THE BACHELO GIRL IN LONDON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1114, 29 April 1911, Page 11

THE BACHELO GIRL IN LONDON.

AN IDEAL HOME. Tho "bachelor girl" is now a taken-for-granted feature of our modern life. We know her well in Wellington, where, in many cases,'she lias managed to make life a very pleasant affair for herself, but, perhaps, nowhere has she carried tho ordering of her ways to such perfection as in London. A Sydney girl, visiting bachelor quarters in Waterloo Court, London, writes an enthusiastic account of what she saw to the Svdnev "Morning Herald":-

"To escape froni Ihc bustle and din of the city," she begins, we (live into the innermost recesses of the earth, and are practically shot away as from a cannon, in a tube railway, into the free air and comparative silence of outer London—a noisy and nerve-racking method of transit. The particular cannon 1 am speaking of lands us in twenty minutes at a charming health-giving spot—Golder's Green by name, seven miles from the heart of London—an oasis of green fields and singing skylarks. Here, . a stone's throw from the station, we come upon a large picturesque building, which looks like a.college at Oxford or Cambridge. We see a low, three-storied block of buildings, built as t . quadrangle, with a huge squaro grass lawn in the centre, such as those which form one of the chief glories of the university colleges, though of this one it can hardly be said, as the celebrated old Oxford gardener explained to an inquiring American, that its perfection was attained by tho following recipe:—"We mows it, and we hoes it, and we rolls it for a thousand years"; for this one has only been in existence for a couple of seasons. Between the lawn and tho building are a squars-flagged walk and flower-beds; then come the cloisters, with round arches; and under these arches one finds the ideal homes—fifty little dwellings, each complete in itself (it is a misnomer to call-them flats), and eacli different internally, which is a charm in these days of barrack-like architecture. Each contains a living room, one or two bedrooms, bathroom, and tiny kitchen, with gas stove and bath-heater. Tho whole place is built in the Old English style, each litjle front door is literally a cottage door, you lift up the latch, and enter, in tho Little Bed Hiding Hood manner; there is not a modern door handle to be found, nothing but wooden latches. It is all solidly built, all the fittings and beams being of plain, smooth wood, guiltless of varnish or paint, which allows the .beautiful natural graining to be seen, and is also economical, for it requires no' fourth attention, but simply grows dark with time. " Short flights of wooden stairs lead to the second and third stories. These I alwnys think must be the nightmare of the postman, as he goes his rounds every two hours or so. A common room serves as a comfortable lounge, where a good collection of newspapers and magazines may ba seen. Meals are served in what I must call the "refectory," a long oak-beamed room, with lovely polished oak tables, without tablecloths, which is both economical and artistic. Outside of the quadrangle are tennis courts and croquet lawns, and—veritable home-life indeed—a separate plot of garden for each tenant, to be laid out and planted after her own sweet will.

. But now as to ways and mean?. Tho rent of each cottage flat is about lis. a week, unfurnished. The catering and domestic staff is managed by a lady housekeeper. Meals in the "refectory" are charged for' at very moderate prices, and paid for as they are taken, the only rule of the establishment being that, each tenant must spend at least 6s. a week in tho restaurant; otherwise she is free to cook as she pleases in her own little kitchen. Breakfast is even brought to the tenants' own rooms if desired on a pretty tray, with dainty china. Tho servants speiid an hour each morning in each flat, cleaning, etc. In winter the tenant simply leaves orders as to what time her sittingroom fire- is to be lit, and she finds a cheerful blaze greeting her on arrival home. For domestic, service, which includes the upkeep of tho garden and tennis courts, 3s. a week per tenant is paid. At this rate, one can livo comfortably, after paying for gas and electric light, for about 265. a week. The great joy of the place, is the absolute freedom from rules and regulations. One may have visitors from tho outsido world at will; one may sport one's oak, and have absolute privacy; and, on the other hand, one need never bo lonely, with the common room and refectory as a meeting-place. Here one finds all the comforts of home-life, without any of tho worries which are so trying for the outsido worker. The place is not run as a charity, but as an ordinary paying scheme. Every flat was taken before-' the building was opened by the Princess Louise, so it evidently supplied a longfelt want. It may interest Sydney bachelor girls visiting London to study or take up one of the lino arts for a time to know that it is often possible to get a sub-let in this establishment. In fact, I met here a young violinist from Maitland, who had a scholarships at the Royal Academy of Jfusic. •

Many and varied are the occupations of these workers. Here is a golf journalist, who edits a ladies' paper on this absorbing subject, and also writes articles thereon in most of the London ladies' journals. This means following the game in many parts of the country, and also playing in matches, so that her flat is often nvailablo for short periods. A pedi-gree-hunter, chiefly employed by wealthy Americans in searching the archives of the British Museum; a typist who translates, on dictation, into foreign languages; a caricaturist; a reader of plays; a physical culture teacher; artists and secretaries —all for man interesting' and attractive community. This venture has turned out such a success that a similar one for bachelor men. worked with exsoldier servants, is talked of; but I think this would be a mistake, os it would make them too comfortable, and encourage them to put off starting their own homes, which, after all, are the only ideal ones. ■ . '