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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-01-12, Page 2MotWe Didn"t Appreciate Joke The sounds from the audi- ence at the Metropolitan Opera May often be as revealing as these produced on the stage. When an artist draws ' a big. :roar only from the sides of the house, for example, old hands knoww that it is partisan in ori- gin, generated either by the Italian singers, er by wild-eyed, lusty -voiced fans. But when the noise swells up from the center, seasoned Met buffs know that a "real" ovation is at hand. For there, in that vast spread of some 1,100 orchestra seats, sit .the subscribers who hear opera week after week and are sel- dom moved to more than polite applause, The uproar that greeted Eileen Farrell last month after the close of Act I of Gluck's "Al- cestis" came right out of the center. and rose straight up to the rafters. At the time, its sig- nificance was lost on Miss Far- rell, for she was in the very middle of that most nerve-rack- ing of all : singing ordeals: A Metropolitan Opera debut. As she recalled later, she kept say- ing to herself: "'Don't cry,, don't cry. Stay in character, stay in character.' I just kept concen- trating," From whatever cause, the top of Miss Farrell's big, opulent voice — usually so free and easy — was strained and edgy until the opera was well under way. Then she opened up and her rich tones soared up and out all over the huge house, In the role of Alcestis, the wife and mother who offered her life as a seer/lice so that her hus- band might live, she was digni- fied,warm, compassionate, and moving both in voice and man- ner. At 40, Miss Farrell had had to wait a 1 -'ng time for her Met debut. Int revious years, when asked why ;he did not sing at the Metropoatan, she invariably answered: "Nobody asked me," f When Rudolf Bing finally did, the Met's general manager gave her a new production of the stately but slow-moving "Ai- testis," the opera in which Kits - ten Flagstad sang her farewell to the Metropolitan nearly nine years ago. All things considered, then, it was small wonder that the usually fun -loving Miss Farrell Pound herself quite bereft of the ready wit that so character- izes . her conversation. Just be - Are the performance, she tele- ` phoned her 7 -year-old daughter Kathleen at their home in Sta- ten Island to ask if she was ready to come to the opera "No," Kathi replied, "I've gut the German measles." Miss Far- rell could only manage a splut- ter. "What's the ;natter, Mother?" asked Kathi. "Can't you take a joke anymore?" Gives Away Great DoH Collection Shirley Temple parted with some $50,000 worth of memories: Her collection of 523 dolls, most of them souvenirs of her reign as Hollywood's living doll in the 1930s. Among the playthings do- nated to a Los Angeles museum were Moroccan leather dolls, French dolls with silk stockings, dolls made of cornhusks, dried apples, even bread crumbs. There was also a doll that once stood Shirley's 'famous curls on ens: A 5 -foot 6 -inch Japanese doll that was sent to her hotel room while she and her mother were sight- seeing in Hawaii. "When we came back, the room was dark." Shirley recalled. "We saw a figure stretched out — and did we scream!" DRIVE WITH CARE IT'S A SCHOOL A striking structure indeed is the new Domestic and Trgdes College in Man- chester, England. City architect Leonard C. Howitt designed the complex which was built for $1,680,000. Trades cisvaried as baking and wig -making are taught at the school whichalso has a restaurant where student chefs can try their work out on the public. How Fishes Swim Not So Simple Remember those "three itty fishies in an itty bitty pool," those "three itty fishies and a mama fishie too," how they "swam and swam all over the dam"? Well, how? Everybody, for centuries, has just assumed that to swim, .fish need to swish their tails and use their fins. But for centuries everybody, apparently, has been wrong. The fact is, fish suddenly bereft of both tail and fins still swim almost as well as normal fish. Only recently have physical scientists realized that there was more to fish -swimming than tails and fins, For some time now scientists out at the California Institute of Technology have been given the matter serious thought. Mechanical engineers first be- came suspicious when they noted that fish and sea mammals move incredibly fast in relation to the muscle power they can muster for swimming, writes John C. Waugh in the Christian Science Monitor. The "mama" salmon, swim- mming up the Columbia River against rapids and waterfall in her frantic, single-minded rush to get "home" for the egg laying, couldn't possibly make the jour- ney on just the food she ate and the fat she lost en route if the energy were expended as waste- fully as has been assumed. Out of the investigations there at Caltech a new concept of fish propulsion is emerging, According to this theory, fins don't propel a fish at all; they only serve to control and sta- bilize side and vertical motion, much as ailerons control and sta- bilize airplanes in flight. Wiggles, gentle or quick un- dulations of the body, constitute the principal needs of piscatory propulsion. Dr. T. Yao-tsu Wu, associate professor of applied mechanics rt Caltech, developed the concept. He says the wiggling motion produces a pressure difference across the two sides of the fish. The fish simply angles its