Women’s Ways

Southland Times, Issue 21657, 19 March 1932, Page 17

Women’s Ways

Home Science Work. Miss Violet A. M. Macmillan, of the Home Science Service Department, Otago University Extension Staff, who is weUknown through her lectures to the W.D.F.U. throughout Southland, is at present on tour to make a study of extension and. organization. During her recent journeys in the United States and Canada she visited many universities in the West, Middle West, Sou th,and North Central, also in Ontario and Toronto. She remained at Berkeley for a fortnight, and at Washington she saw the State Department of Agriculture and the State Bureau for the study of home economics. While in Toronto, Miss Macmillan met Miss Nancy Aslin, who is studying home economy household science, at the same time being assistant lecturer for a period of eighteen months. At the International House, Columbia University, New York, she met Miss Elizabeth Neige Todhuntcr (Christchurch and Otago), who is president of the British group of students there, and who is working with Dr Shanin an. Foot Beauty. The new vogue for toeless sandals in the smart London dance clubs has sent women hurrying to the beauty parlours to get their feet made-up to stand scrutiny beneath gossamer fine silk stockings, or, in many cases, no stockings at all! Treatments to make feet white and supple are being given all day in the apple-green salons attached to a Park-lane hotel. After exercises and massage with a skin food, followed by a bleaching pack, the nails are trimmed according to the shape of the foot; in the case of the Englishwoman this is usually long and narrow, so the nail is allowed to be long and narrow too. Finally the toe nails are varnished either lacquer red or deep coral pink with a varnish that defies the daily bath. A Dunedin Girl's Success. The interest of Dunedin musical people has been engaged by the announcement that Miss Valda Johnstone, a student, at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music, has won the Examiners’ Board’s Exhibition, a scholarship valued at £lOO, giving her a full course of study free for three years. This is an open class exhibition; that is to say, open to all instruments as well as vocalists, and Miss Johnstone was placed first among the ninetyfour candidates. Dunedin interest lies in the fact that this young pianist is the granddadughter of Mrs Montague, formerly known in local musical circles. Her mother (nee Myra Montague) was equally well known for her pianistic talent. “Peter Pan” Married. At her wedding in London on March 10 to Mr Peter Davies (“Peter Pan”), the publisher, the Hon. Margaret Hore-Ruth-ven, daughter of Lord Ruthven, adhered to her Ufelong tradition of dressing exactly like her twin sister, Alison, which has always made it almost impossible to distinguish them. The Hon. Margaret wore the wedding dress in which her sister was married in 1929 to Mr John Barren. The guests included Sir James Barrie (godfather of the bridegroom) and Lieut.Colonel Freyberg, V.C. The Hon. Margaret Hore-Ruthven and the Hon. Alison Hore-Ruthven are the twin daughters of Major-General Sir Alexander Hore-Ruth-ven, Governor of South Australia, and are well known in London society for their marked resemblance to each other and for their lifelong custom of always appearing dressed alike. The wedding dress worn by both sisters was a beautiful gown of net over satin, the diaphanous skirt being composed of tiers of net frills.

“Writing is Hard Work.” Satisfied that writing books is now her job in life, Miss Velia Ercole, the Sydney journalist, who went to London two years ago with her prize manuscript under her arm, and has now published it in book form to the tune of unanimously favourable Press criticism, has returned to Sydney to settle down to the job of writing three more books. She is the daughter of Dr and Mrs Ercole, of' Grenfell, Sydney. “Book writing," says this brilliant young authoress, “is not done by divine inspiration, but, like any other job, is a matter of hard, solid work. Most of the writers I have met have had to flog themselves to work, and enjoyed living life much more than writing about it. “Now that the wave of sex writing is on the wane, many writers are finding that sex alone will not sell their books. The war produced this greater freedom for the pen, and the post-war writers took advantage of it. Having achieved it, they arc showing greater discrimination in the use of this freedom. They have realized that a treatize on sex psychology does not in itself make an interesting book. You’ve got to give something more. “Editors say they’ve had a surfeit of sex stories and the public is sick of them. Publishers now are asking for humour and optimism, something to lift the multitude and amuse them, something to strike a brighter note. I found it always a ‘best seller 1 for tho short-story market.” Miks Ercole’s travels took her to France, Spain, and included a visit to Egypt, during her two years’ absence, syndicating her stuff both in Great Britain and in America.

Royal Romance Riddle. There is a mystery in Europe at the present time concerning the matrimonial intentions of Prince Gustav Adolph, eldest son of the Crown Prince of Sweden and grandson of the Duke of Connaught. It would seem as if his choice is between two great-granddaughters of Queen Victoria— Princess Sybil of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Princess Frederica Louise of Bruns-wick-Luneburg. The Swedish newspapers suggest that the youthful Prince is in love with Princess Frederica, whereas Berlin newspapers insist that he has proposed to and has been accepted by Princess Sybil. If the Prince’s choice has fallen upon the Princess Frederica, a long betrothal will be necessary, for the Princess is barely 16.

Labour Leader'i Death. Dr Marion Phillips, the chief -woman organizer of the Labour Party in England and formerly M.P. for Sunderland, died in a London nursing home recently at the age of 51. She was an expert in economics, a champion of women’s rights, and took a prominent part in organizing the “Votes for Women” movement. She becanfe M.P. for Sunderland in 1929, but lost her seat at the last election. She had been chief woman officer of tho Labour Party since 1918 and had much to do with tho selection of women candidates for her party. Dr Marion Phillips was bom in Melbourne, gained her B.A. with honours at the university there, and went to England as a Rhodes scholar more than 20 years ago. Ono of tho investigators under the Royal Commission on the Poor Law, 1907-8, she became organizing secretary of the Women’s Trade Union League and general secretary of tho Women's Labour League. A Muiician Passes.

Lady Dean Paul, the composer-wife of Sir Aubrey Dean Paul, died in a London nursing home on January 29. A daughter of the great violinist Wieniawski, she won fame as a pianist under her professional name of Poldowski. She made her first public appearance in Brussels at the age of five. She was a highly gifted woman and some years ago became a dress designer, specializing in men's dressing gowns and pyjamas. A concert of her works had been arranged and Lady Dean Paul’a last words wore: “Do look after my music. Do let the concert go through.” Her last wish was fulfilled, and amongst those taking part at the concert on February 3 were Marguerite d’Alvarez, Tatiana Makushina and the International Quartet. Lady Dean Paul wrote an opera, “Silence,” which is in the hands of Sir Thomas Beecham and may one day be produced. Before the war Sir Henry Wood conducted Poldowski’s works at the Queen’s Hall, and Marguerite d’Alvarez and tho late Gervase Elwes performed in them. It was Lady Dean Paul who thought of the idea of giving Londoners a series of concerts timed just before lunch. They usually lasted about an hour and were quite informah They were very popular among music lovers in tho West End.

Having accepted tho position of headmistress of Selwyn House School, Christchurch, Miss Carol West-Watson (daughter of tho Bishop of Christchurch) will leave England in July and enter upon her new duties in mid-September. Miss WestWatson is finding her course at the School of Economics most interesting, and she hopes to take a post-graduate diploma in International Relations at tho end of the university year. She spent the Christmas vacation chiefly in reading in tho library of Chatham House, tho headquarters in St. James’ Square of tho Royal Institute of International Affairs, of which she is a member. During the Easter vacation she hopes to make a tour of the Balkan universities with a party of students from the School of Economics to study the Balkan problems from the point of view of International Relations and World Organization.