A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1931, Page 13

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

GOSSIP FROM LONDON TOWN. THE OLD ORDER, (From Our Lady Correspondent.) London, December 4, * The Maharajahs who are over for the •Indian Conference are a little surprised at the absence of that old-time English hospitality of which they have heard ■and read sp much. Accustomed, as they ■are in their own country to regal splendour even they have been impressed by ■the old-time glory of the English Court, 'Magnificent banquets and brilliant re■ceptions have also been organised in their honour at (he great hotels. But ■they miss the intimate hospitality of great houses ii’i Lopdon and in the Counties—houses which have all but disappeared under the influence of death duties and super-tax. Twentyfive years ago it would have been different. The passing of the old order ■has been so gradual that people here at •home have scarcely noticed the change except to heave a passing sigh when ■they heard of places like Devonshire ■House being converted into great hotels. ■But these Indian Princes noticed the change instantly and have observed to their intimates that the only places ■where the old order is still maintained are the great London clubs, the hospitable doors of which being open to them everywhere. But as clubs' Lansdowne ■House and Spencer House are things .very different from Lansdowne House and Spencer House when they were the stately town residences of noble families. A PAGE OF HONOUR. The announcement that little Viscount Lascelles is to be one • of her ■pages will etill further quicken interest in the wedding of Miss Joy Verney, at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, early ■in the New Year. Miss Verney, of course, has moved a great deal in the Court circle, and her other little page ■is to be Michael, the son of Sir Godfrey •Thomas, the Prince of Wales’ private •secretary. Viscount Lascelles is only seven years of age, and this is the first occasion on which he has figured in a •wedding procession. From all accounts there will be a great crowd of Royalty at the wedding. The King and Queen both hope to be present, and Princess ■Mary herself will probably make an effort to see her little son making his debut. Princess Elizabeth is said to be making clamorous demands that she, also, shall be taken to see her boy cousin enacting the role of page. Indeed, for once in /a way, it looks as if the ■bride will attract less than her fair share of attention from the crowd that always assembles for a great society wedding of this character. Little Lord Lascelles is bound to be the cynosure of all eyes.' The bridegroom, of course, is . a family connection of the Harewoods. “F.E.’s” SON. There vill, I imagine, be a big crowd in the House of Lords when the new Lord Birkenhead rises to make his maiden speech. As Lord Furneaux ha did not make any spectacular entry into .public life as young Randolph Churchill lias just done in his lecture tour in the ■States. Nevertheless, although he is .still in the early twenties, he takes politics very seriously and it is not generally known that he had made ar- ) irangemeiits to contest one of the Welsh Constituencies just before his father’s death. Whether he inherits his father’s amazing gifts as a speaker remains to be seen. Old Parliamentarians still remember “F.E.’s” maiden utterance in the House of .Commons —surely the most amazing maiden oration ever delivered. Before he made it "F.E.” was ijust Mr. Smith, of Birkenhead, of whom comparatively few people had ever heard. When he sat down he was “F.E.” to everybody. THE JEWELS PAGEANT. The Jewel Ball pageant was as magnificent as its producers promised it would be. The women who appeared in it were almost literally “hung with jewels,” and 1 doubt if any of us had ever seen quite so many thousands of poiinds’ worth of them at one time before. It seemed to me that the brilliance and the artistry of the whole thing depended entirely upon the setting which had been so carefully thought out —the plain richness of the beautiful chiffon velvet gowns upon which the diamonds and rubies and emeralds flashed. The whole effect, and not' the jewels alone, was exquisitely lovely. Great feather headdresses added a further note of magnificence, where the women were of the type to carry them off successfully. The way in which the “living jewels” bore themselves was quite remarkable. To Violet Lorraine, Gladys Cooper, and Gertrude Lawrence, as well as beautiful Lily Elsie, it was no effort to walk gracefully and effectively, in skirts with jewelled trains. But with very few exceptions the amateiirs in the procession were equally good/ I THE CENSOR’S INTEREST. Lord Cromer has probably had more abuse poured upon him by playwrights, producers, and the stage generally than j any other person in England —not, of I course, as a man, but in his capacity as j Lord Chamberlain and censor of plays. And yet there is nobody in. social London more interested in the theatrical profession and more willing to do what he can to help it. Just now he and Lady Cromer are making a great effort ,to raise money for a home of rest for aged actors, established since the war and named Denville Hall, after the son of the man who founded it. Lady Cromer, in spite of not being too strong yet after a long illness, and with, the preparations for a daughter’s wedding to face in the New Year, has undertaken the direction of a matinee, and all | her friends are being persuaded to help 1 •her make it a great success. She gave | ■a party at her London house the other day so that she might explain personally how urgent is the need to endow ■the hall for all time, so that the man or woman whose footlight days are . over may be sure of a peaceful even- J tide. ’

