Guide to Elegant Living
Readers of MEN ONLY constantly write in for guidance on a very wide range of problems. Quite a number of these fall under the heading of what we call "Elegant Living." The answers below touch on some of the themes. There are many others. Let us know your problem and we will try to guide you.
Write to:
"The Advisory Bureau,"
MEN ONLY,
Tower House,
Southampton Street.,
London,
W.C.2.
Straight Tip. - Could you straighten me out on the conventions of tipping in a good restaurant. Does one tip the head-waiter, the wine-waiter, and the table-waiter individually? Or does one tip the head-waiter all-inclusively? - P.V. (Amersham)
A: Let one tip cover all, and give it to whoever presents the bill. Sometimes a head-waiter does this. More often it is the table-waiter.
Unlikely Chance. - I remember recently reading in your columns about the type of unlikely incident which sometimes involves one in third-party claims . . . as, for instance, when your normally good-tempered dog bites a stranger or some junior member of the family knocks down an old lady with his scooter. I haven't got the paragraph to hand, but is it true that for 10s. you can have protection against legal liability up to £25,000? - D.A. (London W.C.2).
A: Yes, it is perfectly true. I am sending you details and shall be glad to send them to anyone else who is interested. It's precisely because this sort of thing is unlikely that you can insure against it so cheaply.
Wood Weakness. - I have inherited a property in which it is fairly clear there is some form of timber rot established, and I recall that you have mentioned this topic in the past, at a time when I did not need to recall details of your advice. Can you please re-cap? - "E" (address given).
A: We'll add to our previous note. This can be a very serious business property-wise and should be treated as such. It needs the advice of a specialist in the problem, who will inspect, report, and advise, and also give an estimate for the work necessary. Name of such a specialist has been forwarded.
Dilemma. - What worries me most when I go to a tailor is the fact that I am so bad at making up my own mind about materials and styles. The tailor is always most anxious to impress me with the huge stock he carries, but the more rolls of cloth I see, the more difficult it becomes to make a choice. I wish I could find a tailor who would tell me what is best for me. Do you have any suggestions?
A: I can understand your dilemma - I often feel the same way. There in no doubt that some tailors have a greater flair than others for giving the right advice and I am sending you the name of one in your area who is a member of The Federation of Merchant Taylors of Great Britain. I should be interested to hear how you fare with him.
[Any other readers seeking advice on the choice of a tailor are invited to write to "The Rambler," ℅ MEN ONLY, Tower House, Southampton Street, London, W.C.2. - Ed.]
The following pages on Motoring, Clothes, and Wine form part of our Guide to Elegant Living
By Alan Hess
Each year more and more British motorists take their cars abroad on their holidays and they must frequently be awed by the inordinate length of the Continental heavy trucks and trailers and by the high speeds at which these are driven. Their length and their speed make these vehicles hazardous to overtake, and because we are a nation of comparative unobtrusive individuals, our own cars are seldom fitted with horns strident enough to make our presence heard by the drivers of such Juggernauts.
The long, straight roads of France should ease the problem for us, but in fact they tend to aggravate it, because when the driver of one of these Continental monsters can see a long clear stretch ahead of him he is inclined to lessen his own driving fatigue by clinging to the crown of the road.
In an effort to cope with this situation, the realistic French have developed an ingenious invention know as the "Depasso" system, comprising a photo-electric cell wired up in such a way that when head-lamps from a following vehicle are flashing either by day or by night, a warning device is operated in the driver's cab and (according to whether or not conditions make it safe to pass) the driver can illuminate a green or red signal on his tail-board. As an additional precaution, the signal given at the back in reproduced by a light in the driving cab, and the photo-electric sensitivity of the equipment is so contrived that although head-lamps put the system into operation, sunshine or even the brightest reflections have no effect upon it.
Although it is unusual to meet very long or swift loads on British roads, our highways are so twisting that the passing problem is at least as great over here, and the adoption of a similar system on British commercial vehicles would go far towards easing driving tension and reducing accidents.
I suspect, however, there is a subtle legal problem wrapped up in all this. Would the operation of such a device shift the onus from the overtaker to the driver of the vehicle who has given the "come on" signal?
And talking of long loads, I believe I have unearthed something of a racket. The Road Traffic Act stipulates the maximum allowable length of vehicles and trailers, and we must all have come upon examples greatly in excess of this. I believe the law is deliberately flouted by certain operators who, in the long run, find it cheaper to pay a few fines rather than to split the load and face the consequent expense of buying an additional towing vehicle. I suggest the authorities would do well to look into this matter.
The Town Councillors of Carshalton have definite ideas on road safety, and their Accident Prevention Council announced recently that they propose to produce their own "horrific" posters to frighten people into being more careful. The Chairman of the Council is reported to have said that his members felt that similar posters issued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents were "too milk and water" to shake the public out of its apathy. I can imagine the sort of designs Carshalton may produce - mangled victims, distressed relatives - all the usual paraphernalia of such shock tactics.
