PROSPECTIVE VISIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 13, 15 July 1939, Page 19

PROSPECTIVE VISIT

ENGLISH CROQUET TEAM

CAPTAIN'S CONFIDENCE

(By Air Mail, from "The Post's" London

Representative.)

LONDON, June 26.

An English croquet team is bringing the Macßobertson Shield to New Zealand at the end of the year to defend it against New Zealanders and Australians. It will comprise six players fully representative of the best English croquet, two of them women. The team is to leave England on November 9 by the Rangitane, and is due at Auckland on December 13.

The, captain will be LieutenantColonel W. B. Dv Pre, who has visited the Dominion twice before. The other members are Miss D. D. Steel, Mrs. Nevill Oddie, Dr. C. E. Pepper, the Rev. H. W. B. Denison, and Mr. R. Tingey The manager will be Mr. H. C. Davey.

The shield was won by England when the Australian side paid a visit in 1937. Colonel Dv Pre is confident that his team can retain it. "Not only are we taking the shield to New Zealand, but we are going to bring it back," he declared with a smile. Matches are to be played at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurcn,

In view of the absence of D. V. V. Hamilton Miller, the present English champion, and Charles Colman, open champion in 1937, and regarded as one of the best croquet players in the world, the side is not as strong as it might be. Nevertheless, it will play croquet of a high standard.

New Zealanders will be interested to watch Miss Steel play. She won the open championship in 1925, 1933, 1935, and 1936 from the men, and is the only woman to have done so.

. An indication of the team's form will be available next month, for they will be competing in the croquet championships at Roehampton.

All are paying their own expenses for the New Zealand tour.

WARDROBE TOPS

Wardrobe tops are often a dusty problem, comments a writer in the "Cape Times." The wood is inclined to be rough, so that the dust is even more difficult to remove. It is a pityto waste the space—which is useful for storing suitcases and hat boxes— and layers of newspapers are only a temporary solution because you must change them often. The best thing to do is to give the surface a thorough sandpapering, followed by a good washing with soap and water. "V^hen the wood is quite dry, give it one or two coats of clear varnish. The smooth, glossy finish will be very easy to dust. By the way, if your wardrobe top is decorated with a raised ornamental wooden border—unless you are par>mlarly attached to it— take it off. A plain top, with no edging at all, is much more useful and easier to manage.