[Report 1929] / Medical Officer of Health, Cardiff County Borough & Port.

  • Cardiff (Wales). County Borough Council.
Date:
1929
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1929] / Medical Officer of Health, Cardiff County Borough & Port. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    having been deposited there. A large quantity of debris had to be dug out before the actual work of gardening commenced. The boys worked well at this laborious work, quickly clearing the patch and whistling happily as they worked. They have since dug the ground up several times and it has now been manured. It is hoped to sow potatoes in March or April, and lettuce, beans, carrots, peas, etc., at appropriate times. General Remarks.—The establishing of the centre has given the boys for which it is intended an opportunity of benefiting by practical training in useful work, and I think the results are very satisfactory when one considers the short period that the centre has been in existence. A happy choice has been made in the Instructor, whose diligence and enthusiasm have inspired the boys with a similar spirit. He has encouraged the boys, and they set about their work in an orderly and quiet way which makes for efficiency. Girls' Section.—The girls in this section receive individual training in needlework, knitting, housewifery, laundry-work and cookery from the Instructress, Miss M. E. Price. (1) Needlework.—We have been fortunate in having a sewing machine for this work, which has not only made the work far more interesting but has been the means of obtaining better results. Most of the girls have adapted themselves to the use of the machine, and the more nervous girls are rapidly gaining confidence. Two of the girls are able to use the machine without close supervision. The articles made, which have been mainly simple articles of clothing, have found a ready sale amongst the girls’ parents. Those actually made and sold have been children’s pinafores and overalls, girls’ overalls, pillow slips, children’s petticoats, etc. More difficult work will be attempted later, such as the making of plain frocks. Several old frocks have been unpicked and renovated, and these the girls were allowed to keep when completed. They also patch and darn other articles of clothing which people give for the poorer children attending the Occupation Centre. The girls also make their cooking aprons, coarse aprons, kneeling pads, oven cloths, etc., for their own use during domestic work at the centre. At the end of the year a decided improve- ment was noticeable. The girls are gaining confidence and are now working much more quickly and efficiently. (2) Knitting.—This subject has required a great deal of patience on the part of the Instructress. Only one girl can knit without constant supervision, but a de- cided improvement has been noticed, and the work has not to be unpicked so often. Much remains to be done, however, to ensure the concentration necessary for good work. One girl has succeeded in knitting a pair of gentlemen’s socks and other girls are knitting vests and scarves. These articles also find a ready sale amongst the girls and their parents. (3) Cookery.—This subject is greatly enjoyed by all the girls, who have greatly improved in clean preparation of food for cooking. Before doing the practical work themselves, a demonstration is given by the Instructress, and the girls are given recipes for their own use at home. They have been taught to make short pastry and simple, wholesome cakes, and can now be trusted to make pastry and cakes without continual supervision. Just before the Christmas vacation several girls brought ingredients for making their own cakes ; they were also taught to ice the cakes, with very good results. The preparation of dinners—roasting, boiling, etc. —is to be attempted, and special attention will be given to cooking for sick persons. (4) Laundry-work.—The washing of articles used at the centre, such as towels, tea cloths, dusters, etc., has only been attempted so far, but now that the girls are able to wash these thoroughly an attempt is being made to wash the usual articles