A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR.

HOUSING EXHIBITION. A LIVING MUSEUM. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.) The Housing Centre Exhibition opened recently shows some interesting plans and photographs, as well as complete models, of forthcoming building schemes _ in the slum areas of London. All the best ideas at home and abroad have been collected and classified, and many appear for the first time. The Housing Centre was founded two years ago, under the patronage of the Duchess of York, and has done a great deal to improve the standard of mass buildino-. Women are in the majority in the joint committee formed by a number of antislum societies to see that modern labour-saving devices, cheerful decoration and sun-trap rooms and balconies are included in flats and houses for industrial workers. Lectures on such subjects as "Housing in Relation to Unemployment" and '.Rural and Urban Amenities" are being given by experts at the exhibition. IGHTING UP. London has got a new Lighting Centre where specialists make experiments and give advice to women on lighting problems in their homes. It is becoming more and more recognised that light affects health, and that, according to its quality and position, produces beneficial effects or the reverse. Street illumination has been recently improved, and now for the first time in England attention has been turned to domestic lighting. Artistic design in the fittings 'and the use to which the room is to be put are considered by experts who are specialists in opthalmics. Small cardboard models of the room or house to be treated are made at the centre, the doors and windows are marked, and in a short time the ideal positions for all artificial lighting fitments are indicated. HAND-WROUGHT METALS. Fine craftsmanship is never out of

fashion, and even in an age of high machine-made perfection, continues to hold its own. In an old workshop in a London suburb metal is worked and beaten by hand to-day with, tools such as were used by craftsmen centuries ago. These metal workers declare that, after a lapse of 30 years or more, an appreciation for the simplicity and quality of handiwork has reappeared. The Victorian age was responsible for the over-ornate and laboured trend in design, and it was not until the beginning of the present century that metal craft was revived. Queen Alexandra patronised the Hampstead workshop, and a silver muffin dish and a complete silver tea service were made there for her. Another patron was Lady Iveagh, who had a Communion service made and engraved for a London hospital. DOROTHY PAGET. Although Miss Dorothy Paget spends most of her days at race meetings in the country, up till now she has always lived in London. However far afield she travels she generally arrives back in London in time for breakfast. Recently Miss Paget has been looking for a country house, and has just taken one at Newmarket, not far from the establishment of her cousin and trainer, Mr. Donald Snow. The Paget menage is conducted on unconventional lines, and breakfast is served at 6.30 p.m., luncheon about midnight, and dinner in the small hours. Miss Paget finds this arrangement fits in with her sporting activities, and makes her plans accordingly. In order to avoid the domestic crisis that such an arrangement would naturally cause "below stairs," Miss Paget keeps two staffs of servants who work in shifts. ECHO OP 1814. Costume balls nowadays are not haphazard affairs. Women intending to dance at the Vienna ball were so determined to wear authentic costumes that the Austrian National Library sent over special fashion plates of the period for" them to study. The Great Congress of Vienna, when the Austrian capital was the diplomatic centre of Europe, was one of the most socially brilliant periods of European history. At the ball the Austrian Minister appeared as Prince Metternieh, and the ballroom at

the Legation, not unlike a small edition of the State ballroom at the Metternich Palace, was lit by candles and decorated in the manner of 1814. The Empire frocks and inconsequent little bonnets of those romantic days suit modern women, and have inspired many of the models shown at the winter "collections." LIVING STATUES. A Sussex hospital is to benefit by a 'living museum," which is being organised by Mrs. Holden. a lady-in-waiting at Kensington Palace. A tableau representing a famous Bayeux tapestry, Dresden and Chelsea china, Botticelli figures and Chinese jade statuettes will be shown on a stage, and afterwards come to life. The dresses and draperies to be worn by those who take part are being painted and gilded to give the effect of marble, wood and china on a background of fine linen. One of the most difficult to reproduce has been the dress of an old grey oak Madonna, the property of the Dufferin family. After several experiments, grey sateen, treated with a flat paint, was found to give an effect almost indistinguishable from wood. Amongst those who are interested in the "living museum" are Princess Louise and the Duchess of Norfolk. CAROLLERS IN MAYFAIR. "Good King Wenceslas" was heard in the West End one afternoon during the Christmas season when Lady Downshire gave an old-fashioned Christmas party, and a group of picked carollers sang at the door of her house in Charles Street. Inside, the centre of attraction was an enormous Christmas tree, and, although the party was not a juvenile one, crackers popped merrily. Snapdragon, v holly decorations, and a giant Christmas cake were part of the proceedings, while at the end of the afternoon steaming hot punch, made from an old family recipe, was served to the guests. Lady Ipswich and Lady Bethell were < amongst those who attended to make ; final plans for the Christmas ball being arranged by Lady Downshire to take i place just before-the- holidays.