THE SOCIAL ROUND

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 562, 27 November 1915, Page 7

THE SOCIAL ROUND

Misa Erina : Murray, who has been viaitiifg friends in-.Wellington, returned to .Ghristchurch. by- the Maori this morning. IVTr, and. Mrs G. Scott (Christchurch) are visiting Wellington. • Miss Bathgate and .Miss Northcote motored., down from Highfield on Thursday, and: are staying in. town for a few days.

A large, party of .guests spent .a delightful afternoon at the residence of Mr and Mrs George Rhodes, "Beverley, ''. Biccarton,. yesterday. The occasion was the silver wedding of Mr and Mrs Rhodes, and the celebration of the event, took the form of a large patriotic "at home.'' Many "friends, attended to offer tkeir felicitations and at the same tim& help the cause of sick and suffering .soldiers. Amongst the guests, by the way, were a number of' returned wounded soldiers, who. were well enough to be allowed out of hospital for \the afternoon, and who thoroughly enjoyed the- couple 6f hours : spent' in; the beautiful grounds and gardens surrounding A ehaTming musical programme %as provided, the singers being Mrs Gower Burns, Mrs Frank Cowlishaw, and Miss Stella Murray. Mrs H. Loughrian and Mrs Osmond Smith played. A dainty tea was served during the afternoon, the decorations; being in flowers. A pretty '' silver wedding cake'' was cut and distributed. Amongst the guests present, other than those contributing to the musical programme, 'were - Mrs .'and 'Miss Elworthy, Mrs: Stead, Mrs-and Miss Helmore, ; Mrs Beals, Mrs. Biee, Mrs Isaac Gibbs, Dr Alice More Hand, Miss Mooi'house; Mrs Hunter-W«ston (Timaru, Mrs and Miss Bpyle, -Mrs G. Nedwill, Mrs Strachey, Mrs B. Allen, Mrs Jos. Palmer, Mrs Geo. Morton, Mrs John Deans, Mrs Denniston,. the Misses Gower Burns, Mrs . Cracroft Wilson, and the Misses'Tabart.

The full list 6f nurses selected for the staff of the hospital' ship Mararna has just been made public, and contains the namesvof the following from the Christchurch Hospital Miss E. Jennings and Miss A. Pattrick. Half of the third new contingent- .of nurses (which consists of 100) are also to leave by the Marama. Misses A. Jacobsen, B. Mcßae, L. Turnbull, and G. Gunn, all of the Christchurch Hospital, are included. Miss E. McKenzie, of the Timaru Hospital, is another Canterbury nurse who will be included in the draft.

Yesterday afternoon a most enjoyable Bed Gross tea* was held on board -the Carnegie, the American vessel now "berthed at Lyttelton. Several ladies, prominent in Bed Cross work, made the arrangements, assisted by the ship's crew, who were all most kind and helpful in doing everything possible to make

the afternoon thoroughly successful. To the commander, -who kindly placed the ship at the disposal of the ladies, special thanks were recorded. Mrs Batcliff e (Mayoress of Lyttelton), Mrs W. H. T. Willcox, and Mrs M. J. Miller took a leading part in the arrangements, assisted by many willing helpers. A bright and entertaining musical programme was given from the poop, where the piano was placed. Miss O'Connor acted as accompanist to the singers, . and also played the national anthems of Britain and her allies as soli. Her sister sang charmingly, as also did Miss Fairhurst. Miss Simpson sang the popular Bed Cross song "Knitting," and also gave two character sketches. During the afternoon tea was served, and a large quantity of icecream, made by the ship's cook, was sold in aid of the fund. A very successful financial return -was recorded. A few of the large crowd present included the Mayor and Mayoress of Lyttelton (Mr and Mrs Batcliffe), Bev. Eliot Chambers, Bev. and Mrs Hewland, Mr and Mrs Henderson, Dr Upham, Miss Forrester, Mis 3 Fraser, Mrs W. Hill, Mrs Scott, Mref Stringer, Mrs and Miss Bean, Miss Just, Mrs Newell, Mrs Sproule, Mrs McLeod, Mrs Hendry, Mrs Hender, Mrs Yowles, Miss Owen, Miss Murray, Mrs and Miss Hatehwell, Mrs Sutton, and Mrs Nelson. A lady in Wellington, Miss L. Bichards, has distinguished herself by writing to. the City Council offering her services to, the community any capacity, but preferably as tram guard. The Mayor has decided that there is at present no necessity to accept the offer of Miss Bichards, but her application has been noted, with a view to accepting it when the necessity arises.

A matter that should be of interest to women was brought to light yesterday. Several returned invalided soldiers interviewed the 'Premier to ask for assistance. They are not sufficiently recovered to go back to the front, and yet are well enough to be discharged from hospital or convalescent home. They have to report to headquarters in two months' time, and if fit will be sent back to the front. Meantime, being still undischarged, they must wear uniform and cannot do. any work. If in camp they would get,board and. rations, but as they are situated must pay for that out of their salary of 5/- a day. This is surely a case for which the wounded soldiers' fund was initiated, and why is it not being used. Seeing that the women were largely responsible for raising a, great, portion of'that money,' they might reasonably enquire why it is not being expended on invalided soldiers instead of being kept locked up in the banks. It is at least, satisfactory

to know that.the men stated they were most favourably received ,by the Premier at their interview.

Etiquette books -are always .somewhat amusing, because they treat , trifles so seriously. , A comparison of such manuals for, say, 100 years or more, would prove how absurdly artificial have been some of the laws that ruled society. However, even some of the most ridiculous laws prove,: upon investigation, to have been founded on: reason and ? the necessities of the time. There is nothing in: social life more charming than cordial ease and simple Sincerity of manners, and perhaps such manners would be more often acquired if .men and women had th"e courage to trust themselves outside the lines of formal etiquette. The: disasters that, often overtake those who venture outside these guides, however, seem to, prove that not all of us are fit to breathe the air of soeial liberty. Large and rich natures are apt to find formalities irksome. Most of us, however, are a little afraid of one another, and many of us would rather transgress the moral, law than neglect some point of minor etiquette or mispronounce a name that is in. everyone mouth. Social, fear, indeed, is a, potent influence tending to drive us. within the safe lines of recognised etiquette, and to make us exchange '■ spontaneity for formal dullness.

The completion of the teaching and residential wings of the new King's College for Women (household and'social science department), London University, marks a great advance in the -teaching of domestic arts as a university course. Large laboratories are provided, with lecture theatres, for each branch of household science. In a ■ magnificent kitchen laboratory on the top floor of the science wing experiments will be carried on in cooking all kinds of food by different processes, and the transformation which takes place under heat at various stages, will be studied. The apparatus in the teaching kitchen includes an enormous cooking range, weighing two tons. Gas stoves and electric stoves of various types, fitted with separate meters, so that the students can compare the cost of fuel, are also features in the central kitehen.