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Brain teasers, Bessie Bunter’s cooking, and a sewing pattern for a gas-mask case.

BRAIN TEASERS A few more puzzles and catches for leisure moments.

1. How can you show that 6 is half of 11? That’s just a trick, and you need pencil and paper to prove how it can be done. Now two riddles: 2. Which county of England is the most studious? 3. If your uncle’s sister is not your aunt, what relation is she to you? They’re both quite good, I think, and you’ll find the answers at the end. 4. Next see if you can change the word LAND to SEAS, making only three changes - but each change must form a separate word, remember. My next one is an old favourite - but some of you may not know it. 5. Go up to a chum and say: “Can you spell hungry horse in four letters?” Maybe she’ll give it up as hopeless, in which case, you promptly tell her the answer - below. 6. Another riddle now. What fruit appears on every penny?

THE ANSWERS Now here are the answers. Remember to hide them if you’re trying these puzzles on the family. 1. Write 11 in Roman figures, XI. Now cover this with a piece of paper, so that it looks like VI. And there you are. 2. Berkshire: because it has a whole town in it that is always Reading. 3. She would be your mother. 4. LAND, Lend, Lead, Leas, SEAS. 5. M T G G (empty gee-gee - see?) 6. The date.

HOBBIES AT CLIFF HOUSE MISS HILDA RICHARDS and PATRICIA have planned this series of articles for you, to tell you about the hobbies of some of the best-known characters at Cliff House School.

This Week: BESSIE BUNTER Cooking - that’s our Bessie’s favourite hobby. And she’s expert at it, too. You mustn’t think that because Bessie is a bit of a dream over other things that she bungles “the culinary art.” [...] Her pastry is said to be the lightest in the school, and Bessie says that’s because she’s got a “fairy touch.” This may sound a bit romantic, but actually there’s sense in it. For two girls can be given exactly the same ingredients, work to the same time, use the same type of pastry board and roller, the same oven even - and yet one girl’s pastry will melt in your mouth, while the other is just - well, ordinary. The secret does lie in “the touch.” Light handling of cooking utensils is one of Bessie’s knacks. And there is nothing to make her shiny face beam more than to bring from the oven a crispy pie that looks almost too tempting to be real. The frying of sausages may sound rather easy. But Bessie always insists that they require skill, too - and I’m inclined to agree with her. “You should always prick the sausages first before putting them into the pan,” says Bessie. “Do this with a sharp-pronged fork. It allows the sausages to swell, without making them burst all over the place.” The fat should be heated before the sausages are popped into the pan, too. Allow them to cook gently and then turn up the gas, or increase the heat to “brown them off,” to give them that crunchy flavour. Bessie has a favourite cookery book that she often looks at - just for pleasure. A “Mrs. Beeton.” It doesn’t sound very exciting - but Bessie loves it! It was a cookery prize. Next Week: JEMIMA CARSTAIRS.

A NEW CASE FOR YOUR GAS-MASK

Here is the pattern of the gas-mask case. If you follow the measurements carefully you can’t go wrong.

Lots of you already have a case for covering the cardboard box in which your gas-mask is, I know. But then, some of you haven’t. And there are still others of you who may have a pretty enough case, but require a new one for the winter months - one that is completely waterproof. So that’s why I’ve designed one for you. It’s very simple to cut out if you follow the diagram exactly, and just as easy to make up. Now what material will you make it in? I suggest gaily-coloured American cloth, or that pretty, patterned oil-silk. You’ll only need half a yard of either material - and this should cost about 6d.

A PATTERN FIRST First take a good look at the diagram here, then cut a piece of paper measuring 20 inches one way and 16 the other. (This is to serve as a pattern, so that there will be no fear of your spoiling the precious material.) With a pencil mark the centre of the long sides and the centre of the short sides. Now mark the line G, F, which measures 3 inches on each side of the pencil mark on the 20-inch side. Turn the paper round, and mark A, C, which also measures 3 inches on either side of the pencil mark there. After turning your paper round again so that line G, F, is nearest to you, now cut from G for 5 inches. Do the same from F. Then turn and repeat from A and C. Next, cut from these corners towards the right and left sides of the paper - that is, towards H, E, D, and B. You now have the essential shape. Now you can do a little trimming off of corners as shown on the right of the diagram. The next step is some careful folding. All the dotted lines in the diagram represent folds. Place the cardboard case of your gas-mask on the pattern, and then fold up to make sure your measurements are correct.

CAREFUL CUTTING There - having the pattern correct, you can use it as a guide for cutting out the material itself. Pin it to the paper pattern so that it doesn’t slip, and wield the scissors carefully. It’s quite tricky - but not difficult, if you go gently and don’t get flustered. The cutting-out done, you now have four joins to make. Allowing half an inch for turnings, join A to B, C to D, E to F, and G to H. These seams should be five inches long and the corners should be neatly tucked in. Now you must either hem or bind the other raw edges. I think binding in that pretty bias-binding or with tape would look best - and it’s stronger, too.

STRONG STITCHING Sew two buttons on the straight edge that folds over the top of your case, and make two buttonholes on the shaped end. Your case should now fit neatly into this, and button close on top. It’s now complete except for the strap. This can be made, as long or as short as you like, from the oddments of material you cut away, joining them into a long strip, and turning inside out. If you can use the family machine, I certainly should for this job, but if not, sew in strong back-stitching. And if you find the slightest difficulty in doing the cutting out yourself, do ask a grown-up to help you. I’ve made the diagram as simple as possible, but I do realise that they can be a bit baffling to follow if you’re not made that way.

The Schoolgirl Nov 11, 1939.

#british story papers #The Schoolgirl #1930s #1939 #riddles #cooking #sewing #sausages #gas-mask