READER Winston Bratherton has shown me an interesting item from schooldays long ago.

It is a Housewifery Note Book produced by the McDougall's Educational Company Ltd (London and Edinburgh) and priced at 1s 3d nett.

Mr Bratherton, who lives in Egerton, Bolton, tells me it belonged to his late mother Doris, who was born in 1902 and died 12 years ago.

The schoolbook, from Clarendon Street school, gives a flavour of the expectations society had for girls in the years just before and during the 1914-18 war.

The young Doris Critchley, as she was then, learned about the rules for pegging out washing, how to fold bed linen and how to do the mangling and ironing.

There were lessons on frying bacon and eggs, grilling fish and cooking for invalids (including tripe, mutton broth and milk pudding).

On other days Doris learned about "cleanliness of the body", including the following - "a hot bath should be had once a week, the best time is just before going to bed."

There are notes on costs per yard or length, serviceable materials, and any special hints for making garments. The inside cover of the book contains comprehensive instructions for use, signed by J Darricotte, supervisor of schools, Bolton.

It says: "Each girl should be supplied with one of these immediately on first beginning cookery or any other cognate subject."

(Cognate - not a word I use much myself - means born of the same stock, akin or of the same nature).

Sections A, B and C are reserved for a fair copy of the notes given at the Domestic work Centres - to be done either at school or as a home exercise.

Section D is for the gumming in of newspaper cuttings bearing on home life, such as kitchen recipes and first aid treatment of common ailments.

Section E is for diagrams of needlework exercises and drawings of garments cut out or made.

At the end there is a stern NB: "On leaving school the child should be given the book and recommended to use it further in evening classes and to keep adding to its contents systematically in the home."

Obviously the educationalists thought the job was simple in those days - women stayed at home and men went out to work.