London’s Lighter Side Viewed By Princes

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 10, 13 January 1936, Page 11

London’s Lighter Side Viewed By Princes

Tho cinemas and theatres of Mayfair close about 11.15 p.m., and suburban London then goes to bed. But there are Londoners, and even more visitors to London, who are disinclined for sleep at midnight, and they search out the cabaret haunts of the West End (writes the. London correspondent of tho Melbourne Argus). Eor example, the Cafe de Paris, where Miss Merle Oberon officiated as a dance hostess before she became a star in the film world, has just opened for its winter season, and the Prince of Wales attended the opening. If the Prince came to dance ho quickly realised tho impossibility of any such exercise on the crowded floors. Instead, he listened for a couple of hours to the principal cabaret turn, “New York’s Pour Yacht Club Boys.” Indeed, when tho Cafo de Paris closed its doors to tho public the Prince remained on, and asked the American jazz singers to favour him with an informal encore performance in the orchestra room of the cafe. Further proof of a nice knowledge of supper-timo lifo in London was given when the Prince walked over to Jack Harris, leader of the Cafe do Paris dance band, and congratulated him upon tho birth of a second son. On the samo ovening tho Duke of Kent, assured of the well-being of Princess Marina and his young sou, was dancing at the Dorchester in Park Lane, between midnight and 2.30 a.m, In his parly were the Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Scott. The Duke of Kcn<, scarcely missed a dance, and his efforts were generally admired, but the Duke of Gloucester and his bride-elect- were content with a few turns, and then went off home, leaving the Duke of Kent still dancing. In keen rivalry with the Dorchester is tho neighbouring restaurant, the Grosvenor, which wa3 put up a lew years ago on tho site of the Duke of Westminster in Park Lane. At the moment the Grosvenor has a Tyrolean cabaret, with Austrian entertainers singing and dancing to traditional music. Tho show is undor tho direction of Count Ludwig Salrn, the Wimbledon tennis player. The count is an aristocrat, but economies in Austria have changed since tho Worrd War, and he now controls a variety theatre in Vienna.

Auother West End supper haunt is Quaglino’s restaurant, in Bury street, which recently celebrated its sixth birthday. All the -well-known theatrical and film celebrities patronise lino’s and Miss Merle Oberon was given the honour of cutting the birthday cake. Six years represent a long time in the night life of London, where public patronage tends to be fickle. King George of Greece, who can no longer properly be described as an exking, is a patron of Qtiagiino's, as is the cx-Iving of Siam. Mr Douglas Fairbanks, senior, and Mr Alexander Korda, the film producer, were other people who supported Miss Oberon during the cake-cutting ceremony. Yet another cosmopolitan resort is the Hungarian restaurant off Piccadilly, which has been in being for rather longer than Quaglino’s and ha 3 won somo social fame through its association with mid-European visitors to London, such a 3 Prince Nicholas, the father of the Duchess of Kent. The birth of a son to Princess Marina served as an excuse for much celebration by the cabaret performers at the Hungarian and their patrons a fortnight ago. Madame Prunior, proprietress of the Maison Prunier, in St. Janie’s street, specialises in degustatiou hours, wheu odd Continental wines, cocktails, and beers are introduced to the notice of an ignorant but discerning public, in company with suitable plats. The brasseries of beer stalls appeal to a less sophisticated public, but they have their place in the night life of London. Messrs Lyons have just added a large brasserie to their Corner House in the Strand, w r hich is open until midnight. Here a gipsy orchestra gives wild music to patrons, most of whom are suburban in origin, and not of Mayfair. Lyons’s brasserie specialises in cold dishes, which can be served quickly and cheaply. The rough docoration of the place adds to the Bohemian atmosphere. There are a dozen similar beer houses scattered over tho West End, and each has an atmosphere dimly reminiscent of preNazi Germany. The Black and White brasserie, which specialises in milk, is, of course, a day rather than a night, addition to the amenities of Loudon, but there is a prospect that its activities may be extended from Fleet street to the West End.