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The Seaforth News, 1962-04-12, Page 2The "Twist" As Seen By British Eyes "A degrading, decadent and obscene' ritual which outrages human decency." "A healthy, exhilarating ex- ercise which, when performed 41eilfully, produces' graceful and attractive movement." "The biggest thing since Asian 'flu," "Synthetie sex turned into a sick spectator sport." All these things have been said about THE TWIST - the latese,. liveliest, zaniest dance to hit this country. What is the truth? To get to that, you have to. ask first: „What is the Twist?" First man :o make a record of the dance was the twenty-year- old colored singer from Philadel- phia, "Chubby" Checker. He says: "Yon move your feet as if you were grinding out a couple of cigarette butts, and move your grins as if you were towelling your back after a bath. "Actually, it is no more than swaying naturally to musical rhythms But is the dance really no more than that? The El Morocco nightclub in New York has banned it. So has the city of Tampa, Florida. And the Rev. William J. Penfold of Decatur, Indiana, Balls it "an excuse for depraved people to make lewd and las- cicnus movements to music with the aim of stimulating sexual passion." Since it hit Britain, the Twist has been danced in the best places by the best people. But Mr, Berns_rd Stetson, managing director .f the London Dance Institute, has banned it from his studio. He declares: "It is not a dance se all. "This abandoned, suggestive and uninhibited ritual belongs to the African bush," Replies the man who has done most to popularize] Chubby Checker: "Of courseit's, sexy. All dances are based on sex. "The great thing about it is that everyone can do it. Anybody who's g4'.t rhythm has got the Twist" Back to Mr. Stetson: "The Twist is a complete negation of ba::r,cut dancing because _peo- ple deee need partners. I'veren as many as Li -1%Y men and women dancing it all indeseendently. completely ob- lit itis tc eat-. other. "It has an obsessive, self -sat- isfying effect. I would compare it to ;a -sing a dangerous, stimu- lating drug "At first we were prepared to allow an approved version of the Twist. suitable for the ballroom. in our sebool. Then we realized 1t might become more and mire abandoned and suggestive, so we decided to ban it altogether." But debonair Vietor Silvester. ane of Britain's ballroom dancing • What Do You Know About CENTRAL AMERICA? HARDY VIKINGS — In the maritime tradition of their ancestors, these kindergarten tots play in a boat supplied by fishermen in a small village in the northern part of Norway. pioneer says: "Uninhibited? Sug- gestive? Well, I must be both because I'te been performing iti" And nightclub owner Helene Cordet, whose floor is packed every night with dedicated Twisters, asks: "How can a dance be immoral when you don't even need a partner for it?" Certainly, the Twist has spread from the United States like wildfire, writes John Elliott in "Tit -Bits." A sure-fire selling line is that the dance is supposed to be slimming. Chubby Checker claims to have lost forty pounds since he began doing it. Dr. James Cyriax, a Harley Street orthopaedic surgeon, warns that Twist devotees are liable to end up with slipped discs. And some London hospital are re- porting increases in such cases following the importation of this crazy dance. Millions of Twist records have been said, and millions of copies of Twist sheet music — although it is no different at all from or- dinary rock 'n' roll! Listen to Checker again: "I've just been smart enough to ex- ploit something. which the public failed to recognize was no more than swaying naturally to musi- cal. rhythms. "Right now I'm looking for something else that's been done for years so that I can exploit it in a way the public won't receg- nine, "Do you know a better way of mating :Honey"" And so the Twist goes twisting on. Meanwhile, how to assess it? L-nmoral? Possibly. A health hazard? Certainly. in some cases. A lucrative publicity gim- mick? Undoubtedly. For instance. the Twist is rap- idly bringing fame and fortune tothirteen-year-ofd Vivienne Lee and fourteen -year-old Derek Diamond from Kenton, Middle- ' sex, who recently made )her TV debut in BBC's Come Dancing programme after turning profes- sional. , It is, however. a sad reflection on Western civilization that mil- lions of people are desperately keen to spend millions of dollars to perforin antics which, to quote one observer, "makes them look like dervishes towelling them- selves after a bath while simul- taneously being bitten hard be- tween the shoulder blades." The loons have exceptional diving ability. Their legs are placed so far back on their bodies that they can't walk erect onland but move by sliding on their breast PARTY RIDE — Reed Zors celebrates his seventh birthday with his schoolmates aboard the Western Pacific's Califor- nia Zephyr while rolling between Oakland and Pleasanton, Calif Reed was born on the Zephyr when his parents were en route to Chicago. A good time was had by the children. TABLE TALKS oii=Ancbw,ws. Over the years, the two most popular luncheon dishes at a fa- mous mid -western tea room have been cheese souffle with rabbit sauce and scalloped c h i c k e n served in individual shells. CHEESE SOUFFLE WITH RABBIT SAUCE 6 tablespoons butter u cup flour sa cup milk (or a little more) Dash salt Dash white pepper se tablespoon mustard 4 drops Tabasco sauce ei pound grated cheese. Canadian 12 eggs, separated Melt shortening, add dour and blend. Add milk and seasonings with Tabasco and bring to -boil. stirring constantly. Boil 1 min- ute while continuing to stir. Re- move from heat and cool slight- ly. Add cheese, then egg yolks. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into first mixture. Pour into were. greased baking dish. Bake at,300° F. for 40 minutes, or until subtile inserted comes out clean. ..Crit into 12 servings and serve with, cheese sauce. CHEESE SADCE 1 quart milk 4 tablespoons flour 3.1 pound butter 2 cups old English style eheese 1 cup Cheddar cheese Dash Tabasco sauce 1 teaspeon Worcestershire sauce Salt to taste 2 teaspoons mustard 2 teaspoons paprika Make a white sauce of the but- ter. flour, and milk: add sal res and seasonings. Add cheeses. Serve over souffle. At the al eddy -mentioned Tea Ro en the scalloped chicken, a favourite luncheon dish, is served in ceram'e shells of different col - ere. This recipe serves 12. SCALLOPED CHICKEN 4 eups diced chicken 1 pint thickened chicken gravy Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon celery snit 1 i cup buttered crumbs for topping Comei.e chicken, gravy, and seasonings. Place in individual baking dishes. Top with buttered crumbs. Place in 350° F oven until chicken is heated through and crumb: are Crown. If you want to make a chicken shortcake that has a new taste, try using a bran cereal in the shortcake. This recipe also puts ground cooked ham right in the batter. SHORTCAKE HAM AND CHICKEN 1's cup whole bran cereal 54 cup milk t' lei cups sifted flour 3 teaspoons baking powder s- teaspoon salt ' t; cup shortening 1 cup ground, cooked ham 13 cup butter or chicken fat i; cup flour 1 teaspoon salt le teaspoon each, pepper and nutmeg c teaspoon celery salt j 1 cup cbicken'stock I cup milk l.s cup light cream 3 cups diced, cooked chicken 2 tablespoons pimiento cut in strips Combine bran cereal and milkt let stand until mostof moisture is taken up. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resem- bles coarse corn meal. Stir in hem. Add bran mixture, stirring Only until combined. Spread in 8x8 -inch pan. Bake at 425° F'. about 30 minutes. Cut into 4x 21/2-1n. pieces. Melt butter, stir in flour, salt, iSSUE 12 — 196e pepper, nutmeg, and celery salt, Blend well, Add liquids gradual- ly, stirring constantly. Cook un- til thickened, stirring occasion- ally. Stir in chicken and pimi- ento; heat. Split shortcake and place spoonfuls of chicken mix- ture on bottom halves. Cover with" tops, Spread remaining sauce on top. Serves 6. Mystery Of The Ready -To -Eat Cake TO THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: For dessert the other evening, we had a "ready -to -eat" cake. Here is a partial list of its ingre- dients: Carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerol monostearate, sodium alginate, gum arabic, gum traga- canth, agar -agar, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, polyoxmethy- lene, sorbitan monostearate, sodi- um benzoate and sodium propi- onate. For all we know, these might more properly be found at Cape Canaveral than in a cake. To deepen the mystery, the name given this creation is "Chocolate Creme Butterfly." But '-o, neither chocolate nor cream are to be found among the ingredients. What with so many chemicals. I guess there just wasn't any room left in the concoction for food. LAWTON D. WOLF Getti11O A Taastolr Tho Hard WiVciy Technology has its minor mo- ments, just as it has its epics, I thought of what Colonel Glenn said about the adaptability of human life to unprecedented conditions as I studied our new toaster, I decided that nostaigia for the simpler clays must be unjustified. For a minute, though, I won- dered if making toast as we used to make it — in the oven wasn't better. It hadthe ele- ment of adventure, inasmuch as the chances of burning the bread black were 10 to one, It took character to make toast when I was a boy. Now it takes a push- button. The early toast -maker was a resourceful person, I mused,. and if he didn't have an oven, there were other ways. He could hold a piece of bread on the end of a fork over the campfire with one hand and shield his eyes from the smoke with the other, I remember a time when the gra- cious wife of one of my col- leagues, determined to make a small budget produce a large va- cation, learned how to make toast over the as heater in the hotel room. But here we were, my wife and I, after more than two dec- ades with a toaster that had been a wedding present, beginning life anew electronically. We pondered the instructions. We pressed the gadget that said "Open" and 'the gadget that said °'Start" and I began to think that adventure had gone out of our lives. Then I remembered Colonel Glenn and I also remem- bered what was involved in ac- quiring this shining new con- traption. It took, precisely, 111/2 books of trading.