A MAID IN MAYFAIR

Taranaki Daily News, 23 February 1935, Page 19 (Supplement)

A MAID IN MAYFAIR

LONDON TOWN GOSSIP ROYALTY TO VISIT EASTBOURNE. DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE’S GUESTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, Jan. 10. Members of the Duke of Devonshire’s family have not stayed a great deal at Compton Place, the ducal seat at Eastbourne, during the last few years, so there will be a lot to do in the way of renovating the principal apartments before the King and Qugefijtake possession, for just over a month, in February. Structural alterations have been going on ever since her Majesty went down to look at the house at the end of October, which seems to suggest that, if the sheltered climate at Eastbourne suits the King’s health, he and the Queen may use Compton Place regularly for short visits in the future. Eastbourne is within easy distance of London, is very attractively laid out, and the class of visitor which it gets in the springtime is not likely to make the mistake Of following their Majesties about when they are in the Town. Clever Chatelaine. The Duchess of Devonshire, Who is Mistress of the Robes to the Queen, has arranged personally what is to be done towards making Compton Place comfortable and homelike for its royal residents. Nbt only is she’a very clever chatelaine of big mansions—the Duke possesses Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, as well as Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, and Lismore Castle in Ireland—but ah extremely able business woman as well. She has been of the Utmost assistance to the Duke in the management of his large estates ever since their marriage, and especially since his health began to fail somewhat. The Duchess intends to go down to Eastbourne about the middle of this month to supervise the work which she has put in hand, and she rnay remain at Compton Place or be in very close touch with it, until the King and Queen tiirivte there. The Dowager Lady Airlie, one of her Majesty’s ladies-in-waiting, is already established in residence in the town. The First Engagement. To the Prince of Wales fell the distinction of being the first member of the Royal family to undertake a big public engagement in London this year. Some little time back he opened the Exhibition of British Art in Industry at Burlington House—an exhibition which he had already visited, spending more than two hours in inspecting'the Various exhibits. While the King and Queen are hot seeking in any way to relinquish any public duties of this kind, it is noticeable that the. Prince is more and mbfe ih demand for ten'gagements of great importance, and it is certain that this year—When thierb will, be many extra functions for their Majesties, and a long list of social duties in connection with the King’s Silver Jubilee—will be an unusually full and busy one for him. His diary is well booked up for months ahead, and he expects very little leisure between the beginning of March and the end of June. Young Guests at Sandringham. The Prince of Wales spent much more of the Christmas holiday with the King and Queen at Sandringham than is usual for him, but he is back in London now, and the house party, as a whole, has broken up. This does not mean, however, ..that their Majesties are, alone, for a relay of guests has been invited for the. next few weeks, the first Of their number being an old friend of the Queen in the person of Lady Algernon Gordon-Itonnox, ahd the Duchess of York’s youngest brother, Mr. David Bowes Lyon, with his pretty wife. It is beebihihg more ahd hibre noticeable that the King and Queen like to have young people about them when they are away from London, and ■ have time to “ehjby their friends.” The members of their own famify have Sb ihany ties and public duties that their visits to the counti’y must necessarily be brief, aha their Majesties turn to the children of their friends to bear them company Whbh they can. Trousseau Teas. Remembering the strict etiquette of thb Spanish royal cbuH ih the days bfe 4 fbfe the revblution, and the fact that even Queen Ena—With her royal upbrihgihg In the later years of the Victorian reigh—found it a little over l whelfhihg at times, it is rather amusing to hear that the Infanta Beatrix, elder of the two daughters of ex-King Alfonso, is tb give a trousseau tea before her Wedding. It is probable that she has borrowed the idea from England, of which she has always been very ioha and where she has a circle of young friends, but the cohsternatidh With

Which it would have been received in Madrid in pre-upheaval days dan well be imagined. The feceptiori at which the wedding presents are to be shown would have been understood by the wives of the Spanish grandees, but it is doubtful whether that, too, might not have come in for a little criticism because it is taking place, ih American fashion, before the ceremony. Lady Lavery. With the passing of Lady Lavery, Society loses one of its most beautiful Wbmeh. A few years ago she almost startled newcomers to London by her exoiiisite loveliness, and. although she

had obviously been failing in health for some considerable time, she kept her looks and her beautiful auburn hair to the last. The second wife of the great Irish painter, Lady Lavery was an American, and a great favourite among her contemporaries. She liked social life, and went everywhere, and for many years she was an inveterate firstnighter, and attended nearly every smart charity function held in London. Vivacious and a good conversationalist, she a charming hostess, and people enjoyed being entertained by her. She had a distinctive style of dressing which, while it never made her conspicuous, gave her just that note of distinction Which her beauty warranted, and her corsage bouquets of orchids were famous. She will be missed by a very large circle in London. Fairy Tale Figures.