hotly so that the side of greatest pres- sure pushes it ahead. We think crossword puzzle fans should, be warned that Mauritania is now the name of a new African nation and not, as many people thought, the name of an ocean liner, • FAROUK'S BOY Ahmed Feud, 8 -year-old son of ex - King Farouk and Queen Har- riman of Egypt, is at school in Geneva, Switzerland, iAr/ 'TABLE TALKS elan Andt'ews Here's a trick you may not have learned. To prevent the slightly hardened top which forms on cornstarch -type pud- dings as they cool, sprinkle a little granulated sugar over the top while the pudding cools in its serving dish or dishes. « °* Onions are abundant this sea- son and of unusually good qual- ity. it is pleasant to report also that prices will remain low, If you boil onions whole, don't for- get that a small amount of light cream added to the usual season- ings of butter, salt, and ,pepper, will make those onions some- thing to remember, M • As most mothers will agree, it's a hard job to have plenty of cookies on hand at all seasons. This basic cooky dough is a won- derful help. Here's the recipe— BASIC COOKY DOUGH as cup butter . ,,r, cup sugar 2 cups flour 'i teaspoon soda 2 teaspoons fresh grated orange peel '-.i. cup fresh orange juice Cream butter. and sugar to- gether. Add flour, that has been sifted with soda, alternately with orange juice. Blend in orange Peel. Mix until smooth. Divide dough into 3 parts—then go, on DEERE GETS A SALUTE e. Wearing sandals and pantaloon.type block trousers worn by Sahara tribesmen, French Premier Michel Debre inspects an honor guard in newly rode-' pc -idiot Mauritania. The African nation applied immediately for U,N. membership, but the Soviet Union vetoed the application, to make spiced cookies, tilled cookies and sugar cookies! d • ,N SPICED COOKIES 2 tablespoons sugar ya teaspoon each, cloves, cin- namon, nutmeg and all -spice Blanched almonds Candied orange peel Orange frosting • Mix these ingredients and world into 1 part of dough. Roll. out on slightly floured board to 3/4 -inch thick. Cut into 2-inclk. circles and place on greased bak- ing akingsheet, placing blanched al- mond halves around edges. Use candied orange peel for center. Bake at 400°F. 10-12 minutes. When cool, brush with frosting made of i/4 cup confectioners' sugar' and, 2 teaspoons orange juice. FILLED COOKIES Roll dough very thin, Cut into - desired shapes: Place 1 table- spoon fruit filling on centers of half the cookies. Cover with other cookies, press edges to- gether, prick with fork and bake at 375°F. 10.12 minutes. SUGAR COOKIES 'Roll out dough to 1/4 -inch thick -on slightly floured board. Cut in fancy shapes and deco- rate, Bake at 400°F, 10-12 min-, uses. „ From Denmark• comes this recipe for a very special cooky known as "wreaths". The re- cipe makes about two dozen. BANISH WREATHS 34 cup butter 114cupscup siftesugard flour oup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked Grated rind of y/i orange Cream butter and sugar to- gether thoroughly. Add remain- ing ingredients, mixing well. (Dough will be stiff, so you may want to mix with hands.) Chill thoroughly. Break off small pieces of dough, working to- gether with fingers until pliable. Roll each piece on a floured board with fingers to form a stick about 6 inches long and inch thick. Shape each piece into a wreath, crossing ends to -form a knot; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cooky sheet. GLAZE AND DECORATION 1 egg white 2 tablespoons sugar Candied fruit Beat egg white until stiff but not dry. Gradually beat in sugar. Brush on wreaths; decorate with candied fruit. Bake at 375° F. for 10-12 minutes. There are other delicious ways of using mincemeat besides the traditional pie, Here's one some of you might like to try for that special occasion. MINCEMEAT. GLAZED TORTE 2 cups sifted flour Ise teaspoon soda. e. 1 teaspoon bakingpowder te teaspoon salt 1,4.cup shortening cup sugar 2 eggs '4 teaspoon almond flavoring ee cup mills I',f cups mincemeat Heat oven to 350": P. Sift to- gether the dry ingredients. Cream the sugar and shortening together thoroughly. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add al- mond flavoring. To the creamed mixture, add the sifted dry in- gradients alternately with the milk. Fold in mincemeat, Pour into 8xl-2-inch pap which has been lined with waxed paper and greased: Bake at 350" F. for 45 minutes, or until done. Re- move from pan. While still warm, pour glaze over top of torte. GLAZE 1 cep sifted confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoons orange juice 1 teasiuton lemon juice Boat all ingredients together until well blended, Roflingi, to And Out Of Communist China Six times a day trains bring. log passengers from Communist China roll prosaically into Kow- loon Station in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, disgorging a jumble of citizens from both sides of the well. 