PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 147, 22 June 1906, Page 4

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) 11th May. Dr. T. Leslie Crooke (Christchurch) intends to remain in the Mother Country for some six months, Mr. W. J. Birch (Marton) and Mrs. Birch reached London at the end of last month after a circuitous and interesting journey from the colony, whence they sailed on the 2nd December. Mr. and Mrs. Birch are making their London headquarters at Queen Anne ManEions, and that will be their address for the next five months; they will probably start back to New Zealand about tho end of October. Mr. E. Herbert Rawson (Wellington) is at present taking a session at the National Dental Hospital, Great Port-land-street, London. At the end of his period there he will go to the United States of America, and take a, course in dentistry at the University at Philadelphia. Ultimately Mr/ Rawson will return to the colony via the Canadian Pacific route. Mrs. A. de Castro (Wellington) was among the passengers from Australia by the last trip of the Orient steamer Orontes. Her friends in the colony will be glad to learn that her health — for the benefit of which the voyage was undertaken — has improved considerably, so that she is now feeling quite "fit" again. Mr. George Fowlds, M.H.R. (Auckland), was in London for a day or two this week. He and his daughter have lately returned to England from their interesting visit to the Continent. They went, among other places, to Paris, Geneva, Genoa, Nice, Monte Carlo, Rome, Naples, Florence, and Venice. During their sojourn in Naples, Vesuvius was very active, but they had left before the occurrence of the recent eruption. Since their return to England, Mr. Fowlds and Miss Fowlds have been spending a week in London ; they have also been staying with friends in Lincolnshire, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. Mr. Fowlds has come to London just now mainly for the purpose of attending the 'meetings of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, which are being held at the Memorial Hall, in Farringdon-street. On Monday afternoon he was received as a delegate from the New Zealand Union, and had the opportunity of briefly addressing the gathering. Accompanied by his daughter, he left London again yesterday, intending to go first to Oxford, and then down to Cornwall, to visit friends, prior to his return to Scotland to complete the arrangements in connection with the celebration of the 100 th birthday of hi 3 father, who is keeping wonderfully well, and who is looking I forward with great interest to the important celebration, which will occur on the 22nd inst. About the nrs6 week in June Mr. and Miss Fowlda will sail for America on their way back to the colony. A break will be made in the United States, and finally the travellers will join one of the July steamers leaving San Francisco for Auckland. Mr. and Mrs. F. Meadowcroft (Wellington) have come up to London to be present at the May Meetings of the Congregational Union, and on Monday last Mr. Meadowcroft was among those .who were received as delegates at the meeting, ho, of course, being a representative of the New Zealand Union. At the termination of the meetings Mr. and Mrs. Meadbwcroft will go back to Oxford, where they have been spending a good deal of time since arriving here ; then Cornwall will be visited. They still intend to return to New Zea-. land via Vancouver, leaving England about the end of June, and joining the American steamer on the 20th July. ■ I hear that Miss Cox, of Bishop's Grove, Dunedin, who has been visiting friends here and elsewhere, intends leaving immediately for the Channel Islands for a while, making her headquarters in Jersey. Later, on her return to London, she will meet the Primate of New Zealand. The annual conversazione of the Royal Colonial Institute is arranged to take place on Thursday, 28th June. It will be held, as usual, at the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, and New Zealand visitors to London are expected to be there in large numbers. It is announced that Miss Nora Long, formerly of Wellington, wiU make her first appearance in opera at an early date. She is Do appear as Michaela, in "CaTmen," which will be performed by the Moody-Manners Company, who open their season at the Crystal Palace Theatre on the 2Lst inst. I hear that Mr. H. E. Outred (Wellington) intends to leave London on the 16th inst. by the s.s. Orontes, outward bound for New Zealand, via Suez and Australia. He has recently been visiting the chief centres in the Midlands and has also been to Paris. Iti is officially announced that the Lord Mayor of London has received, through the High Commissioner for New Zealand, a- donation of £1000 from the Government of that colony in aid of the Japa nese relief fund. •In a recent letter I mentioned that Mr. Thomas Ward, C.E., of Wellington, was devoting all his time in London to a course of hard study in connection with his engineering profession. I have just learned that he has successfully passed the examination of the Royal Sanitary Institute, and thab he is at present hard at work studying for another examination which is to come off in about a fortnight." During tilie day he is testing waters and sewage effluents at the laboratory of the London Hospital. Mrs. Ward and Miss Ward are still staying with relatives at Oxford, where later they will be joined by Mr. Ward. The month of June will be spent at St. Malo with Mr. Ward's relatives. Miss Ethel Ledger (Nelson) will also go to St. Malo at the same tlime. Mr. George Luke (Wellington), who travelled from the colony by the s.s. Turakina and reached London at the end of March, has since been visiting several places in the north, and returned to London a few days ago in order to meet) his parents, who arrived from Wellington last Saturday. The chief object of Mt. Luke's visit to England is to gain experience in the engineering profession. Mrs. J. E. Fulton (Wellington) and Miss Vera Fultkm readied London a. week ago, arriving at Liveftool by the B.s. Campania from New York. Fortunately they started away from San Francisco the morning before the fearful earthquake, but unfortunattely Mr. Fulton was still there, ' and his wife and daughter did not know positively of his safety until they reached New York, whitiher they journeyed by way of the Grand Canyon, Chicago, and Niagara. TheiT overland journey was, of course, much marred by their inttense anxiety as to the safety of Mr. Fulton. They experienced much kindness, and sympathy everywhere during the period of their trying suspense. At present), and for the next month or two, Mrs. and Miss Fulton will be chiefly in London, visiting relatives, until they are-* joined by Mr. Fullon, who will be travelling about in America for two months before coming on to London. When Mrs. Fulton last heard from her husband he wa» staying at Oakland*. •