There can be few more spectacular New Year parties for children than those which successive Lord Mayors of. London give in the Mansion House in the City; Only those who have actually attended one have any idea of the magnificence Of the children’s costumes, or of the pains and the care that are taken to ensure that once a character is chbsen, it shall be carried out to the last detail. This is not a gathering of easily-dressed fairies and pierrettes. It is safe to prophesy that, when the revels are in full swing, every nursery rhyme figure and every fairy tale character will be encountered, and that dancing among them will be found any number of charming symbolical figures dressed With care so that the meaning of their custume will be immediately apparent. Goodbye to Ireland.

One Of the most interesting Irish Society women —Lady Kathleen Pilkington, the only child of the fourth. Earl of Desart—is in London just now, enjoying her favourite recreation of seeing hew plays. It seems doubtful whether She will return to her native country again to live. After re-building Desart Court, her childhood home in County Kilkenny, after its burning during Ireland’s troublous times, taxation and Conditions generally have made things difficult and her. present plans are to make a home in Sussex. Lady Kathleen is an exceptionally cultured woman, and, beside her artistic interests, she is a very fine horsewoman and breeder of dogs. She has made a name for herself with French bulldogs, and already has some very fine specimens at the place she has taken in the South. Needlework Revival.

The revival of needlework is Great Britain a year or two ago seems to have established ’ the art again, and exhibitions of really beautiful woi-k are taking place not only in London, but in other parts of England, as well as in Scotland, There are some very creditable performances by men embroiderers in ah exhibitton of 20th century needlework which was opened at the Leicester Galleries in London last week, arid Which is a reminder that both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York have taken Up tapestry embroidery in the last few years. The present exhibition demonstrates what can be done in the way of reproducing pictures with needle and silk, and the variety of objects which are now decorated in this way is bewildering. The most modem? surely, is a wall panel intended to be put up at the back of a cocktail bar in a private house. Chinese Ait.

Small collectors who are unable to get together anything like an array of paintings or sculpture, often turn to the Chinese objets d’art in their desire for an artistic hobby, and they are rejoicing in the announcement of the president of the Royal Academy that the next big winter exhibition at Burlington House will be made up of the art treasures of China. Many women have quite creditable little collections of small Chinese pieces. Some of the miniature pictures, porcelain, bronzes and so on, are obtainable at fairly reasonable prices, ahd the auction rooms and antique shops all over London give these women collectors opportunities of picking up specimens. Both the Queen and the Princess Royal have collections of Chinese jade, and have always been keenly interested in Chinese art. Shetland’s Tribute.

One can imagine the delight of the Duchess of Kent when she . sees the Shetland shawl which two old ladies of those far north islands have made for her, one of them spinning the exquisitely soft yarn by hand, and the other knitting it into the charming design which has been handed down from generation to generation in the Shetlands from time immemorial. There are many imitations of these shawls, bu. the genuine thing is probably one of the loveliest pieces of handwork it is possible to imagine. Literally miles of thread, spun from the softest wool taken from the necks of lambs feared in the islands, are used in the fashioning of a single shawl, and yet the largest size wliicli tlio Shetland knitters makweighs only a matter of an ounce or two. It resembles a fleecy cloud as much as anything, but in spite, of . its ethereal appearance it has years of wear m it,.and will wash like the proverbial rag. Riviera Festivals.

Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Nice are feeling that they have gone back to predepression days, so full are the smart hotels, and so gay the huge crowds which assemble night after night in the popular restaurants. The visitors lists, too, suggest that many interesting guests are taking part in the festivities. Sir John and Lady Simon have been attending gala dinners, snatching a short holiday while Sir John is free, for the moment, from Foreign Office affairs. The Duke and Duchess of Westminster have been much in evidence, too, and intend to remain in the South of France for several weeks. Lord Horder is at Mentone, and Lady Winchester and Lady Winchester’s son, Mr. Eric Marshall, who sings with such artistry, are staying in Monte Carlo, and Lord Tredegar at Cannes, while the Begum Aga Khan, the Baroness Orczy, and other interesting literary and artistic folk are entertaining and. being entertained at one point or another along the coast. February Bride.

