The Wives of Bath

‘THANKS once more to the Women’s Institute for voting Anorak “Housewives’ Choice” for an unprecedented tenth year running.

Newlywed Tina was ready for her husband’s return

The trophy, in the shape of a giant wooden sponge cake, will nestle neatly in with our collection of commemorative silver scones and gold-plated toilet roll covers.

And as you’ve supported us, dear ladies, it’s only fair we now support you.

So today we draw our readers’ attention to the news that 84% of WI members who took part in a survey by SC Johnson (makers of cleaning products) agreed that a “sparking lavatory bowl is most essential to keeping a hygienic home”.

And such is the huge level of importance placed on keeping a tidy and clean toilet that almost half the survey’s 1,000 respondents said that, when visiting the homes of their sons’ girlfriends, they inspected her lavatory.

As the Mail reports, a whopping 80% of our friends at the WI say that being able to bond with future in-laws is as important as the prospective wife’s ability to keep a tidy house.

Janet Jones, who took part in the survey, explains how you can tell a lot by the condition of a woman’s bog brush.

“The first place to look is the toilet – because if that wasn’t clean, then you could bet nothing was particularly clean.”

But Dr Terri Apter, a psychologist at Cambridge University, has a few words to the wise for women about to pull on their white gloves for a trip to the little girl’s room.

They should not be overly critical of the girlfriend’s efforts, since being picky can lead to friction.

“It is very difficult for mothers-in-law to draw the line between caring for their sons and meddling,” says the doctor.

We disagree. There are such things as standards, and the good ladies at the WI can rest assured that your awards are cleaned each and every day with a refreshing dunk in our oh-so-clean cistern…’

Posted: 31st, August 2004 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink