A LONDON LETTER

Evening Star, Issue 22578, 20 February 1937, Page 25

A LONDON LETTER

[By M. S. Primmer.]

January 29. FEMININE PSYCHOLOGY. In spite of my being a woman, anil therefore presumably the owner of feminine attributes, 1 must confess that it passes ray understanding whywomen race off to see weddings in which they haven’t the slightest personal interest. Some cynic remarked that it may be to remind themselves of their unfulfilled dreams on that auspicious day. You would hardly credit the scenes at the wedding yesterday of the Duke of Norfolk and the Hon. Lavinia Strutt. Certainly there had been a lot of publicity about it for the last week or two. We were told that he was the premier duke, the earl marshal (kind of M.C. for the Coronation), the head of the lay Catholic Church, that Ins wedding cake was enormous and all done to racing ideas, with horses and jockeys. We knew, too, that he was fastidious as to the decorations jf the great Catholic church, Brompton Oratory, and that the six bridesmaids and the six pages would be in clothes of his racing colours, pale blue and red, and that probably various royalties would be present. But as all these were things for tho eves of the invited, what coula have made thousands, yes, thousands of women, behave like lunatics? Hours before the ceremony .vas due a great crowd had gathered, ven to the extent of bringing luncheon lasketa. Many managed to get inside the railings, and so stand by the anopy, but after two hours they were uoved off. Angry looks were followed )>■ a stampede .to entrance gates, and when these, too, were forbidden, an igxy scrimmage began. Half-holiday bop girls joined in tho fun, so that -he lines were six and eight deep in ne of the most crowded parts of Lon'on. Mounted police were called to :eep people m order, and all went fairly -■ell till the arrival of the bride, A uding, frantic mass then' broke irough the police cordon, hats, urnrellas, and bags were strewn about nd the real wonder is that there wa: no one seriously hurt. And to thinl that the actual wedding service las tec only a few minutes, as the bride is 1101 a Catholic, and that the public at bes could expect nothing more than a fleet mg glimpse of it all, indeed, not evei that for the majority, Let us comfor ourselves with the thought that, however “ advanced ” we think we are Dame Nature has the last word. CORONATION TIT-BITS. This heading hardly sounds as respectful as such a great occasion demands but how can one gather in the odd and ends under one word? And sohorses have always been important i; English pageantry, indeed, in all Britis' life. You can well imagine what 1 means to have the animals to be usee at tho Coronation in perfect training. So much spade work is needed beforehand that actually matters are already well in hand, and those of us who are lucky enough to be on the spot have a nice free show. Eight royal bays will be required, and from now on all the King’s horses will compete for the privilege. Each morning the coachman’s orders indicate the relative progress of the bays. This is k large document in an envelope stamped with the Royal Arms, and the superintendent of tho Royal Mews hands it to the head coachman, who finds therein instructions as to how the animals are to spend tho day. _ All are now literally in harness, drawing vans and carriages to see how they stand the noise and crowds of London streets. Meanwhile the wonderful State coach, 176 years old, is receiving attention, too, in Chelsea, where new gilt is being added._ I remember it, grand, just as one thinks of Cinderella’s fairy carriage, with its huge windows showing tho smiling faces of tho late King and the Queen, and the Prince of Wales as ho was then. Scarlet and gold trappings, drivers in rich red plush, all made an unforgettable scene. I think I may state without fear of contradiction that Queen Mary’s resolution to he present at the Coronation has bean received with joy throughout the country. Then came the question as to what she would wear, as rarely, if ever, have two Queens appeared together. It is almost certain that her choice will fall 011 the robes she wore as Princess of Wales when King Edward VII. was crowned. The magnificent diamonds that the Queen will wear are set off to their best advantage on the roya!_ purple material, lined withwhite satin that has deep borders and facings of ermine, or miniver to give it its heraldic name. The train, attached to the robe with large gold and pearl bows, is so heavy that two trainbearers are needed to hold it as the Queen proceeds to the special box that is set aside for her, near to Queen Elizabeth’s seat. Among other revivals of old-time dress details is that of lappets, or little flaps The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, whose wedding I have mentioned earlier, has decreed that peeresses must on their Coronation robes wear five of these flaps on the sleeves of their kirtles and that each of these lappets must be edged with miniver. One wonders who really thinks out these things, for obviously a duke cannot waste his time in this way. Anyhow tho decree has gone forth.

