Brief Items From London

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27390, 16 May 1950, Page 5

Brief Items From London

NZPA Special Correspondent Rec. 8 p.m. LONDON, May 14. London artists are holding their third annual kerbside exhibition on the Victoria Embankment near Charing Cross underground station. This exhibition once again includes a remarkable variety of work—from that of the “ professional ” kerbside artists to those of rejected Royal Academicans. There is nothing of the formality of the academy about the show. There are also no entrance fees, no selection committee, and no commission charges. Each exhibitor displays his or her work on a convenient wall in the Embankment gardens* and remains strategically placed to interview buyers. The London County Council raised objections when the show opened to several pictures of nudes and near nudes, and after the nbrmal number of protests by exhibitors these were removed. The L.C.C. inspectors also objected to the title of one painting, so its owner changed it to “ Guess What?”' LORD MAYOR’S FUND Though no recent figures have been issued, it is understood that the Lord Mayor’s Thanksgiving Fund for food gifts from overseas at present stands at something like £600,000. This figure is less than had Deen expected in the six weeks the fund has been open, but the organisers report that many local committees which are collecting funds in provincial districts are only now getting into their stride. Even so, the money has been coming in at the rate of about £SOOO a day. One of the largest donations to the fund was given by Barclay’s Bank, which, with its allied overseas banks, gave £75,000. The Bank of England gave £IO,OOO. ' •

COIN COLLECTION The London Numismatic Club has presented to the library of the House of Commons a collection of 58 coins, each one of which has been selected because it marks a noteworthy year in the development of Britain’s Parliamentary Government. The first coin in the collection is a Henry 111 penny, of 1265, to mark the summoning of Simon De Montfort’s Parliament. The latest is a George VI halfcrown of 1948, the year the foundation stone of the new House of Commons was laid. The only coin which does not bear the head of. a monarch is a halfcrown which shows Cromwell crowned with laurel leaves.

ROYAL WHEELCHAIR When'- Queen Mary, visited the British Industries Fair at Earls Court and used a wheelchair for the last 20 minutes of her two-hour tour of the stands, an American buyer from Detroit asked whether he might buy the chair used by the Queen Mother and take it back to America with him. Officials of the fair politely declined and invited the American to buy the latest models of British wheelchairs, which were shown on one of the fair stands. He placed a considerable order for these, but left the fair still lamenting his failure to obtain Queen Mary’s chair. “I just cannot understand you British,” he said. “The chair would have gone over big in the States.” MODERN MRS BEETON V One of the best-known publications in the English language, “ Mrs Beeton’s Household Management and Complete Cookery Book.” emerged this week in its first post-war edition. Mrs Beeton’s famous cookery book was first issued in monthly parts between 1858 and 1861. Even the publishers do not know how many editions there have been since then. The first real revision of the book took place in 1908 and was undertaken by its present editor. Mr George Foster. Since then new ingredients and recipes have been added. In 1910, for instance, Mrs Beeton, through Mr Foster, first recognised the existence of bananas. The latest edition includes sections dealing with pressure cookers and new drugs. It has been ■ noted, however, that one of the first advertisements in the book is still for bicarbonate of soda. DERBY VISITOR The King will attend the Derby at Epsom on May 27 and may also watch the Oaks on the previous Thursday. Members of the Royal Family are uhlikely, however, to go to Epsom on the Friday because on that day Queen Mary will celebrate her eighty-third birthday and there will be a family luncheon party at Buckingham Palace.