THE PERNICIOUS COCKTAIL. Some of our best-known hostesses are launching a campaign against London cocktail parties. However commendable the campaign may bo, it is extremely doubtful whether it will have the desired effect. All the indications are that the cocktail party has come ■to stay. Its popularity is a direct result of the disappearance of the big houses and the substitution of flat life. They have become a popular adjunct to every dress show of any importance and to functions arranged from time to time •for the organisation of charitable campaigns. The trouble is that people are ■tempted to drink these insidious little glasses at the wrong time of the day and in greater number than their potency renders advisable. Nothing tastes so innocuous as the all-popular “Side Car.” It consists merely of a little brandy, a little cointrcau .and a spoonful of lemon juice. The spirits, when combined, become really very potent indeed, and any experienced cocktail-mix-er will warn you against taking more than a couple at a time. Yet it is quite a common sight at cocktail parties to see young girls tossing off three or four of them in succession. SPEED IN THE PARKS. The Serpentine “Lido” has vulgarised Hyde Park to such an extent that people have grown a little suspicious of Mr. Laiisbury’s activities when he seeks to lay violent hands on the Royal parks. There is considerable agitation, therefore, against his proposal to slow down the speed of motors when they enter the park. In this matter, however, Mr. Lansbury can plead a Royal precedent. Of late years the rate at which vehicles travel in the roadways of Hyde Park and along thoroughfares like the Mall and Bird Cage Walk, in the immediate vicinity of Buckingham Palace, has been speeded up past all recognition. Yet there is a legal speed limit in these thoroughfares, -which, nowadays, is completely ignored. The institution of this speed limit was due to an interesting cause. It was adopted at the direct instance of Queen Alexandra and was designed to protect her from the rather vulgar attention to which she was subjected by American and other visitors to London. When her carriage was driven to and from the Palace, Americans would direct their chauffeurs to keep alongside the Royal equipage so that they might have _a good stare at ■England’s Queen. A GOLDEN BRIDE. A Wedding of the near future in which there is a good deal of interest ! is that of Miss Diana Gough, whose father, Sir John Gough, the well-known soldier, died of wounds while he was Lord Haig’s Chief of Staff in France. She is being married before Christmas — on December 17 —and is to be a golden bride at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields. Her uncle, Sir Hubert Gough, will give her away, and a most picturesque bridal procession is being planned, the eight bridesmaids to be dressed in a soft peach colour which will tone with the gold lame of the bride’s gown. The bridegroom is Mr. John Pym. Sir Roger Keyes, Admiral of the Fleet, is Miss Gough’s uncle, and his small son, Ralph, is very excited at the idea of carrying his grown-up cousin’s train at her wedding. It will be remembered, that Sir John Gough was a holder of the Victoria Cross, and it is very interesting to, recall that his grandfather, the late General Sir Charles Gough, was a V.C. also. MONEY AND MUSIC. Mrs. Reginald McKenna, whose husband was trying to make the dry topic of monetary policy entertaining over the wireless this week, is devoting more and more time to music now that her family is growing up and domestic ties are less exacting than they used to be. Always a brilliant musician, she gave promise twenty years ago of making a little niche for herself as a composer; but circumstances determined otherwise. While she was still in her teens and the mother of two baby she found herself installed as hostess at Admiralty House and for q. long time she had to devote herself) to political entertaining on the grand scale. Just at present she is studying several hours a, day at the .Royal College of Music, for she has given up the piano to a great extent and is throwing herself heart and soul into the study of the organ. It is not generally known that a cousin of hers is married to Mr. Mark 'Hambourg. Her family, however, has always been intensely musical, and /if ■Mrs. McKenna is asked to broadcast, her “turns” may prove more popular than the financial orations of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. PEERLESS SAN 'REMO. San Remo this year promises to enjoy a prosperity akin to that of the ■Dublin hospitals. The only place on the Italian Riviera which is permitted by the Government to play roulette and run a casino on Monte Carlo lines, it is growing more and more popular- every ■season. A substantial 'part of the profits derived from the casino automatically goes towards the construction and i improvement of roads. The bumpy thoroughfare which runs along the Med- ' iterranean front all the way from Ventimille to Genoa will soon be one of the finest motoring roads in Europe. On the top of all this a new golf course is to be opened early in the new year. Like al! the Riviera links it is on the narrow side, but it is gloriously situated in a. valley leading up to the Maritime Alps, and the views through the orange trees and mimosa plantations are beautiful beyond description. For. varied charm, with its magnificent hotels, its attractive shops and the wonderful romance of the battlemented old city beside it, I have always thought that San 'Remo as a holiday resort has no peer along all the stretch of coast between 'Marseilles and Rapallo. ANOTHER “COWES WEEK.” It looks very much as though Cowes is to have a “Little Season,” in addition to. its fashionable and ultra-exclusive Cowes Week in August. The second “season,” I believe, is provisionally arranged for June, when t'he Royal Yachting Association would hold a regatta in the Solent, and in addition to the sailing. there would be motor and speed ■ boat races. It is all very much in the air al present, but something on these dines is being thought out and yacht .