- stamps, To gather that many, for our small house hold, required nearly two years. Anybody who thinks they were not without romance, I said to myself meditatively, needs his sensibilities sharpened. Take their demand on me. Trading stamp people say they have a hard time persuading men to accept the stamps. I know. Some hidden timidity pops forward every time I ask for them. I say, "Thanks — ray wife is saving them." Or, "You know how women are." Or, "I wouldn't dare go home without them." The man at the gasoline pump usually smiles understand- ingly. Sometimes he says, "Sure, they're worth more than money these days, aren't they?" If he has consulted the new Webster, he says "ain't," Again, I have driven 10 miles out of my way, nearly running Q!4t' SII gas, to It.t stamps, write, Mtxoniss Hendrick in the Chrit,- UN* 4000e lstQnitor..I remelt- bar once we drove almost 100 miles, beyond the point of disere tion during a desert trip in order to find stamps. It gives you a real pioneer feeling to go that far on the Mojave without: any assurance the gas will hold . out. You are justified in saying at least once to your wife, and somewhat truculently, "I hope you won't mind walking." One devastating experience ue- curred recently. We were clear- ly in a no -stamp region, and I was wishing we would buy the toaster and forget about stamps when suddenly we saw the sign. I said, "Full, please," feeling genial enough so that the "please" was quite spontaneous, When I signed the ticket, the at- tendant said solemnly, "We're out of stamps,"I took my wife and me three minutes to recover equilibrium, Now that we have the toaster, though, it l's nice to have these memories, The toaster does ev- erything hut talk. If it could talk, 1 think it would probably remind us that Colonel Glenn's words of wisdom are applicable even to household developments. it certainly wouldn't need to in- sist that the good old days are getting better. The way the glass door opens when the toast is golden says enough. HEADS UP —George Ed- mondes cheerfully accepts a kiss of gratitude from Susie the sun bear, at the Chess- ington, England, Zoo. He hod just cleaned "Susie's cage. Britons Differ on Prince Charles Schooling By T031 A. CULLEN 1 Newspaper Enterprise Assts. London—The decision to send 13 -year-old Prince Charles to Gordonstoun, his father's old school on the Scottish Moray ' coast, is not meeting with. uni- versal favor here. Gordonstoun may have been all right for Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, it is argued in court circles here- But it is hardly a suitable school for -Prince Charles, who as Prince of Wales, Is heir to the British throne. Why. he aught have to n+ix w: -en the sons of ordinary fisher - Baden, the Kaiser's last chan- cellor? When Gordonstoun was first mooted as a possible school for Prince Charles, the London Daily Express had this to say: "Gor- donstoun is like a piece of Ger- man culture in Britain, And German culture in Britain is not desirable." t In this matter, the Daily Ex- ' press speaks for many Britons who have not forgotten Ger- many's role in two World Wars. What the newspaper failed to point out is that Dr. Kurt Hahn refused to compromise with Hit- ler. itler. Rather than make a deal with as it does character building. Prince Charles's day starts at 7 a.m. with a run around the track, followed by a cold shower and a frugal breakfast of por- ridge and a roll. After classes, he might be set such chores as chopping wood or building a pigsty. If he disobeys rules, his name will go up on a bulletin board for the entire school to see, thus:. "Prince Charles, extra coal -carrying for not taking shower." But there will be no check on Charles to see that he carries out his punishment. Gordon- stoun operates on the "honor system," which leaves such ntat- EXERCISE TIME at Gordonstoun: The royal hands may build a pigsty after class. men. instead of mingling with young aristocrats, these same es:ace diehards claim. The old Etonians are feeling miffed, too. They feel that Eton, with its snobbish connections, would have been the proper choice. But the principal objection comes from those who see in Gordonstoun a plot to give Prince Charles a German -type education. Isn't the founder of Gordon: stoun, Dr. Kurt Hahn, a Ger- man? And didn't he once serve as secretary to Prince Max von Hitler. Hahn fled to England as an anti -Nazi refugee. Among the original governors who help- ed him found the Gordonstoun school in Scotland was the late Archbishop el Canterbury, Dr. William Temple, Even more insidious is the ob- jection that Gordonstoun is dedi- cated to producing an "elite" along Teutonic lines, a Spartan race of supermen who are des- tined to govern. The only thing Sparton I can find out about Gerdonstaun is its schedule, which emphasises body hardening almost as much tors strictly to the boy's cons- cience, At Gordonstoun the Prince of Wales will wear gray shorts, in- stead of long pants, with a pull- over and either sandals or shoes. He will sleep in a 12 -man dormitory just like the other 400 boys, He will learn to handle a boat and to stand watches with the local coast guard„ He might even have to shovel manure, as his father did in his day, "Not afraid of dirty, arduous work," was the commendation earned by Prince Philip, Gordon- stourt's most famous alumnus.