It seems strange to me that this problem has never been approached from an altogether different angle. My own belief is that the greatest factor contributing to road accidents is a subconscious confidence that "it will not happen to me." If a series of really forceful posters could be designed bringing home to every individual motorist that it is, indeed, just as likely to happen to him as to anyone else - forceful enough to shake his humanly natural complacency - then I believe we should be getting somewhere; but until this aspect is brought home to the consciousness of every driver and other road user the accident rate will continue to be alarming.
Based on observations at the 1957 Motor Show, it seems safe to prophesy that an increasing number of new models will henceforth appear with fuel-injection systems replacing carbonation. Apart from mechanical advantages resulting in greatly increased horse-power, there is another aspect of this change which is not as yet properly appreciated. Although the carburettor is a small and inoffensive component, the air filter which accompanies it is a large and cumbersome thing the elimination of which would be a joy to the stylists who would be able to lower the bonnet by anything up to eight inches, giving sleeker lines and vastly improved forward visibility.
During the year just ended the British motor industry has enjoyed a great resurgence of prosperity and tremendously increased export business - particularly in America. It is all the more disappointing, therefore, to have it on the authority of none other than Lord Mills that he whole of the industry's dollar earnings are insufficient to pay for this country's coal imports from the U.S.A.!
- o - 0 - o -
Passenger Stability. - To minimise sliding by passengers on bench-type front seats during fast cornering the Swaystop upholstered pad has been produced. Vital statistics: 10 3/4" long, 2" wide, 1" thick. Fits over back-rest at passenge's hip level. Materail: washable plastic tartan cloth. Price: 30s. Manufacturers: Kenning Man. Co., 103, Dawlish Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham 29.
Cuff Protection. - "Kleensleeves" is the appropriate name for plastic slip-over sleeves, 10" long, fitted with elastic at both ends to protect clothing during emergency tinkerings. Stow away compactly in cubby-hole. Price: 3s. 6d. per pair. Makers: Youngs of Harrow Ltd., 257, Long Elmes, Harrow, Middlesex.
Flag Badges. - An attractive range of miniature flag badges, measuring 2" by 1 1/8" and finished in brilliant colours in the designs of United Kingdom and foreign national emblems or standards, is available for attachment to any part of a car in need of a little decoration. They have self-adhesive backs, but when removed leave no mark behind and, if warmed before affixing, they can be curved to follow contours as desired. Price: 2s. each. Makers: Apol Industrial Development Co., 40, Englands Land, London, N.W.3.
A Good Idea from France
The long, straight roads of France should ease the problem for us, but in fact they tend to aggravate it, because when the driver of one of these Continental monsters can see a long clear stretch ahead of him he is inclined to lessen his own driving fatigue by clinging to the crown of the road.
In an effort to cope with this situation, the realistic French have developed an ingenious invention know as the "Depasso" system, comprising a photo-electric cell wired up in such a way that when head-lamps from a following vehicle are flashing either by day or by night, a warning device is operated in the driver's cab and (according to whether or not conditions make it safe to pass) the driver can illuminate a green or red signal on his tail-board. As an additional precaution, the signal given at the back in reproduced by a light in the driving cab, and the photo-electric sensitivity of the equipment is so contrived that although head-lamps put the system into operation, sunshine or even the brightest reflections have no effect upon it.
Although it is unusual to meet very long or swift loads on British roads, our highways are so twisting that the passing problem is at least as great over here, and the adoption of a similar system on British commercial vehicles would go far towards easing driving tension and reducing accidents.
I suspect, however, there is a subtle legal problem wrapped up in all this. Would the operation of such a device shift the onus from the overtaker to the driver of the vehicle who has given the "come on" signal?
And talking of long loads, I believe I have unearthed something of a racket. The Road Traffic Act stipulates the maximum allowable length of vehicles and trailers, and we must all have come upon examples greatly in excess of this. I believe the law is deliberately flouted by certain operators who, in the long run, find it cheaper to pay a few fines rather than to split the load and face the consequent expense of buying an additional towing vehicle. I suggest the authorities would do well to look into this matter.
It seems strange to me that this problem has never been approached from an altogether different angle. My own belief is that the greatest factor contributing to road accidents is a subconscious confidence that "it will not happen to me." If a series of really forceful posters could be designed bringing home to every individual motorist that it is, indeed, just as likely to happen to him as to anyone else - forceful enough to shake his humanly natural complacency - then I believe we should be getting somewhere; but until this aspect is brought home to the consciousness of every driver and other road user the accident rate will continue to be alarming.
Have You Heard of These?
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