MANAWATU WOMEN’S CLUB.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 177, 27 June 1936, Page 8

MANAWATU WOMEN’S CLUB.

ADDRESS BY MISS E. J. D. TURNER. A happy afternoon was spent yesterday, when the monthly meeting of the Manawatu Women’s Club was held at Messrs Collinson and Cunninghame’s. Mrs L. H. Collinsnon presided in the absence of Mrs A. E. Mansford, who was out of town and from whom an apology was received. The tearooms were prettily decorated with vases of white, cream and gold jonquils, which gave a fragrant suggestion of spring, and also with artificial flowers. Visitors welcomed were Mesdamcs H. Shields, L. Burton, L. R. Evans, K. IV. Jones, and IV. G. Patou (Napier), and Miss J. M. Allan. The hostesses were Mesdames D. C. Pryor and D. P. Bagnall, and Miss D’Ath.

Vocal solos contributed by Mrs R. Donald were heard with pleasure, the aceompaniste being Mrs L. R. Evans. Miss J. Maunder entertained with an elocutionary item and musical monologue, Mrs L. It. Evans being the accompaniste for the latter. A letter of thanks was received from the Pluuket nurse (Miss A. M. Kearns) for a donation of garments from the club, members having contributed these at a recent meeting. Miss Kearns expressed appreciation of the fact that the garments were sent earlier this year. AN ART STUDENT IN FRANCE. The speaker for the afternoon was Miss E. J. D. Turner, whose informal talk on her experiences as ail art student in France delighted her audience. The speaker added interest by passing around postcards to illustrate her remarks, and sketches she had made during the trip, which provoked appreciative comment. Miss Turner had visited France for about six months, and had made the trip with a party of nine, who went there with the object of doing some sketching. A pleasant journey from Newhaven (in the south of England) had brought them to St. Malo in France, a wonderful old place with high ramparts all round the town. They had travelled from there to Brest, in Brittany, where there were naval dockyards and picturesque people. Going on to Morgat, a quaint fishing village, they had stayed at the one good hotel there which was right on the quay. Morgat was noted for sardine fishing; the nets were dyed a greenish-blue, t'lie same colour as the water. Here th» people were very poor, and lived in funny little grey stone houses, which made the visitor wonder how room could be found in them for tlie large families to be seen. The dress of the men was coloured, and the women wore full black skirts aiid tight bodices, and always a cap. Different caps were worn in different districts. Speaking of the quaint customs observed, Miss Turner said that two or three women could always be found round a stream doing their w:. She had noticed a large concrete bath, with a shed at one end where a spring dribbled in a supply of water, and boxes around the bath where women knelt and clipped the community washing into the pool. Strange to say, the washing was always beautifully white, largo jugs of a certain liquid being sprinkled over it when it was laid out on the grass. The men, women, and children always had very white handkerchiefs, no matter how shabby or tattered their clothing, and at times this had struck her as rather incongruous. The speaker told of a bridal procession, sabot makers she had met, a cabaret, and of farms with their own windmills.

Proceeding to Paris, where she had travelled from Guimper, Miss Turner described the bustle of arriving at the huge station. The Latin quarter, where she had stayed at an hotel, was where most of the many students in Paris congregated. The studio where she had studied had been conducted by a very charming old man, M. Delacluse, and there were about 40 pupils, probably more than half of whom were Americans. There were many famous art galleries in Paris, the most famous being the Louvre. Terrible poverty could be seen in this city, and it was more evident than in England. On the motion of Miss D’Atli, a vote of thanks was accorded Miss Turner.