MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

MAID IN MAYFAIR.

GOSSIP FROM LONDON. GOOD-BYE TO IRELAND. (From Onr London Lady Correspondent.) One of the most interesting Irish society women—Lady Kathleen Pilkington, the only child of the fourth Earl of Desart —is In London just now, enjoying lier favourite recreation of seeing now plays. It seems doubtful whether she will return to her native country again to live. After rebuilding Desart Court, her childhood home in County Kilkenny, after its burning during Ireland's troublous times, taxation and conditions generally have made things difficult, and her present plans are to .make a home in Sussex. Lady Kathleen is an exceptionally cultured woman, and, beside her artistic interests, she is a very fine horsewoman and breeder of dogs. She has made a name for herself with French bulldogs, and already has some very fine specimens at the place she has taken in the South.

NEEDLEWORK REVIVAL. The revival of needlework in Great Britain a year or two ago seems to have established the art again, and exhibitions of really beautiful work are taking place- not only in London but in other parts of England, as well as in Scotland. There were some very creditable performances by men embroiderers in an exhibition of twentieth century needlework, which was opened at the Leicester Galleries in London last week, and which is a reminder that both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York have taken up tapestry embroidery in the last few years. The present exhibition demonstrates what can be done in the way of reproducing pictures with needle and silk, and the variety of objects which are now decorated in this way is bewildering. The most modern, surely, is a wall panel intended to be put up at the back of a cocktail bar in a private house.

CHINESE ART. Small collectors who are unable to get together anything like an array of paintings or sculpture often turn to theChinese objets d'art in their desire for an artistic hobby, and they are rejoiaing in the announcement of the president of the Eoyal Academy that the next big ■winter exhibition at Burlington House will be made up of the art treasures of China. Many women have quite creditable little collections of small Chinese pieces. Some of the- miniature pictures, porcelain, bronzes, and so on, are obtainable at fairly reasonable prices, and the auction rooms and antique shops all over London give these women collectors opportunities of picking up specimens. Both the Queen and the Princess Royal have collections of Chinese jade, and have always been keenly interested in Chinese art. SHETLAND'S TRIBUTE.

One can imagine the delight of the Duchess of Kent when she sees the Shetland shawl which two old ladies of those far north islands have made for her, one of them spinning the exquisitely soft yarn by hand, and the other knitting it into the charming design which has been handed down from generation to generation in the Shetlands from time immemorial. There are many imitations of these shawls, but the genuine thing is probably one of the loveliest pieces of handwork it is possible to imagine. Literally miles of thread, spun from the softest wool taken from the necks of lambs reared in the ■ islands, are iveed in the fashioning of a single shawl, and yet the largest size which the Shetland knitters make weighs only a matter of an ounce or two. It resembles a fleecy cloud as much as anything, but in spite of its ethereal appearance it has years of wear in it, and will wash like the proverbial rag.

NUT PARTIES. Youthful society's latest craze is the nut party. Cocktails accompany the nuts, but an entirely different atmosphere is created because, instead of leaning on a bar or standing in little groups about the room, guests gather about the fire and share bowls of nuts and the nut-crackers.' A large size decorative bowl is used, and stands on a low stool in the centre of the circle, and two or three pairs of nut-crackers are passed about ae they are in demand. At least, this was how it began. Now, the more sophisticated hostess offers her guests an assortment of salted nuts, varying from almonds and brazils to pecan nuts, and the rather' charming atmosphere that belonged exclusively to the business of nut-cracking is disappearing. Very few society folk can help trying to improve upon simple pleasures, but this was one of the pleasant little functions which might well have been left alone in its early simplicity.

EQUAL CITIZENSHIP. Women who were fighting 25 years a g° —in the year that the King ascended the throne—for equal citizenship with men and for equal privileges in other ways are commenting on the fact that there are nearly fifty members of their sex in the New Year Honours list. The services for which they have been singled out tell as interesting a tale of progress a<3 do the figures, for, although women who devote their lives to nursing must always be in the majority in these lists — <is, indeed, they should be —nearly half the number this year are honoured for "meritorious services" in other capacities. A woman who has fought an uphill fight in organising welfare centres for the unemployed is given the 0.8. E. A telephone supervisor and a .sorting clerk unci telegraphist are honoured equally, aud in addition to women holding responsible positions in Government departments there are civil awards to "omen who are doing work in their home towns in a varietv oi wavs.

OFF TO SWITZERLAND. Lord and Lady Jellicoe have gone oft for their usual winter sports holiday in Switzerland. The family party which accompanied them is not so large as usual, being confined to their son, Lord Brocas, and one daughter —Lady Gwendolen Jellicoe. One feels that Lady ■Telliooo must always undertake these holidays with a certain amount of misgiving, for in past years her daughters have had such bad luck in the matter of accidents, and she has had to spend so much of her time there in nursing homes and clinics with them while they were recovering from fractures and shocks. tShe sets off very cheerily in spite of it all, however, feeling probably that the wonderful benefit in the matter of health which the whole party derive is worth the risk of a broken arm or ankle.