Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1957-11-21, Page 2Official Mistakes Often Amusing After travelling all through the night *ten Austria, the con- tinental train came to a halt at fi French station and railway ttficials announced: "We're mak- ing a 35 -minute stop while we Change engines. Tired passengersbrightened np at the prospect Of stretching their legs. Some even went through the barrier and strolled down the sunny main street of the little counry town. Among them was a bronzed young Briton in shorts, who had left his pretty sweetheart in their carriage while he bought a magazine. He was sauntering back on to the platform when, to his alarm, he heard a porter calling' out "All aboard, pleaes!" Even as he ran towards the train, it be- gan to. move. He sprinted still faster and, with a flying leap, just managed to board the train as it gathered speed. "Done it!" he gasped. Then off he lurched through the train to find his fiancee. She was not there. In his haste and excitement he had leaped aboard a Paris -bound express. The train he had temporarily left had been shunted during his ab- sence into a siding, while the fresh engine was being attached, to allow the Paris train to use the same platform, The Briton could speak no French, and his money and his passport were in the carriage of the Boulogne -bound train in which his anxious sweetheart vainly awaited his return. He explained his mistake to the English-speaking guar d. "Very careless of you," was that official's comment, "You'll have to get another express from Paris to Boulogne. Sympathetic passengers, hear- ing of the young man's error, rallied round and lent him the fare to Boulogne, which he reached late that evening. His worried fiancee had caught the boat to Folkestone, after leaving a message and his pass- port at the French Customs, so off he chased again. The pair were reunited the next after- noon. Official mistakes are some- times amusing. Two or three minutes after an elegant $10,- 000,000 post office was opened to the public in Pittsburgh, people began complaining that there was no posting box — it had been forgotten by the archi- tects, The dismayed postmaster quickly got in touch with them and workmen were rushed to the post office to remedy the ommission. There was a bank at Newbury - port, Mass., which once spent $2,500 in renovating a vacant home, only to find that the premises did not, after all, be- long to them. Theirs were two doors away. An official had slip - LIGHT MOMENT — Apparently completely at ease with her Churchill - sized stogie, British actress Brenda De Banzie ac- cepts a light at Iver Heath, England. She was one of the stars celebrating the 21st an- niversary of a British f 11 m sompa ny. ped up by mistaking the address when giving the decorators their instructions. In 1955 a letter from the BBC. addressed to "His Worship the Mayor" arrived at an Essex town which had not had a mayor for more than sixty years. And the United States mint once' coined eagles and double eagles( ten and twenty dollar pieces) fatter in the middle than at the rim, with the result that the coins wouldnot stack and had to be withdrawn. Bankers ` are always warning their clients about carelessness in writing cheques. The cashier of one company many years ago drew a cheque for £100, but. when the cheque was presented at the bank it was for £8,100 and was unhesitantly paid as such. The company sued the bank but when the cheque was shown in court the judge at once de- cided in favour of the bank on account of "gross carelessness" in drawing the cheque.' The space left between the pound sign and the 100 was more than sufficient for the insertion of another figure. A historic instance of the cost of carelessness was the importa- tion of the gipsy moth into North America. A man was• experi- menting with silk - producing caterpillars and left a parcel of eggs of the gipsy moth on the window -sill. A puff of wind blew the eggs into the garden. • A few years later the woods round the district were black with these caterpillars and 400,- 000 acres were infested. Half a million dollars were spent an- nually for fourteen years before the pests were finally wiped out. Railway officials once made an extraordinary mistake over a football match. More than 5,000 handbills and a score of large posters were distributed and dis- played in Birmingham announc- ing an excursio train on the f ol- lowing day to Sheffield for an "Aston Villa v. Sheffield United match. But it was Birmingham City who were playing Sheffield. So station staffs were kept busy pasting strips over the posters with the word "Birmingham" re- placing "Aston Villa," while the handbills had to be rubber- stamped "Birmingham." In Yorkshire, cabbages brocco- li and tomato plants once sprang up all over a playing field, much to the local sportsmen's dismay. And lining the touch line was an attractive border of nastur- tiums! What had happened? By mis- take, seeds were mixed with ashes dug into the