SEQUINS AND BEADS. An interesting revival has come in with the Coronation—that is, of wearing beads and sequins. At Hartnell’s private “ view ” the other day 1 noticed quite a Mexican touch in the beaded bands to sleeves and boleros. In fact, so much has the idea caught on that one can see, “Tambour headers wanted at once, as well as those who can embroider in sequins.” Did you know that all these have to be sewn on by hand? Here at least machines cannot compete on fair terms. Until recently Paris has had the monopoly of this kind of work, for there labour is cheap and skill excellent, but now Loudon steps in (as she is in so much connected with dress and fashion now), and one famous firm told me that they were employing no less than 60 work girls at 15 frames. As to othei fashion news, this is so varied that 1 will reserve it for a special article, but just to be kind 1 will give here these few hints. Don’t be afraid of wearing quite thick posies of flowers on tho belt-, never mine! the waist line. These flowers look waxed, and are occasionally repeated on the hat for an “ ensemble ” effect. Fur can be used to trim the low line of an evening dress, best, as a matter of fact, round the hem of the skirt (that is, not just a straight line off the floor, but must curve upwards), ruinous, of course, to tho fox, but what would you ? Evening gowns should, to be abso’.utely the latest, have long sleeves, no back's, and high fronts. And don’t forget the fur 1

PERSONAL ITEMS. Mr H. Innes, who is here on business connected with the New Zealand Marketing Investigation Board, is staying with Mrs Innes till after the Coronation. Mr Maxwell Nixon, of Christchurch, is another New Zealander who has just joined the Royal Air Force. Ur (Button has now a position at tho Middlesex Hospital, London. Tho wedding was celebrated a few days ago at Caxton Hall, Westminster, of Mr Aubrey Stevens-Fox, of Walton-on-the-Naze and Highgate, and Miss Meena Davidson-Brett, daughter of the late Mr L. Davidson-Brett and of Mrs Davidson-Brett, a member of the wellknown A’land familj - . The bride looked very handsome in a gown of purple velour cloth and small Mack hat. A reception was held later at 3-5 Burlington Gardens, London W. Mr Kenneth Grinling has now a responsible post on tho managerial staff of the Croydon Repertory Theatre, London. Jobs of this sort are difficult to get in London, and it augurs well for a successful future career in theatrical management. The engagement is announced between Mr A. P. M'Lachlan and Miss Ida Nicholson. Mr M'Lachlan belongs to the audit staff at the High Commissioner’s Office. Miss Vivienne Blamires, who came to study tho violin, with a scholarship at the Royal College of Music, has done so well that her scholarship has been extended for another year. The Hon. Walter Nash, Minister of Finance, is doing a tremendous lot of “ social ” work in with his other more strenuous affairs—work that does our Dominion much good, though perhaps

indirectly. Last week, tor instance, he was up i’u Glasgow for a couple of days or so. He was welcomed at the Royal Exchange by Sir David M'Gowan. He was later the special guest of the Scottish Milk Marketing Board, Then came further festivities at the luncheon at the City Chambers, where he was the guest of honour of the Lord Provost, Sir John Stewart, and of the corporation. Professor Bcnham, who is spending some time in London, is meeting a number of celebrities of the scientific world, but that is only to be expected, as he is an F.R.S., the highest honour open to scientists. On bis visit to the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, he was greeted by the Director, Dr Tate Regan, who later invited our professor to be his guest at the dinner given by the Royal Society Club. This dinner naturally had excellent fare, for all present were distinctly “big wigs,” and when, at the end, Professor Benham had shown himself such good company, he was elected honorary member of the Royal Society Dining Club for three months. His feelings may he imagined when, without any preparation, be bad suddenly to accede to the request of the chairman, Sir Francis Boys, and make a speech, which he did by telling those present something of the Maoris. The restaurant used on these occasions is particularly suitable, as is shown by its plaque, on which is inscribed: “In this room lived Sir Isaac Newton.” The house itself is on the site of the one occupied by Mrs Fitz Herbert, of George IV. fame. Those present included, as well as the chairman, Sir Richard Grc-

gory, editor of ‘ Nature ’; Sir Robert Robertson ; Sir John Parsons, ophthalmic surgeon; Sir Henry My si's; Dr Tate Regan, Director of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington; Dr Burns. Truly a goodly company. Miss Kathleen Primmer has been asked by the Renaissance Collieries Ltd. to exhibit some of her portrait work, and she is sending two, one being the large self-portrait hung at tho Royal Academy in 1935.