MAID IN MAYFAIR

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 234, 2 October 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

MAID IN MAYFAIR

Women Prove Successful In Theatre. MONKEY CLUB AND BRIDES-TO-BE. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.)

Till; re-i'iii Mile of a pleasant estate in |,ino>!n.-!iire lias sot limiting folk j n I .Din I c 'ii all agog. It is situated j n the ['rhnir Hunt,, ami the suggestion j g (hat it ha< been bought for one of the Kin'/- 11 1"111 ers. It has been acquired on beliflf of M>me unknown purchaser by fl famous, linn of estate agents in the West l.n<l "f l.oiulon. The suggestion is that it is in! ended, during the hunting sense", for Ihe occupation cither of the: I)ul<c of Windsor, the Duke of (ilou-l coster or (he Puke of Kent. If the Duke of Gloucester or the Duke of Kent were | anxious to secure a property of this j kind it. is dillicult to understand why there should be so much mystery about it. And the irossips do not, forget that the I'iike of Windsor lias never concealed ]iis intention of returning to England w hcn t lie memories of recent unhappy incidents hn\e died down. llarlaxtoii Manor, the estate in question, near (il'imt lia m, is close to the estate of Lord Brownlow, who will be remembered as the former Lord in-Waiting to King Edward VII 1., who escorted Mrs. Simpgon, as she then was, on her journey 1 across France to Cannes. It covers .some four thousand acres, embraces two or : three typical Lincolnshire villages, and has the great merit, to anyone anxious to avoid trippers, of being extremely exclusive. It is completely veiled from the road, being approached by great massive gates which give entrance to a, long carriage drive terminating in yet more gates and a high .surrounding brick wall. I have been at some pains to discover the actual purchaser without meeting with aijy success. |

Women at the Theatrical Helm. Whatever tnay lie their success in other walks nf life, including the now no longer exclusively masculine professions, ■women are taking a leading part, not only as actresses but as stupe producers, in West I''lid theatrical ventures. No fewer than live London plays arc at this moment being produced by women experts. Miss Auriel Lee is responsible for "Gertie Maude"; Miss Margaret Webster, daughter of the famous Ben Webster and Dame May Whittv, for "Old Music"; Miss Irene TTentsehel for "Time and the Conwavs"; and Miss Leontine Sngan for "Crest of the Wave." Finally there is that clever little'ladv. Miss Dodie Smith, who is producing her own new play, "Bonnet Over the Windmill," which " will appear next month. This must be quite a record for feminine stage enterprise in this country, and most probably in any other. Ihe producer, whom the playgoing public i» apt to overlook, is the mainstay of any suceessful stasre venture, and the deciding «« well as the inspiring theatrical voice. Only a 0.8.5. can hope to prevail asrainst his or 'ier judgment as to effccts.

Monkey Club. This club, in T'ont Street, run with the Idea of helping young society girls to become increasingly useful members or the community, prides itself on the success of its school for brides-to-be. All the members of the club are encouraged to tnke active interest in domestic economy, cookery, housewifery generally, in addition to political economy and social problems. There are lectures on subjects of topical irPtercst. the girls ■visit institutions of various kinds. an<l some of the m have even gathered in great hotel kitchens to receive cookery lessons from famous chefs. Those who #re engaged, or expect to become engaged, have, also the benefit of the brides' school, where they put their domestic knowledge, to prncticnl use. There are three furnished flats nt the club, and when a girl is considered siimciently educated in matters relating to entering and household budget management she is put in charge of one of them, and is expected to run it on £1 tier week. The mascot of the club m the group of little monkeys which "hear no evil, sec no evil, say no evil.

Seven Years Old. Princess Margaret T?ose was seven years old recently, and, contrary t* general expectations, she celebrated the event at Balmoral. It was at Claims Castle that she was horn about 0 o clock in the evening of August 21, 1930, and the plnnn of the King and Queen dunnp their Scottish visit included a birthday party at the Queen's old home. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, who are nt Birkhall, were among the r >r ' n ' eesses' guests at Balmoral, but other members of the family contented themselves with sending mysterious-looking parcels. The Duke of Windsor, still in Austria, never forgets his small nieces birthdays, and is always original with his gifts. The Duke and Duchess of Kent, cruising in Dalmatia, are also keen nn oiit-of-the-ordinary presents, and mode arrangements for their offerings before leaving England. Queen Mnry, who rather "spoils" her small grandchildren, sent gifts from Sandringlitim, and the Princess Royal made due acknowledgments of the important occasion from Yorkshire.

