A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1930, Page 16

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. ' THE KING AND COWES. (From Our Lady Correspondent.) London, April 17. Not only has the King decided that tho Britannia shall race again * this reason, but it is his intention, health and weather permitting, to be present at Cowes this year. To this end the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert is being painted and made ready for commission. It is two years since the King was at Cowes, and his absence lias been severely felt. Yachting is one of the King’s favourite sports. The Victoria and Albert is not the kindest of boats in & rough sea, but at Cowes she is sheltered, and does not leave her auchot from the time the King goes aboard till after the Cowes meeting. In view of the expected presence of the King this year the Yacht Chib is also undergoing a thorough renovation,’’and opportunity is being taken of the recent fire to nave certain 0 long-needed alterations effected. Usually the King has gone direct from Goodwood to Cowes, but it is not definite that his Majesty will be at the Sussex meeting for the whole week, so it is possible that he may be on tne. yacht a few days longer than would otherwise be the case. • The Britannia is ■being refitted, and will be spreading her sails’ in the course of next month. THE KING’S HORSES. ' The King has resumed his morning horse-riding in the Great Park. This, probably more than any other indication, demonstrates his recovery from the effects of last year’s operation. I noticed that the King took things very quietly throughout the ride, and. only on a few occasions broke into a ... stiff canter. This, of course, was a precautionary measure. It is now certain that the King will be frequently seen out riding, not paly .at Windsor, but in the jßow, when he “returns to London. The horse the King rode, last Thursday was his favourite bay, Anzac, which is one of the safest and most comfortable seats among the King’s hacks. Although the Kintr has not ridden before this year, Mr.° Green, his ’ stud-groom, has kept his stable well exercised, and the fact that he is practically the same weight its the King, and ha's a most efficient pair of hands, keeps the horses in perfect trim. THE PRINCE’S HOBBY. The cryptic cross-word puzzle has, I hear, won a new votary in the person Of the Prince pf Wales. When he hasd little leisure- there is nothing in which he more delight than to get away to a quiet corner and settled down to solve the clues. There is one particular puzzle fn which he specially delights, asserting that it is the “best of all.” Amusingly enough he has no, great admiration for the particular paper in which it appears, so he has the puzzle cut out, pasted Upon a sheet of paper, puts it in his pocket and tackles it whenever he has the time to spare. There is a story that at a certain “famous -race-meeting he found the racing and the ’ company so Intensely boring that he retired. with two friends to one of the rooms inside ihe grandstand and spent the whole Afternoon solving croefl-word puzzles. ; . LORD BALFOUR’S BOOK. Although the Earl of Balfour had not Completed the task of. writing his reminiscences, he had, I hear, carried the work a good deal further than is comjmonly .supposed. So far as the earlier chapters at least are concerned the book will be of-his own writing. And it Is just these early days which generally give most trouble to the biographer, since so much depends on personal recollection. Lord Balfour was at work pn the book until a few days before his death. One chapter in particular should provide piquant reading. When he rose after completing it Lord Balfour observed with a smile, “Well, at least I have made it clear that I did pot propose to Margot!” - ' COMING STARS. The early Wightman Cup trials have proved more interesting than for many years past, and have been full of promise for the future of English lawn tennis. The results of some of the matches will present a perplexing problem to committee, but Miss Dorothy Round, of Worcester, is pretty certain to figure in the final trials. She is, in fact, the discovery, of the year. One of the most convincing young players I have ever seen, her Style°is strongly reminiscent of that of the famous Suzanne. It will be interesting to see how she fares against foreign °players and before the large gallery she is sure to attract. Miss E. J). Andrews is another tennis player of whom I hear great accounts. Her time Jias not come yet, for she is a London j ■business girl and has difficulty in obtaining time for regular practice and big tournaments. But the strength of her game has attracted the attention of Lady Wavertrce, who has interested herself in “bringing her out” by a course of professional training. CUPID IN THE STRAND. Crowds gathered at the top of the Strand to see the wedding, at St. Clement Dane’s Church, of Dr. Verna ilackett, a house surgeon at Westminster Hospital, who was married to ' Mr. Wallis Kendall. The bride has associations with Australia, and the weddina reception took place at Australia House, to which the bride walked from tho church after the ceremony. It was an extraordinary sight for London. The traffic was held up from three sides, find hundreds of people who had gatherfid to see the little procession across one ipf the busiest traffic centres made an Avenue through which • the bride and bridegroom and the bridesmaids passed.

