A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 229, 27 September 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

SOUND OF SWEET BELLS. WOMAN SPEED KING. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.) "Visitors to the Duchess of York at her I iccadilly home in London often wonder 7 there is such a delicious aroma— almost of fruit and flowers blended—in 1 ? 0 I ni . s - T TJIe same perfume can be 8t Paul'" 1 w I'J S u tratllmor °'s house at Cistlp W l a de " bl,1 T ) and at Glands wl hn i pto thn,k canie from the T) l °? boAN ls . of . P°t pourri Avhich both the Duchess arid her mother have about the i but although these contribute to n iral effect, the more pungent aioina '/°" les from what look like prickly biown balls, packed into flat bowls. They "HovPrl '> y S T)f ll or ., UlgeS Which have bee » cjo-v ed. The ordinary cloves . used in cookery are pushed into the orange? while they are very soft— gently, so that too much juice does not escape—and hardly any yellow surface can be seen when they are finished. They give the most delicious scent to a room. THE HARBINGER OF SPRING. There is a scarcity of the great golden branches of mimosa, or wattle, which at this season of the year generally fill the windows of the florists and brighten the tables at the restaurants. The common supposition is that the recent gales have damaged the mimosa crop on the Riviera. The real explanation is, I am told, that the severe frosts of last winter destroyed or injured a great number of the trees. Ihe losses a serious one for the French and Italian growers, many of whom are almost entirely dependent on the money they make from the sale of mimosa lo London, Paris and other capitals. A mimosa orchard is an envied possession along the Italian Riviera. The "crop" is sold as it stands to the exporters, who send their own experts to gather the blooms, so that the trees may not suffer any damage. There is 110 more beautiful sight to be than the shower of golden blossom that falls from the trees as these experts nip off the branches with their sharp shears. . THE HYDE PARK BELLS. The New Zealand carillon of bells in Hyde Park is fascinating Londoners. Every recital takes hundreds of people to the Park, and you notice the same faces day after day while the chimes are sending their melodies across space. It would not be at all surprising to find a definite appeal presently for the establishment of a permanent bell tower and carillon in Hyde Park, and, judging by the enthusiasm, it would not bo very difficult to raise the money for them. The bells seem to grow more musical with increased use, and there is a wonderful variety now in the programmes. Hundreds of city workers, .tired though they look after their day's work, turn into the Park in the evening to listen to the carillon. At the earlier recitals, too, nearly every man and woman of leisure in London seems to gravitate there. OSTEND WAKES UP. Great changes are promised at Ostend in the near future. During the last year or two the famous Belgian watering place lias felt the competition of places like Le Touquet, Deauville and Dinard, where hotels are on a scale of magnificence that makes some of those at Ostend appear almost old-fashioned. Ostend has few natural amenities to bolster up the rather hectic popularity it has so long enjoyed. The countryside around is flat and uninteresting, its promenade is one of the worst in Europe, and its bathing machines would excite a smile even at a second-class English watering place. All this is to be changed. Hotels are to be rebuilt, decent bridges thrown across the waterways separating the town from the railway, and it is even possible that the straggling main street (the Belgian atmosphere of -which has been the main attraction of the place to some of us) may find itself equipped with a few palatial shops of the modern kind. LOVE SETS.

Following swiftly on the weddings of Helen Wills, Eileen Bennett and Miss Goldsack comes news of still more tennis partnerships materialising off the courts. Everyone is interested in the engagement of "Billic" Tapscott to Mr. C. H. Bobbins, her partner in the mixed doubles last year. Miss Tapscott is surely the most fascinating little figure ever seen 011 the centre court at Wimbledon. Always an advocate of playing with bare legs, Miss Tapscott created something of a sensation at Wimbledon last summer by announcing her intention of playing without stockings—only abandoning her idea on representations of the ■ All. England Committee. Miss Heine, another of the South African players, is going to marry a young farmer, a graduate of Pietermaritzburg College. Though not a tennis player of note, he is a keen sportsman, and played cricket and Rugger for his college. It will be a great loss to South African tennis if Miss Heine gives up championship tennis. Of all the South African players she was the most promising, and good critics formed the opinion that she only needed a season in Europe or in America to win her way to supreme championship honours. WOMAN RIVAL TO SEGRAVE. There is no more, intrepid sportswoman in the country than Miss Betty. CarBtaire. She has spent something like £70,000 in the past two years in build-, ing last motor boats in an attempt to win back from Aiatrica the British International Trophy, which" has been in the United States since the war. She has had bad luck on both occasions. Two years ago there was an explosion in her boat during the race at Detroit, and Miss Carstairs was blown through a hole in the side. Last year her new boat broke down soon after the race started. But bad' luck has not damped Miss Carstairs' enthusiasm. She has been busy in a secret shipyard near Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, superintending the building of a fast boat, which she hoped would create a world speed record. Miss Carstairs hoped to travel more than 100 miles an hour. She benight her own shipyard, and she employs her own men. The work on the 'Jew boat was kept profoundly secret, but she has again failed to win back the trophy. SILK SHEETS. Silk sheets used to be regarded as an cxcess only of the sybarite. Now, however, the doctors and the artiiicial silk manufacturers have united in recommending these sheets, and made them at the same time possible for the moderate purse. I am told in the trade that a large sale of them is expected in the summer, in the pale pastol shades which are carried by artificial silk so well. Sheets of artificial silk are said to admit the ultra violet rays which are kept at bay by sfteets of linen, and therefore the luxury Of silk is actually good for one's health. This is always one of the most consoling thoughts when embarking on extravagance.