"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3014, 20 December 1911, Page 73

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND.

THE WINTER SEASON.

With November the winter season in London begins, and many social events are arranged for between now and Christmas. London is very full, and the West End presents a bright and busy appearance all day, and half the night Bond street, Regent street, and Piccadilly are crowded with motor cars, carriages, and pedestrians. Its holiday-face has vanished, for most of the visitors have gone, and the Londoner is at his business or pleasure again. In the morning numbers are seen riding in the Row, and on fine afternoons the park is alive with motors and carriages, although the grey chairs are practically deserted, for every breeze brings down a shower of leaves, and the long glades are hazy with the mists and shadows of the closing year. The opera has been crowded on most nights during the week. One night "Die Walkure" was given for the second time this season, and there were numerous notable people in the boxes and stalls. The appearance of the great Russian dancer, Madame Pavlova, in the roles of , Giselle and as the favourite slave of Cleopatra in the Russian ballet at C-ovent Garden, adds very considerably to the attractiveness of the ballet, for to the perfection of her dancing is added fine dramatic talant, and the crazy scenes were acted with true tragedy. London's new Opera House, built by Mr Oscar Hammerstein in Kingsway, is a most beautiful building, spacious, light, airy, handsome in design. Every seat in the house to _the topmost seat in the gallery commands a view of the stage, which measures 84ft wide and 60ft deep. The ceiling is painted in allegorical subjects in light tints, and the colour-scheme of the theatre is in blue and gold, with Rose du Bally- upholstery, the whole effect, when lighted, being very chaste. The rosy red of the carpets which match the upholstery throw into striking relief the white of the marble and plaster work. On Friday night Mr Hammerstein gave a large evening party in the Opera House to its opening. Half the fashion and beauty and talent of London seemed to be present. The stage was converted into a charming garden, among the palms and flowers of which hundreds,. partook of supper. In the parlour-boxes were . other supper parties, and by 11 o'clock the beautiful, house presented a very. brilliant appearance,, for it was the largest social and artistic gathering of the autumn season, and everybody seemed pleased to be there. Many -interesting as well as notable people were present. The stage and literature were well represented, and the Royal Household by Lord Farquhar, Sir Seymour Fortescue, Mr Sidney Greville, and Mr Alec Hood. Among the guests of the artistic world were Miss Maxine Elliot, . who looked very handsome in a classical dress,of white satin and silver; Miss Nancy Price, Miss Marie Tempest, Lady de Bathe (Lily Langtrey), Miss Phyllis Broughton, Miss Phyllis NeelsonTerry, Miss Lilian Braithwaite, Miss Langley, Miss Marie Illington, Mr Neil Forsyth, Mr Rendle, Mr Bayard, and many others. In the centre box were the Duke and Duchess of. Manchester, Lady Sarah Wilson, Mrs Rochfort Maguire, Mrs Hwfa Williams, Lord Churchill, Lord Alington, Count Albert Mensdroff, Lord Lurgan, and Captain Albert Paget. Mrs Sarah Wilson wore a handsome dress of soft black satin with old Venetian lace and red roses • Mrs Hwfa Williams, a cyclamen-coloured brocade, and Mrs Maguire, a lovely dress of emerald green satin,' and diamonds on her neck and in her hair. There were many more, too numerous to mention, and if the New London Opera House is as successful as all at the reception wished it has very good times ahead. . The inaugural performance is on November 13, and. the first week's performances include "Quo Vadis" and "William Tell." Madame Tetrazzini, the great prima donna,, has made herself famous this week in a "new world —namely, in a little Middlesex village, and in a factory, with an audience, many too humble m circumstance to afford the pleasure of paying to* hear her sing at Covent Garden. It happened in this 'way: During the past summer Tetrazzini visited Hayes in crder to lay th© foundation stone of the. new gramophone cabinet factories, and her visit aroused the greatest enthusiasm among the workpeople who had heard her voice on the gramophones. Her reception gave her so much pleasure that she promised, when her engagements would permit, that she would go down and give the employees, numbering over 2000, -a private concert to themselves. She was in glorious voice, and never had a more appreciative audience, for whom she had beautifully dressed. Mr Percy Pitt, the musical director of Covent Garden, was at the piano, and the famous 'cellist M. Jacques Renard contributed to the proprogramme. Mme. Tetrazzini rendered r 'Caro Nome" from Verdi's "Rigoletto," and the Polonaise from "Mignon. She gave two songs in English—" The .swallows," as an encore, and concluded with "The last rose of summer." One of the factory girls presented a basket of flowers on behalf of the women, and another, basket was presented by the men. When Mme. Tetrazzini left the factory there were great scenes of enthusiasm. The workmen took the horses out of her carria*e and drew it to the railway station. In. seven days from now their Majesties will take their departure for India. The Kinc is staying on at York Cottage with tha "prince of Wales till Monday, enjoy- j ina the shooting, many of the.birds being I eent to the hospitals from the Royal estate. - ; The Queen had to hurry her j departure from Bwdri»«h#nV M*ever A [

(Specially Written for the Witness Ladies' Page.)

