A Maid Looks At Mayfair

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 280, 26 November 1938, Page 4

A Maid Looks At Mayfair

A TOUR through some of the beauty spots of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire brought to light a queer instance of the old wartime profiteering spirit. Three women in a car were interested in a "for sale or to let ' notice in the garden of a rather attractive cottage. They looked over it, and found that there was no electricity and none immediately -available, no gas and no main water. Thcv w<tp. how«'\ it, comprising two little room* downstairs bv an annexe bnilt out an an extra w i a'nd one upstairs. The idea had been that the tenant of the cottage rdioiild let off the annexe a« a separate residence, hut the authorities had stepped in and pointed out that there was drainage for one home only, and none extra could be arranged for the annexe. Which meant, that sub-tenants would have to be allowed access to the main house. This made the place h drug on the market and the owner had been prepared to let it go at almost any price. But not now. "He won t budge from the new price he had put on it now, the caretaker said. "\ou see, its such a wonderful place for people escaping from air raids, and they won t bother about things like light and water and drainage. Why, you could sleep a dozen in the cottage and annexe. ' Wearing Flowers A fashion for wearing flowers both natural and artificial in the evenings has been carried over from last season to this one. There are not so many floral top-knots, perhaps, as* one sawbefore the summer holidays, but flowers used in ingenious ways make parties in artiiicial light more interesting. At a musicale a night or two ago a woman guest whose name is Violet had allowed her dressmaker to fasten "market bunches" of deep purple violets at each side of her wide-skirted dress, and another, with the name of Marguerite, wore a necklace and bracelets of very pale pink daisies. Poppies were much in evidence, too. Very large ones, with the petals outspread, were laid side bv side across the top of a bodice with a Victorian line, and they were matched by a single blossom among the waves of the wearer's hair. Club Hosts The Athenaeum and the United Services have again l*»en exchanging club courtesies. They are separated only by •he broad roadway leading down to the Ibike of York's steps, which, by day ;ime, is converted into one huge car park. Every year they take turns at

Special Correspondent LONDON. pi.tying host while the premises across the way undergo their customary autumn cleaning. This does not prevent a cerlain amount of badinage between the two chilis. The Army men at the I'nited Services, call the Athenaeum Hishopsgatc. and the Athenaeum retaliate by calling the United Services Cripplesgate. One distinguished member

of the Athenaeum had the unusual distinction of belonging to both clubs. This was 1 he. late T,ord Morley. who was elected a member of the I'nited Services in virtue of being a Secretary of State. Curiously enougli. lie greatly preferred the I'nited Services to the literary atmosphere of the Athenaeum. At the I'nited Services, lie explained, he could lind a comfortable armchair and bury himself in a book without anyone taking any notice of him. At the Athenaeum there were too many birds of his own feat her.

Herring Bars Fleet Street may shortly have its "herring bar" as well as its milk bars mid become the starting point for an entirely new scheme. In an effort to counteract two modern ills—malnutrition owing to lack of essentials in diet, and the plight of the herring fishing industry owing to enforced waste of catches— a group of enterprising people is going to open a pioneer bar during October, probably in Fleet Street, and celebrate bv a '"herring liar week." The herrings will supply what is lacking in diet and the bars will open up a market for the catches. 'J'lie plan lias been worked out by a woman. Miss Anne .Tamieson. and it has the unqualilied approval and blessing of the Government, the National Council of Social Service, the Institute of Hygiene, and, naturally, the herring industry. People will be able to have "snack lunches" of herrings, with the usual "trimmings" for approximately the same price as they pay for tlieir glass of yeast milk and so on. There will l>e no complaints 011 the score of monotony, because the pioneers have already discovered, a hundred and five different ways of cooking herrings, including the traditional English. Trish and Scottish methods, the Swedish, the Norwegian and the German. German experts have recently been to Hull to demonstrate their ways, and all will he adopted in the "herring bar" kitchen. Spartan Allowance A notable feature of the tourist, invasion. which is always noticeable in London at this time of the year, is the almost complete absence of Germans. It is not because of any feeling against this country, nor lack of interest in our scenery and institutions. It is solely due to the fact that they cannot afford the trip. It is not the fare that troubles them, but the incidental expenses afterwards. Unless lie can show exceptional reasons, no one is allowed to come out of Germany with more than ten marks in his possession. You cannot spend much time in London on a bare ten shillings unless you sleep ori on the Embankment. Tourists from other countries are pouring *n freelv enough, and coaches lalielled "Seeing London" almost pass unnoticed. Thriller fans of Edgar Wallace ty|>e are still lured by the invitation to a night in Chinatown, hut they come away somewhat disappointed from T.imehoitse with its odd population of half-breeds. The theatres and cinemas are crowded, but foreign visitors find it hard to understand why the cost of seats in the latter equal and sometimes exceed the cost of seats in the theatres.