February weddings are not at all usual in London, but the social calendar is undergoing such an upheaval this year, owing to the important public functions in connection with the King s Silver Jubilee in May, that nobody is very surprised.to hear that Sir Austen Chamberlain’s daughter has chosen the first week of the month for her marriage to Mr. Terence Maxwell. This means that their engagement will last exactly five and a half weeks, which is a very brief period even in these days, pie ceremony is to take place at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, where the bride-to-be has several times acted as bridesmaid to her friends, as well as attending a number of important marriages with her parents. The details of the honeymoon are being kept'secret for the moment, but it is likely that Miss Chamberlain and her bridegroom _ will have returned to London again in time for her to be presented at a March Court on her marriage.” Astor Grandchild. Lady Astor is tremendously proud of her firrt grandchild, born to her daughter Lady Willoughby de Eresby, in Lofidon last week. Lady Willoughby was, before her marriage, Miss Phyllis

Astor, and the only daughter in Lord and Lady Astor’s family of five. She has never followed in the footsteps of her mother in regard to either politics or public life, although she had the kind of education which might have induced her to do so, finishing at the Sorbonne in Paris, instead of at an expensive "school for young ladies” on the Continent, after a thoroughly comprehensive educational routine at home. Lady Willoughby always preferred a country life, with hunting and riding, and married a year or two ago, Lord Ancaster’s son and heir, with whom She has shared the delights of a country home in Lincolnshire. Durham’s Sad Lot.

County Durham has been one of the saddest, but one of the busiest, centres in England for efforts to relieve the plight of the unemployed. When the Prince of Wales visited its capital city he found plenty of evidence of the work that is being done, and was able to see for himself the results of plans which he had previously talked over, at York House, with men and women from the neighbourhood who are genuinely concerned about the terrible distress all over the county. Women have worked tremendously hard in this particular area, and most people will remember that associated especially with the scheme established by Mrs. Cuthbert Headlam for placing both youths and girls in domestic service in London and the south. These young people, trained

in the duties they, will be required to do, are drafted to the homes of personal friends of the organiser, or to those of people known to them, and hundreds of them have been satisfactorily settled in this way. “To Introduce—” Marriages and engagements are made the excuse for parties of all descriptions when people are in town. The newest idea for introducing the newlyengaged young man to the relatives and friends of his fiancee is to hold a sherry party for the purpose, the more or less informal atmosphere being considered less trying than that at a luncheon or dinner. Mrs. .Neville Chamberlain has just been hostess at such a party, which gave her daughter, Miss Dorothy Chamberlain obirortiinities for makifig her fiance, Mr. Stephen Lloyd, acquainted with her particular circle of friends. Their engagement was announced a short time ago, when most people were oh holiday, and this was the first chance that had offered since Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain returned to their house in Eatofi Square for introductions to be made. Riviera Holidays. . One hears less than usual, this year, about the interest of English folk in the Riviera Season. The casino at Monte Carlo and the one at Cannes have just re-opened—Monte Carlo with .no entrance fee to i>ay at the ’public rooms—and the famous hotels are beginning to book Up. But there is fid great rush, at the moment, of visitors from this country. Perhaps, after Christmas, when the tennis tournaments are in full swing, the habitues may make their way across the channel, but just now they do not seem inclined to exchange the mildness of our bWn climate for problematic cal sunshine in the south of France. Hove has beedme so popular, too, with some of the smart younger set, that short visits there are becoming more and more the fashion. Quite a little coterie of society folk have established their own houses and flats by the sea, and their week-end entertaining is an inducement to their friends to journey to the south coast very frequently. Christmas in Rome. One of the few well-known hostesses Who will not, this year, be entertaining in her own home for Christmas, is the Duchess of Norfolk. Her son, the young Duke, is away on a long visit tb India, and as all three of her daughters are now “out” and do not need to be specially entertained for during the Little Season, the Duchess has decided to spend the kind of Christmas that she personally likes, and she will be leaving this country shortly for a holiday visit to Rome. An ardent Catholic—she belongs to a family as devoted to their church as are the members of the Howard family into which she married the great festivals with their magnificent ritual at St. Peter’s make a tremendous appeal to her, and she is looking forward very mubh to her Christmas abroad. Lady Blanche Douglas. Members of the Duke bf Beaufort’s family have had anxious days since Lady Blanche Douglas, the Dukes elder sister, set out by aeroplane to visit India. Ladv Blanche’s experience of flying is not very extensive. She became interested in the practical side of it a comparatively short time ago. But she had made good progress with both theoretical knowledge and solo flights, and was very anxious to undertake her present trip. Flying-officer Ogden, who is travelling with her, is an experienced pilot, and they set off with high hopes from the West Country a week ago, with the idea of doing the journey by easy stages. Lady Blanche’s decision to take the trip was made because she was anxious to visit, at her home m India the Ranee of Cooch . Behaf, a beautnul Mdian Princess who has spent a good aea o time in England, and with whom Lady Blanche struck up a friendship when the Ranee was hunting in the Shires.