Sandringham Flax Experiments. About. seven years ago the present King's father. admiring some Irish linen, romaiked: "Cannot we prow flax in this country?" He was told that many years ago was grown in Norfolk. "Then ivr will trv it again." said the King, and promptly gave instructions accordingly "t Nnndringhn rn. Interesting results Jihvp cmnf from this Royal venture. At this moment Scotland, notably Dundee and Perthshire, has some of the best" crops of flux produced for over a century. The experts acknowledge this satisfactory result to lie due primarily to King (Jeorge V.'s enterprise in giving "p portions of the Sandringham estate to the finest pedigree flax seed. It started in, 1931 with a small acreage, •which wa« gradually extended to nearly 200 acres. This increase was progressive until last, year, when the Duke of Windsor's policy of breaking up the estate lr-d to its suspension. But the present King is reviving the experiment, fl'id lie is us keen about it as was hi* father. King- (Jeorge V. launched the Scheme under the best auspices, and the <Top was sent to Belfast for treatment. In future it may be handled in Norfolk. Most of the Sandringham and Buckingham Palace linen is made from Sandringham flax.

Down Rivers

( onsidering the sylvan gummer attractions of the upper reaches of I' at her lhames, it is surprising to learn how many hundreds of Londoners and visitors avail themselves of the Port of London Authority's triweekly trips tlown river to view the docks. But after four hours aboard the Royal Daffodil, of Zeebruggo fame, I understood why. I hough packed as tight as any sardine among the crowd, th© vast majority of whom were women, I hardly spent a dull moment from the time when the mighty bascule of Tower Bridge was lifted to lot us through, until our return in tho cool evening. "Liquid history," as tho Thames lias been called, unfolds at every bend, and is explained to the linerudite by the übiquitous loudspeaker. Hv Wapping Stairs is the old "Town of Kanisgnte." inn, where fishermen from the coast foregathered in times past. Hard by is the gruesome Execution Dock where the strangled Inidies of pirates were hung in chains for the space of three tides. One passes Rateliffe Cross, whence so many Elizabethan navigators sailed to the seven seas. So to Limelmusc, where it is interesting to learn that a limekiln did once stand.

Famous Figures. The jockey in whom they are primarily interested is Gordon Richards, though the panther-like figure of Steve Donogliuo is also a major attraction. Gordon Richards, in the ridiculously long overcoat under which he occasionally hides the resplendent colours of his jockey clothes, would be recognised anywhere. So, too, would the Aga Khan, smiling blandly through enormous horn-rims, on all and sundry, and appearing utterly undisturbed because one of his racehorses had just missed a thousand pounds prize by the length of a man's hand in a two-mile race. Another famous patron of the turf, who was pointed out to me, is not so' readily distinguished in the crowd. No one who saw Miss Dorothy J'aget marking her card in the grandstand, would imagine for a moment that she had paid more for some of her thoroughbreds than anv other woman in the world. Almost dowdy in appearance, she might be the wife of some sturdy yeoman farmer, who had strayed by accident on to a racecourse. She has this in common with the Aga Khan. She is never in the least distressed when one of her favourites fails to bring off the expected coup. To watch her you would think she was much more interested in eggs and housewifery than in the training of some of the most famous racehorses of our time.

Margot's Plans. Lady Oxford and Asquith, who usually goes North to visit friends in the autumn, will not be going this year until later on. She was one of the many British people to visit Austria recently and took the opportunity to attend the Salzburg Festival. She plans to stay for a while in Paris before returning to the house in Bedford Square which she bought after the publication of her famous Autobiography. Her daughter, Princess Antoine Bibesco. lives in Paris, where her husband has a house on Quai Bourbon, but was over here a short time ago with her small daughter, Prince Antoine Bibesco is a grandson of the late reigning Prince of Rumania, has been Rumanian Charge d'Affaires in T.ondon and Petrograd, anl Rumanian Minister at Washington and Madrid. Lady Oxford is one of the most amazing women of her time. Slim as a schoolgirl and as vividly interested in life, she is seen at every social gathering that matters in London, and has more than a curtsying acquaintance with members of the Royal family, who find her "good company" with h" fund of anecdotes and her pithy remarks o,n men and matter*.