The doctor bride seemed not at all perturbed at the fuss in the stret. She •walked slowly and with self-possession through the crowds, her beautiful gown of de°ep" cream duchesse satin draped about her, and an old-fashioned posy bouquet in one hand. A tiny trainbearer on the bridegroom’s other side deemed much more disturbed, and seemed tp wonder a little what it was all about. A NOVEL LOUD SPEAKER. Loud, speakers are, for the most part, ugly things, despite the efforts of designers to make them look like oldfashioned bucklers or Moorish ornaments. But the problem of making them look really attractive can be solved if you are sufficiently ingenious. Mr. Harry Rountree, the inimitable artist, has hit upon a clever method of disguising his loud speaker. He has painted a picture which exactly covers the instrument and has hung the whole thing on the wall of his lounge amongst his collection of paintings. It is rather startling to listen to dance-music, or the weather fore ast, coming, apparently, from nowhere. It is only when you are let into the secret that you realise that the sound comes from one of the picture frames hanging on the wall.

f iininnii tin 1 if iiiiiiuiifiiiittiuii illinium jjiH'tifitiimii | )ir <t HOW ROYALTY SHOP. The big exhibitions. which go on in London from time to time are visited by any numbei' of famous people. Talking yesterday to an assistant at one of tho Ideal Homo Exhibition stands, I discovered that nearly every member of the Royal family had visited his stall at one exhibition or another in the last year or two, and that in each Royal, home in London some of his (specialities had been installed. He told me that Princess Mary, Princess Arthur of Connaugh, Lady Maud Carnegie, and other Royal women are often at these shows without anyone knowing they have arrived. They pass through the turnstiles in the ordinary way, and they inspect everything thoroughly before they leave. Later, a member of the household gives the actual orders for things required, the names and descriptions of the stands having been carefully noted by the Royal visitor. THE PRINCE’S ORDERS. The Prince of Wales is particularly interested in these large exhibitions, and it has been proved time and again that he is very observant. Nothing may be heard at the time, and he may not even make inquiries, but when a certain article is required he can nearly always say where he saw it, and give some clue as to the firm responsible for it. The alterations to Fort Belvedere, his new home, are going on while he is abroad; but members of his household are doing a good deal of shopping for him. Only this week inquiries were being made about a very realistic electricallyheated log fire, which is required for an open fireplace in the hall. The Prince knew that he had seen one, and had an idea where, and it. was finally located at a big exhibition in London. AN INTERESTING BRIDE. A pretty little bride-to-be, who has been entertained very freely, but quite quietly, during -the last few weeks, is Miss Anne Tyrrell, daughter of our Ambassador in France. She is to be married in the Cathedral of Notre Dame at the end of tho month. So many brides dash off to Paris to buy bridal clothes nowadays that it is interesting to hear that Misg Tyrrell has been in London chiefly to buy an English trousseau. Her girl friends have taken up all her spare time, and have given tea-parties for her whenever she could tear herself away from dressmakers and milliners. She will be very much missed at the British Embassy in Paris, where she lias acted as hostess for her, father, but ehe will live in tho gay French capital after her