November 3. as she had eo much to do. Busy as she

is, however, her Majesty found time to superintend, at the Imperial Institute, the unpacking and arranging of the clothes sent from the London Needlework Guild, of which she has so long been an ardent helper, end is now the patroness. The garments will be distributed later to the London charities. There are many thousands from the Queen's group. Princess Mary has" presented 2000 garments alone, including the work of herself and friends Her Majesty's outfit for India is now complete, and includes many beautiful dresses, hats, and cloaks in great variety, for with all the marvellous ceremonial of the Durbar a continual . change of toilet will be necessary; also the outfit must comprise not only clothing for hot weather, but for cold, for Delhi will be cold at nights. Among the Queen's garments for tne Durbar will be the exquisite Irish point lace Court train which was presented by the ladies of Belfast as a Coronation gift. It is an indescribably beautiful piece of work, fine as a spider's web, four yards in length, and two in width, tapering to the shoulders, and pat terned Avith roses and fuchsias. The train contains 20,000 yirds of thread, and five and a-quarter million stitches, and represents of work. j4mong Queen personal luggage are exquisite jewels. The presents which their Majesties are taking out to India, and at their own expense, are a wondrful list, and among them are 1000 puddings made at Buckingham Palace, into which have gone gallons of the finest cognac and sherry from the King's cellars. The chefs and stokers in the Palace kitchens have been busy for days, for. besides the pudlings, which are of large size, a large number of rich plum cakes are being made for his Majesty's subjects in India. York hams and Stilton cheeses are also among the presents. Nor are the presents to be forgotten, which their Majesties usually send to all parts of the world at Christmas. These have been chosen and' allotted. - Also, the King and Queen's presents to the tenants and servants on the Roya! estates, and to the poor and the charities the Christmas gifts are on an unusually bountiful scale. Large as is the Medina, on which their Majesties will,travel to India, the storage will be none too large in which to pack the tons of British,presents, among which are laces, silks, linens, and velvets for the ladies, and a large number of painters of miniatures have been employed by Queen Mary, to reproduce favourite pictures of herself and the King for presentation. For the great ladies of India the Queen has had copies made ol her fans, of which she has a wonderful assortment, also , rare lace and hand-painted paratols, with handles of gold or ivory or jade, all of the finest British workmanship. ..«•■ • . The Englishwoman's Exhibition of Arts and Crafts, which was opened this week by Lady Frances Balfour at the Maddox Street Galleries, Regent street, was most interesting. In a brief and witty speech Lady Balfour said that a male antieuffragist had only the previous day said to her that the proper work for woman was darning her nmsband's stockings. Some of the ladies exhibiting had not yet found husbands whose stockings tliey could darn, yet the stalls were evident proof that their work was not unwomanly, and as useful in the world as darning stockings. Their exhibits were wonderfully good. Miss Junetta La Trobe's leather work had"'none of the shoddinees 'of much of the modern bookbinding. Miss M. E. Hall, a woodcarver, was at work upon a beautiful panel. In jewellery a number of ladies excelled in quaint and beautiful ornaments'. Many skilled fingers were busy at art needlework, embroidery, and lace-making, and a most interesting exhibition was Mis 3 Mildren Heaney's quick pastel portraits. A specially interesting feature was the women gardeners' ctall, showdnjc how this oraft had spread among women of the present day to whom eo many crafts are opening their avenues as a livelihood. A lady gardener who makes it her business Jx> arrange and care for town gardens exhibited photographs of her work, showing the transformation of many unlikely patches between high walls into bowers of beauty. There were here for sale lovely bowls of bulbs growing: in fibre for room decoration, books written by women on practical gardening, plants and flowers grown by\ women, bottled and fresh fruit, jams, and honey from women growers, and fragrant pot pourri. The exhibition is, a proof that lifp f.nd the home is gaining, not losing, by woman's intelligent work, both in comfort and beauty, for they are bringing enthusiasm and energy to their work Yesterday saw London without taxicabs, for the drivers had struck. So far as the appearance of the streets was concerned the disappearance of the taxis was a great improvement, for the streets looked almost twice their usual size, and there was space to note and to admire the many improvements' of the widened thoroughfares. The motor omnibuascs were more than usually, crowded, and rattled along at a good pace, with evident relief at the removal of the cabs, while crossing from pavement to pavement was a less hazardous undertaking than usual. But it was at night that the greatest inconvenience was felt, for it rained in torrents, and many theatre-, goers had to brave the wet and muddy streets from their trains and back to them'. Hansoms and four-wheeled cabs were more in evidence outside the theatre doors than they have been for a long time past, and private omnibusses had been secured by parties. There were still some left m London to welcome back their anthtuated fai&oA #*» ''cabby," and many

to enjoy the experience of being able to cross the streets without risk of life. The cabmen, too, enjoyed their new-found importance, and went to their own stands from which the taxi-cabs have crowded them with hope in their watchful eyes, and before the day was °VQ* had regained much of their old important manner, refusing the long-distance fare* for (the more profitable short distances and quick returns. Passengers arriving at the great stations who had not heard of the strike of the taxi-drivers Avere greatly surprised and inconvenienced when horse cabs were brought up by porters, especially as in some instances the cabbies could not, or would not, deal with their piles of luggage. London seemed to have gone back into the past. A strange quiet' settled down on the city in the evening instead of the hoot of horns and noise 'of thousands of engines. Outside the theatres were long lines of four-wheelers and hansoms, with the quiet horses feeding from their nose-bags. Over 13,000 taxicab drivers are idle. The strike is to continue until such time as the grievance of the men is settled.

A hundred pantom'mes are in preparation in Britain for JBoxing Day, or, rather, early in December. The suburbs of Dondon are to produce about 50, and the West End two, and early as it is in November the question is already being asked. "What are you going to do at Christmas ?" That reminds me that it will be about Christmas time when thi» reaches you, and I therefor© take this opportunity of wishing the editor of the Witness and its readers the old-time wish of a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.