SOCIAL JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 260, 3 November 1925, Page 20

SOCIAL JOTTINGS.

J ! Mrs. H. R. Hobday, of Remuera. left j for Wellington for a brief holiday. She ■ will be the guest of the Mayoress of Wellington. Mr?. E. A. Thomas, a member of the Mothers" Union (Diocese of Sydney), is interested in the Church of England Home.-. She ha* transferred a little of her enthusiasm to some of her friends, ami recently the had :;-J men at work j painting beds, mending fence*, and I doing other odd job? round the homes , at Glebe. All professions and trades ! were represented, and the gathering included a stipendiary magistrate, a couple of bank manager-, nine butt-here, a tram guard. electricians. house decorators, blacksmiths. carpenters, plumbers, and civil servant?. The example is a fine one for others to follow. Mrs. Con Daly, better known as Miss Edith Harrby. who has many friends in Xew Zealand, has had an eventful journey. She made up her mind to travel to London with her opera. The family embarked on the Canberra, and were on board the night of the fire when C'raythorne rescued Mr?. Daly's baby. "Honor | Bright." In a letter to Sydney from Durban, Mrs. Daly tells how she went i over the melodies of her opera all night , ■wondering if she could re-write it, i when her husband returned with the news that all the baggage was safe. Now Mr. pnd Mrs. Daly, with their two little daughters, are held up at Durban, owing to the seamen's strike. The municipality of Leicester has started a course of instruction for women motorists, and twenty students are already enrolled for the classes. A subject dealt with at the Conference of the National Council of Women of Great Britain, was that of humane slaughter, and it was. agreed to urge the Government to introduce a bill making humane killing compulsory. Miss Constance Warner, of the London branch, produced the skull of an animal j which, she said, had received five blows before being stunned. A resolution, submitted by Mrs. Mars-ton Acres, of the League of the Church Militant, respectfully urged the authorities of the churches to do all in their power to secure that a vocation to the ministry of religion should receive official recognition, whether its possessor be a man or woman. In the discussion considerable divergence of opinion was manifested, but in the end the resolution was carried by 195 votes to 87. Mrs. Acres said that many questions of social and moral difficulty would have been solved years ago if men and women, side hy side, had had equal responsibilities and equal opportunities in all spheres and in all branches of the church in giving religious instruction and in carrying out the duties of the ministry of religion. They did not a«k I in the resolution to inEe'rfere'with the' government or administration of any of the branches of the churches; they merely asked that the powers in the various branches of the churches should 'consider the matter and take action to set it right. ENGAGEMENTS. The engagement is announced of Eleanor Florence, third daughter of Mr. and A. Dye. Ponsonby, Jack Ir., only-eon of Mr. E. L. Gav'ey,~ LYCEUjf CLUB. An interesting evening was given last Bight at the Lyceum Club when the Music Circle lield an "Open Evening."and an address was given by the president, Mrs. W. H. Parkes, on* the subject of the mueic it had been her good fortune to hear when abroad. Mrs. Parkes. in speaking of her London impressions, referred to the promenade concerts given by Sir Henry Wood's orchestra *nd the playing of the Peer Gynt Suite under this famous She saw Phyllis Dare make her reappearance on the stage, after an interval of seven years in a light opera the "Street Binger," when she met a tremendous reception. The singer was as youthful and light in the opera as if it were her first success. This opera was of interest to Aucklanders because Mr. Robert Geddes had played the principal part in the provinces, and he had also scored triumphs in London. He was under■tudy to Mr. Eric Oldham. Amongst other things heard was "Madame Pompadour' , with. Evelyn Lane in the principal part. "Stop Flirting" and a band of singers tailed the "Co-optimists."* ] Grand opera at Covent Garden was also i amongst the great pleasures that Mrs. Parkes enjoyed, while in London. Mrs. Parkes made a special visit to the great and famous cathedrals of England, and at St. Paul's the music by the choir was perfect in its beauty. The voices of the boy*, ringing clear through | the historic fane, and the majesty of the \ •urroundings raised the listener above [ earthly things to heigths of spiritual exaltation. York, Canterbury, Winchester. Liverpool, and all visited. At Clifton College. Bristol, a choir of 700 boys' voices took part in the service and it was very beautiful. One of the pleasures was hearing Mr. Dan. Godfrey's orchestra with Mr. Maurice D'Oisly as soloist. His voice was as perfect as ever. On reaching Paris, Mrs. Parkes was fortunate enough to hear "Faust" at Opera House, which is worldfamed for its magnificence, and where the music and ballets are always remarkable. At Nice. Cannes. Monte Carlo. Genoa, and Pisa the speaker heard inspiring music. In Milan, the home of opera, its unrivalled La Scala theatre, where the greatest singers in the world are heard, was visited, and in Vienna Mrs. Parkes was privileged to hear such a masterpiece as "Tannhauser." Upon returning to London fhe speaker attended the concerts of the beautiful military bands to be heard at Wembley, and the fine afternoon concerts given there. Mrs. Parkes mentioned the success in England of the New Zealanders, Robert Geddes and Mr. Hubert Carter of Auckland, Miss Stella jMurray, of Christchurch, and Misses Fisher and Cruickshanks. Miss Alice Law, convenor, occupied the chair during the evening, and the following artists gave musical items, which were of a very high standard and much enjoyed: Misses Margaret Stoddart and Miss Alice Law, violin and piano duet: "Spanish Song" (Brahms). by Miss Eleanor Miller; song. "Charmn'nt Papillon" (Campra), an old French melody of 1700. by Miss- Berta Carr; Miss " Maida Hooker, piano solos; "Darkened Valley" and "Ragamuffin," by John Ireland: Miss Miller sang "The Fengull of the Land under Waves;" a TTebridean song by Kennedy Fraser; Miss Nerta Carr also sang "In the Silent Night" by Rachmaninoff, and Miss Margaret Stoddart played a mazurka by Wicniawski. .