| weddino- and will, therefore, be able to keep in touch with her friends there, \ WOMEN’S DECORATIONS. There was a great discussion the other day as to who, among distinguished women in England, held the greatest number of orders and decorations. Tho Queen, of course, possesses a great many, so do Pricess Mary and Princess Arthur .of Connaught. Outside the Royal family, however, Lady Ampthill is credited with having the right to wear the greatest number. She is in years of service one of the oldest ladies-in-wait-ing to the Queen, and has for many a long day been her Majesty’s friend and confidante. When the King was very ill Lady Ampthill was in very close touch with the Queen, and 'was entrusted with a erreat deal of confidential work for her. Lady Ampthill may wear nearly every distinction which can be conferred upon a woman in Great Britain. THIS YEAR’S PASSION PLAY. Any number of well-known people are planning to go to Oberammergau this year for the Passion Play. The Prime Minister and Miss Ishbel MacDonald are among the number, but I believe they have not decided yet in which month they will travel to Bavaria. The play is done only once in ten years, but in the year in which it is given performances take place each month, from May until September, so that visitors can take their choice of dates. It is a very wonderful experience, and a remarkably interesting way of spending a holiday. Munich is the nearest large town to the village, and all round there are very beautiful Bavarian castles to see and admire. The play itself takes a whole day. Tho first scenes begin at eight in the morning and go on until noon. Then there is a long interval, and the play goes on again until about six, when it concludes with the Rising from the Tomb. JUST TWO LITTLE CHAIRS. An interesting proof that sometimes antique dealers themselves fail to recognise valuable furniture was afforded at a Kensington sale thia week. The contents of a small house were being gold, and about 30 dealers were present. For the first two hours. lots of ’’rubbishy” furniture were put up, and knocked down at ordinary prices. Then two little armchairs were put up, which the auctioneer listlessly described as “two nice little chairs.” Only one dealer seemed to take any interest in them, and he apparently was not prepared to go beyond £4 for the two. Just as the auctioneer’s -hammer was about to fall, a well-known Bond Street dealer pushed his way into the room, and made a bid. The two dealeiw then •fought for the chairs, which -were finally knocked down to the man who had first bid £4. The price was £l9O. They were genuine Hepplewhite chains. . . YOUNG-EYED CHERUBIM. London is threatened by® a serious shortage of choir boys, and the famine affects the general suburban- as well as the fashionable West End church. The organist of one of the latter gave me to-day an unexpected explanation of this trouble. Only a year or two ago the supply of choristers was more than i ample. Most well-known churches kept .long .waiting lists of youthful candidates for the job. This was not surprising, seeing that the inducements often include free education at a firstclass school, travelling expenses, and £3O a year pocket money. But even at those terms suitable middle-class boys are no longer procurable. And the famine dates from the cheap car, with its week-end motoring vogue as a sub- ' urban institution. GRANDMOTHER’S SATIN. The acid test for a really handsome gown in the days of our grandmothers was whether or no the material was substantial enough to stand alone. Brocades and satins were -so rich and so stiff' that ’ they were given expressive titles like “duchesse” and “princesse,” and this spring the lovely thick duchesse satin is coming back into favour among brides. It has lost some of its stiffness, but it is. still thick and very creamy in tone, and, made up in the long graceful styles of 1930, it is most picturesque for a wedding gown. When you. think of the wisps of chiffon and frills of frothy tulle which did duty for weddinw finery a few seasons ago, you realise how the dressmakers are to set a fashion for grandmother’s satin. It is. much more impressive and eminently picturesque. NO MORE DOORS. The owner of the small house or modern flat, if he wants to keep really | up-to-date, removes all the internal doom. They are replaced either by orna- ! mental grills made of the fashionable j wrought iron-work, or by curtains of i embroidered fabric. The theory is that doors really went out of fashion when central heating became general, because in the modern house the passages are kept at exactly the same temperature as the rooms into which they open. I dined last night with some friends, who have recently moved into a house in Belgrave Square in which all the doorways are fitted with grids of stainless metal. Unfortunately, the heating system had gone wrong, and I must say I found this new fashion exceedingly draughty. ' SHORTS FOR TENNIS

A young woman has been creating a considerable sensation at a London hardcourt tennis club, although she has never been anything but a moderate player. She has now, however, won distinction by her raiment; and not her play. She haa come back from the South of France with sets of the new tennis shorts which have been tried out tentatively by the bolder spirits. The outfit consists of a white tuck-in blouse without sleeves, a pair of white “shorts” that come just to her knees, and a wrapover white skirt of the same material. The skirt is worn when not actually playing, and is hung up with the men’s coats when the game begins. . Shorts are said to be more, becoming than the long trousers .worn experimentally last summer. -