 small- er layers for 35-40 minutes at 350° F. To test for doneness, toothpick stuck in cake must come out clean and cake must spring back when 'touched light- ly. To go from cake to soup, here is soup with marrow balls that will be 'good on any cold night 'this winter. Mrs. Elsie Estell Stanley, Seattle, Wash., writes, "1 recall that a reader once asked for a recipe for marrow balls. However, marrow balls not ac- companied with a wonderful, delicous soup would be like a pie with no filling, so I am sending recipes for both, MARROW BALLS 1 well-rounded tablespoon creamed marrow 1 beaten egg Salt Dash of nutmeg Dried, rolled and sifted bread crumbs Mix first 4 ingredients, then add enough bread crumbs to form into a soft ball about the size of a nutmeg, Drop into boil- ing soup stock, Balls will at first sink to bottom of kettle, but will rise later. Remove and serve with soup. This amount makes 8 balls. Multiply it, if you wish. SOUP STOCK 31 pounds shank of beef 6 cloves 8 peppercorns 1 piece mace or sprinkling of nutmeg 1 incl e celery cut in small pieces 1 carrot 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1 clove 1 sprig thyme Several sprigs parsley Place shank of beef in large soup kettle; cover With cold water several'inches higher than meat; let stand 1 hour, Then add all other ingredients except salt. Simmer 3-4 hours. Add salt 1/2 hour before soup is done. Strain through a colander; set aside to cool. Place in regrigeratde until fat forms on top; remove fat. Reheat and strain again through large sieve. Business with the most ups and downs is undoubtedly elevator manufacturing, Hamburger Stands Go Big in England Dri Samuel • Johnson wouldn't have liked the new coffee houses which • are making the ham- burger as popular in London as in New York, It's not the hamburger the learned Doctor would object to,. It's the open plan, new-style "Wimpy" bap where these are eaten, They are arranged with tables round the walls so that every- body sees everybody else. Dr, Johnson was an extrovert, He liked good conversation, But his favorite haunts had back-to- back oak benches where a email group could feel snugly shut away. The new "Wimpy" bars are open and streamlined for self- service. Even the ubiquitous waxy-leaved house plant doesn't offer as much shelter as the old-fashioned aspidistra or the trailing fern.. "I think customers still like. some form of stockade," a man- ageress of one of . these bars told this correspondent. "They all go for the wall seats first. The free-standing corner tables only get filled later." Decor is all-important in these modern bars, Some catch the eye with their clean lines and sprightly paint, while others startle or shock with garnish hue and harlequin treatment. The "Wimpies" represent a new trend 'in the British catering trade. I have never heard a juice box playing in one. They are geared to a quick turnover. They are rapidly replacing the wn-at-heel, tea-stained snack- bar which until a few years ago was often the only alternative to arestaurant serving a full meal. • Each "Wimpy" bar is a private venture selling a standardized product. The "Wimpy" is the registered trade name for a brand of beef hamburger — a. minced and cooked-on-a-griddle steak slapped between two muf- fins — said -to be produced from an Atherican recipe and served, customer willing, with onion. Two variants are the "cheeseburger" in which a slice of cheese is inserted. before cook- ing, and the "eggburger." Thie• `Wimpy" is the chief item in a sparse menu which inelUdes hot drinks, .soup, cold milk in bottles, pastry, ice cream, and fruit salad. There are more than a hun- dred "Wimpy' bars, mostly in, the south of England, with. an average of one new one opening each week. Each new bar rep,- resents several thousand pound! of private vapital invested. in reconditioning an old building., ono the inside of a former motorcar accessory shop was stripped bare to the plaster on 'the walls, It now has a king self-service bar with glass-cov- ered cnoveyor belt by which the cooked "Wimpy" travels to the cash desk; electric griddles for onions and steaks; toasters; and a room at the back with tables, Sunny paintings of Mediterran- ean scenes hang on the walls, writes Melita Knowles in the. Christian Science Monitor, Practically all the "Wimpy" bars are operated under license. from the company, Pleasure • Foods, a subsidiary 'a Lyons & Co. Ltd. This company pre- pares and delivers frozen "Wim- pies" and other items, and hires out the griddles and equipment,. The company's inspectors ap- prove the premises before issu- ing the license, They consider 30 to 60 seats the ideal "Wimpy" bar content. The steaks must be bought from the licensing house, and prices are uniform. It has been reckoned that in the "Wimpy" year March 1959- 1960 more than 11,000,000 steaks will have sizzled on "Wimpy" hot plates. The licensee of the "Wimpy," though using his own capital for reconstruction of the bar, can get advice on planning and lay- out from Pleasure Food ex- perts. He can even take a train- ing course in catering manage- ment from them. .The "Wimpy" bar thus has points in common with the gaso- line station selling one brand of fuel, or the launderette tied. to one make.of washing machine. I still feel Dr, Johnson would prefer his black oak benches,. dimity curtains, and maiden- hair fern. The little girl at her first par- ty -refused a second helping of ice cream with obvious reluct- ance. "Do have some more, dear," urged the hostees. "Mother told me to, say 'No, thank you,' " replied the child, politely, "but I donee think she knew how small the ,helpings were going to be." ISSUE 4 — 1960 a OCEk tEditge (left) explains hove his Slate .operates• lb ti ituStanier a.t Ik& ,PeCerit Opening: of . his Paris outlet REGULAR TIRES ON •ICE..... CAN VOL I SrOP?--- Anydro who's ever had to bring 0 ter to d sodded tree on snow at 'ire hos ti good idea of how if feels d ski jOrriO. This, sketch shows how-It:Wit-meet to halt a car going 20 initter,vanoat conditions. It shows that odh ehOins and srioyi tires cite relatively in- effective artice. Moral! Whether you :lie regdIai tires, chains, or sea*, tires in the ter" drive as if you're giiinq downhill Art. Can YOU stop?`, CHAINS ON ICE SNOW TIRES ON ICE, eeeteeleieleileteliteeeteeeeeliefeielleiie n. "FIRST" FOR NIKITA Portrayed as a youthful-looking miner, Soviet Premier Nikita Ithrushchev is shown demolishing ,9 cold- War snowman Is a Pravda Cartoon titled, "Just Like a Miner:" les the, firtt time the :Red boss hias been pictured In cartoon form in a U.S.S.R. paper, although he was once :depicted in a Hungarian publiCatian in cartoon style during hfs • LI.S. visits REGULAR TIRES ON DRY PAVEMENT 44