Roundabout
Ar the 'Do It Yourself' exhibition there was enough variety to satisfy anyone who ever dropped a hammer. Do-it - yourself cars, hi - fi, louvre win-
dows, concrete paving, wall- paper -- even teddy bears with musical stomachs. There were two trends in evidence : half the things were de- signed to get people to do more and more for themselves, thus avoiding purchase tax and doing without those little men who say they will come on Tuesday morning and arrive (if at all) on Friday afternoon. The other half, apparently similar, was in fact opposite : in the Do Your Own Art category, you in fact do less and less. There were oil painting by numbers, sculpture in moulds ('They paint them up and sell them at a profit --gnomes mostly'), and drawing by use of an enlarging compass. Knitting machines were in thiS class : the men were fascinated by the gadgetry, but women, who haven't for years knitted for the sake of the results, were less en- thralled.
The women in general had their enthusiasm well under control. Every stall showing power tools had at least two men by it trying to persuade, themselves that the polishing attachment would endear the thing to their wives; the expressions of the wives showed plainly that they were living in a tools paradise. Women, in any case, being concerned with too much do-it-yourself washing and cooking as it is, get less of a look-in on the homebuilding.
just stand and laugh,' said one wife. Especially when he's trying to paper the ceiling.'
'The thing is,' the man explained. 'I treat it rather as a hobby: my wife wants it to be finished.'
'God helps those who do it themselves' might have been the motto of one stand, which was selling, fantastically, assembly kits for church organs. Some, for home use, have an attachment Whereby a man can listen to his own playing through earphones and charitably let the family off; others are bought by churches and assembled by the faithful, cutting costs by upwards of £100. One is actually being assembled by the vicar him- self—if the kits are as complicated as they fook, he will soon be preaching on the text 'Do Unto Others Before You Do It Yourself,'
The clergy had also been keen on the Junior Portable Tape Recorder (or Little Taper). 'This Parson came here,' said the man on the stall. 'said fifteen minute's was just the right length for one of his sermons and could he try it out. Sat here and recorded a whole sermon—then made me listen to it all played back. But he did order one.'
Most of the people there were well dressed : do-it-yourself plainly appeals to people on the up- . and-up who realise that a bit of ingenuity will give
them better homes than their incomes might suggest. The other keen motive was the desire to get a better job of work.
'We had a first-class decorator in to do the hall,' said one man. 'Never again—just didn't have the finish.' He and his wife were leaning against a stand of assembly furniture; she was wearing sandals and carrying high-heeled shoes in her hand, and they were both sucking languidly on iced lollies.
'Oh, we haven't been here really long,' she said. 'About three hours.'
They explained that they had made all their own bedroom furniture, and the salesman on the stall leaned over and complimented them on being old hands at the do-it-yourself game.
'Do-it-myself!' the man said indignantly. 'I made it myself!'
It was a nice distinction.
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