foundation. Children at an Essex secondary school were so enthusiastic about gathering items for a bring-and- buy sale in aid of school funds that they collected by mistake a woman teacher's raincoat. It was old — for half a crown. Said the headmaster after- wards: "The raincoat got mixed up with other things. Someone got a bargain — a most suitable one as it was pouring with rain at the time of the sale." A reward was offered for the coat but it was never seen again. Foil Piepan Has Variety Of Uses ' Small aluminum piepans, such as those containing frozen pies. can be utilized in many ways around the house, Besides mak- , ing bright waterproof coasters for flower vases, potted plants or beverage glasses, they can be inverted and molded into lids for small bowls, jars, cups and tumblers. They make fine emer- gency ash trays too, and can be folded together and discarded with the ashes still inside. When filled with water, the pans can be used to soak and remove stamps from envelopes. Several pans kept in a work shop are handy for sorting small parts. One can easily be bent into a spout for pouring tacks and other small items back into their con- tainers. In the garden, tie them to fruit trees to scare the birds. TO BE 'EXPECTED—Some autos and trucks are lined .up at the bottom of a hill as they're temporarily stymied by the' first good snowfall of the season. The overnight fall was estimated at from two to three inches. 'ROUND THE "WORLD"—The best of all possible worlds is "Miss World", shapely Morita Lindhal, 19, who tries on a dress at a Paris fashion shop. The young .beauty is spending a few days in France on her way home to Finland after, winning the title in London. elate 1 ndrewS. To cook green vegetables bet- ter and more easily, always start with fresh, boiling water. If vegetables are fresh, preheat by running hot water over them in a colander for about 30 seconds — thus shortening cooking time (not necessary for a leafy vege- table such as spinach). This advice is from a pamphlet, "For Better Green Vegetables," by Arthur W. Dana, American Hotel Association food service and kitchen planning consultant, which was given food writers at their recent conference in Chi- cago. After peeling and trimming vegetables of the cabbage family — brussel sprouts, broccoli, green cabbage, and asparagus, Mr. Dana suggests making a criss- cross incision in the bottom of sprouts and stalks (this applies also to frozen vegetables). These incisions will aid in equalizing cooking times of buds and stalks. Soak vegetables in cold, salted water for certain cleansing. If spinach or other leafy greens are fresh, they require several washings. If vegetables are fro- zen, it is important to defrost all types enough to separate units and pieces. Do this by allowing vegetables to stand at room tem- perature or by running a little warm water over them. Freezing tenderizes vegetables and makes possible a, shortened cooking time which helps retain color, ,says Mr. Dana. Use plenty of water for cab- bage -type vegetables; use the minimum amount of water for greens - and just a little more for peas and beans. Greens (spinach) should be turned from top to bottom several times dur- ing their short cooking period to insure even cooking, advises Mr. Dana. * * * At the food conference, Mrs. Rose Marie Pagborn, assistant specialist in the department of food technology at the University of California, gave a report on sugar research at the university. She suggested that the home- maker, by using a sugar shaker as well as salt in cooking has an easy way of adding more interest and flavor to foods, whether they are sweet or not: "Small quanti- ties of sugar have been known to improve the flavor of peas, corn, carrots, mashed potatoes, and tomato products," writes Eleanor Richey Johnston in The Christian Science Monitor. * * * Have you ever tried addinga pinch of marjoram, thyme, - or savory to a package of frozen mixed vegetables? Here are a few other ideas for pepping up vegetables: add a little' chopped onion and celery to green beans; blend 1 cup of mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon prepared mustard as a sauce for broccoli or .cauli- flower; brown butter lightly and add to it some cracker crumbs as a topping for cauliflower; mix Va. cup sour cream with 2 table- spoons catsup and 1 teaspoon minced parsley and mix lightly with cauliflower; .brown slivered, blanched almonds in butter and toss with succotash; or try some, chopped, stuffed olives over buttered green peas. * * * SPINACH RING WITH VEGETABLE SAUCE 3 cups cooked spinach 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1I teaspoon pepper 1/4 cup milk ' 2 eggs, beaten s/q cup slivered almonds 1/4 cup melted butter Break stems from spinach leaves; wash 3-4 times in gen- erous amount - of lukewarm water. Lift spinach out and place in pan, using only thewater that clings to leaves; cook until tender — about 5-10 minutes. Drain and chop, Blend with other ingre- dients and pack in buttered ring mold. Bake 45-60 minutes, at 325 deg. F. Unmold on platter; sur- round alternately with slices of tomato and cucumber, or with sliced carrots. Serve with cream Vegetable sauce. CREAM .VEGETABLE SAUCE 1/ cup butter y cup diced onion '1/4 cup flour 2 cups milk 1/4 cup diced cooked carrots % cup cooked peas 1/2 cup diced cooked celery. Melt butter in saucepan, add onion and cook until tender. Blend in flour. Add milk slowly ' stirring constantly and cook un- til sauce is smooth and thicken - Note A Day Kept Wife Away For five years a doctor never spoke to his wife; he communi- cated with her only by notes or ed. Add remaining ingredients and heat thoroughly. Pour in center of spinach ring. Serves * 6-8. *, In a talk at the food confer- ence, Mabel Flanley, executive director of Processed Apples In- stitute, Inc., told food writers that a study in typical grocery® stores has shownthat apple sauce ranks first in canned food sales and has shown the biggest sales gain in the entire fruit line: homemakers are today using 66% more.: canned apple sauce an- anually than they did between 1946-1950. Better products and new recipes*are two of the fac- tors in this new popularity. Here is one of the new recipes for you. BAKED ACORN SQUASH WITH APPLE SAUCE FILLING 3 acorn squash 2 cups canned apple sauce 1/ cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/4 cup seedless raisins 1/ cup broken walnut meats 2 tablespoons butter Scrub squash; halve length- wise remove seeds and stringy portions. Combine applesauce, sugar, lemon juice, raisins and nut meats. Place in squash halves. Ddt with butter. Place squash. in 'Baking dish; add enough hot water to cover bot tom of dish. Cover; bake at 400 deg, F. 45-60 minutes, or until squash is tender, removing cover after 20-30 minutes. Serves 6. *, * Another combination of vege- table with apple sauce is this one. SWEET POTATO VOLCANOES 1 egg 2 pups mashed sweet,potatoes 1 cup canned apple sauce 1 teaspoon nutmeg 14 cup cracker crumbs 3/ teaspoon salt 1/ cup melted butter 10 marshmallows Beat egg; add sweet potato, apple sauce, nutmeg, salt, crack- er crumbs and butter; mix well. Shape in 10 mounds on greased baking sheet. Place marshmal- low on each. Bake at 400 deg. F.10-15 minutes. * * * Fix your baked potatoes this way some evening soon. BAKED POTATOES NEW ORLEANS 12 large potatoes 6 ounces Roquefort cheese 6 ounces butter 3 ounces hot cream Bake potatoes in the usual way. Cut potatoes in half length- ways and scoop out of shell. Mix cheese, butter and hot cream with potato. When mixture is smooth, refill potato shells with mixture and bake in hot oven until brown on top. through his children. During those years of silence more than a hundred notes were passed and most of them were abusive, bearing such heading as: "Nit- wit," Waster," and "Cracker Brain." The wife begged him to speak to her, but thedoctor replied in a note that "We" - meaning himself, of course "do not speak to people beneath us." Awarding the wife a decree 01 judicial separation recently, a divorce' court judge said that the notes were ample evidence of her allegations of cruelty. This weapon of silence has been used in a number of cases recently, and it has led to some amazing marital situations, An- other husband, who never spoke to his wife for two years, was doing it "to show who was boss in the house," said a divorce court judge. They both vented their spite by firing off dozens of abusive notes to each other. Granting a decree nisi, to the wife on the ground of cruelty, the judge said she might have been a person of somewhat un- controlled and emotional disposi- tion, but for that reason it be- hoved the husband to treat her with more than usual forbear- ance and understanding. WIFE OF THE CONQUEROR Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and a descendant of Alfred the Great. She 'accepted William only after he tossed her into a puddle of mud. NO SOUR GRAPES—Wine goes to the head of 13 -year-old Gizella Balazs, who escaped from Hungary during the Red purge to make a new life in the United States. Now in So- noma, California. she has fun balancing a bottle of wine on her head during a vintage festival SATELLITES—While U.S. scientists are busy building a space satel, lite, other Americans have come up with their answers to Rus- sia's Sputnik and the eventual occupation of the moon. "Spud- nik", right, is the work of junior grade scientists George McFad- den, left in photo, and George Tate. The boys use 32 -ounce potatoes for ammunition. "Star- nik", below right, is a sparkling Christmas decoration. It can easily be made at home with a set of tree lights, wood sticks piercing a plastic foam sphere and steel wool twisted all around. The moon -watcher is June Pickney. Staking out an early claim on the moon is R. W. Scott, below left, real estate broker. Scott has just received a charter from the State of Georgia to form a corporation which will sell plots of land on the moon and other planets as soon as man reaches them.