owners, who have been refused membership of the Royal Yacht Squadron—t'he most exclusive club in the world — or have not considered themselves eligible to apply for election, are, naturally, the-people mo<st interested in it. It is possible that this would become their “week,” just as the first week in August belongs so emphatically to squadron folk. Cowes itself is delighted with the prospect. It should mean added prosperity to the little town. SMOKING IN THEATRES. Theatre managers are a little nervous as to the effect the new regulation about smoking is likely to have on boxoffice receipts. Most people were under the impression that the question whether smoking should or should not be allowed was more or less at the discretion of the management. But it seems that the Lord Chamberlain is the “big voice” in this matter and he has decided to ban My Lady Nicotine in all theatres under his jurisdiction . where “straight drama” is enacted. Smoking will still be permitted in the rhusic-lialls, at revues, and at musical comedies, though it might be thought,that smoke drifting on the stage from the stalls would be much more troublesome to the singer than to the actor who merely has to speak his lines." But the change was bound to come when London theatregoers got back into, the evening-dress habit. No woman likes to come away from a theatre with her opera cloak and her . evening dress redolent of stale tobacco smoke. BARRIE WHIMSICALITIES. The sale of the manuscripts of “Auld Licht Idylls” which is to take place just before Christmas, has brought to light further illustration of the whimsical mind of Sir James Barrie. The manuscript was presented to Mr. Thomas Lennox Gilmore by the author himself, and being incomplete Barrie filled in the blanks. The first chapter was wholly missing and Barrie summarised it thus: “This chapter is missing. The Dominie describes life at his Highland schoolhouse. Mostly snow. The following pages have been inserted by t'he binder to represent snow.” Then follow several white sheets of paper. Part also of Chapter Two was missing and ■Barrie explains it thus: “Beginning lost. ■Describes Thrums, a little town where the ‘Auld Bichts’ lived.” This and other Mss are sure to take a crowd of American collectors to the sale, for Barrie’s popularity increases rather than diminishes as the years roll on. It is ah interesting fact that a new book by Barrie or by Kipling invariably produces an increased sale for all the books they have ever written in the past. New readers come under their lure and insist on reading everything that their new favourites have ever written. MORE TEACHERS. Twenty-five years ago on the famous centre court at the old Wimbledon lawn tennis ground in the Worple Road there were many thrilling duels between our English champion, Mrs. Lambert Chambers and Mrs. Bundy, or as she was then, Miss May Sutton from America. Mrs. Lambert Chambers turned a professional tennis player some time ago, ■but the news that Mrs. Bundy has also gone over to the ranks of professionalism has only just reached us. After her marriage Mrs. Bundy desorted the championship courts at Wimbledon, and it was not until the summer of 192i9 that she came to England again and entered for the meeting—“just for fun” as she termed it. In this happy-go-lucky spirit she reached the coveted “last eight” in the women’s singled event, beating on t'he way Miss Eileen (Bennqtt, who could easily have been her daughter, in an exciting three set match. In her white fur coat and white beret, she again became a very familiar and popular figure with the crowd of onlookers at the tournament. Her success as a professional should be assured if only for the reason that she coached her nephew, young John Doeg. IRREPRESSIBLE RANDOLPH. While Dr. Josiah Oldfield is denouncing ugly women we have 19-year-old Mr. Randolph Churchill declaring almost simultaneously in New York that “being attractive is the worst thing that can happen'to a woman.” Whatever his critics may have to say of this infant sage, none can deny him courage. To announce in the ultra-feminist capital of transatlantic feminism that woman running a Government or even earning a living is a creature to say “pooh” to betokens a boldness of heart that many of his quaking seniors might well envy. I wonder what is 'the private opinion of our Parliamentary ladies on ■his dictum that "it is always the failures among women who take to public life”? Pe/haps their magnanimity/ will concentrate solely on the naive and pretty revelation of a charming filial devotion. GRAMOPHONE GREETINGS. One of the big West End stores has installed recording gear as the newest method of sending Christinas wishes to relatives and friends abroad. This ingenious idea is making a particular appeal to people from the Dominions who are living in London. They prefer to send the viva voce salutation rather than the orthodox Christmas card to the folks at home. These novel records are made on metal discs capable of taking from. 150 to 200 words. Although beginners at the game are a little shy and have at first some difficulty in recording their voices they are able to transmit after two or three attempts a message that their friends cannot mistake. The manager of the enterprise store in question tells of a customer who has not seen his people in Australia for fifteen years, and who recorded a message to his sister asking if she recognised his voice. EXOTIC 'FRUITS. London’s de luxe fruit-shops have a profitable clientele in the “Little Season” hostesses, who are giving many dinner parties just now. The demand ■for tropical fruit is steadily increasing, but as yet is mainly confined to the ■purlieus of Mayfair. First favourites are Avocado pears, Cape gooseberries, tree tomatoes, passion fruit, and custard apples. One famous London store dips the acid-sheathed Cape gooseberries in a delicious fondant for its customers. Tree tomatoes fill a dual role. (They provide a new note for the salad

bowl, or they may be served as a very ■attractive stewed fruit. Such • exotic fruits as persimmons and that elusive flavoured relative of the pineapple 'known as the momsteria are nothing ■like euch ready sellers as the rest.