'guarded frontier 22 miles down the line. Among them are peasants in black cotton jackets and wide bottomed trousers, swinging bas kets of produce or chickens, mer- chants struggling with assorted bokes'and bundles, pigtailed chil- dren scampering to keep up with their parents, occasional Euro- peans who might, to the . un- initiated, have come as easily Prem Fettling golf course on the British side, of the border as from a Communist - sponsored junket through the People's Re- peblic. From among the crowd of welcomers and idle bystanders, a trim, alert -eyed Chinese steps out, Directing his steps unerringly toward a tall, stoop -shouldered, elderly European accompanied by a Chinese in white cap and uniform, he says, "Excuse me, sir, but are you on your way out from Communist China? nm a re- porter, and . , ." Wong 'Ping-wong, veteran re- porter for the Wa Kiu Daily, is on the job. One clay it might be a group of students from Indo- nesia, returning to their homes for the holidays after a college year spent in, Peking. Another day it might be colorful General Morris ("two - gun") Cohen, sometime Canadian bodyguard to Sun Yat-sen, who seems to have friends both on the Communist mainland and on Nationalist ruled Formosa, Or it might be a local businessman, returning to Hong Kong from a Commun- ist -sponsored visit to see how much progress the fatherland has made under Mao Tse-tung's "people's democratic dictator- ship." The Kowloon -Canton Railway, is today the main route by which travelers, distinguished and undistinguished, enter and leave Communist China. All but the most VIP of VIPs must take the single-track railroad from Kowloon to Lowu, on the Bri- tish side of the creek that divides the Crown colony from Communist territory. Here, after completing customs formalities, the traveler must walk 300 yards across the railway bridge, past the Communist sentry house with its five -starred Red flag, and go through Chinese immigration and customs procedures before boarding the Canton 'b o u n d train. The same process Must be re- peated in reverse when the visit- or is coming out, Thus, an alert reporter stationed at the Kow- loon railway terminus can catch almost all people officially,, en- titled to travel in and out of Communist China. ' I accompanied Mr. Wong to the railway station one day, and as we stood waiting for the train to pull in he told me something. about his job and about his own adventurous career. "The most important trains thesedays," he said, "are the 2:02 and the 3:23 p.m., because most people seem to want to reach Hong Kong in time to get settled before dusk." "I don't - cover every train," Mr. Wong went on. - "I write an aviation column for my paper and also do general news report - lag. But I've developed a sixti't sense about •trains on which there will be interviewable peo- pie. I must say the Communists haven't been very cooperative — I have to read their releases end. figure that a person' will prob- ably reach here about two days after he's officially reported to have left Peking -- weather per - adding, "Luggage is helpftl, sorrie- times. Often it reaches Kowloon pn an earlier train, since freight trains don't have to offload at the frontier. See that pile over there — suitcases and cloth bundle, I bet those belong to an overseas Chinese who is gaming out of China today." We walked over and, sura enough, the bundles were plast- ered with stickers indicating that they had originated in Can- ton and belonged to a Mr. Hsieh. Mr, Wong told me he had been on the, railwaybeat for eight yeal's.'A native. of Amoy, and a civil engineer by training, he had, fought with Chin es e Nationalist troops against the Japanese while still a university student. He had been nearly ship- wrecked during a junk voyage to Formosa just after. World War II, He had had to hide in a friend's home for two weeks during the, Formosan :'riots' of 1947, and had returned to Amoy just before the Communists came marching in. The Com- munists gave him an exit per- mit (they were then relatively easy to obtain), and he had come to Hong Kong at the end of 1949 with no job prospects, nor even a knowledge of the local dialect, Cantonese. He competed with 50 others to obtain a reporter's berth , with the Wa Kiu,- and was one of three to be accepted. Starting out on the court beat, . he ac- companied a 'friend to the miles way station one day and wrote a story which pleased his edi- tors. Since then, without actually assigning him to the station, his newspaper has come to expect himto be on the job whenever an interviewable personality turns up. "I've interviewed everyone," he says, "from Prime. Ministers to simple coolies. I think I like the simple coolies best." He recalled one engineer's story as fairly typical. This man, who had managed to leave China legally, told him,' "There's no question things have improved in Communist China since the Com- munists took. over. People can get two meals a day, where they used to have only one. "But there are other things in life. Freedom, for instance. That's why. I've come to Hong Kong, though my mother and five bro- thers are all still in Communist China." There was a movement toward the platform among the little knots of people standing , in the station, and the 2:02 came eel- ing quietly in, pulled by an un- romantic British diesel engine. Wong Ping-wong's eyes took on a professional look as he scan- ned the mass of disembarking passengers: Having made his selection, he strode up to his target and began, "Excuse me, but are you a passenger from China? I'm a reporter, and Ry Takashi Oka in The Christian Science Monitor, As 'Noah remarked while the animals entered the: Ark: Now I herd everything. ISSUE 1'- 1961 GIVING A HOOT FOR SAFETY — Huge red, white and btaclt. owl isstandard, insigne on the fleet of a trucking firm, Thu bird advertises the firm While protecting motorists. It tart leis seen in headlights for a half.mile.