PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16558, 18 October 1921, Page 9

PERSONAL NOTES FROM LONDON.

(From: Our Corsesl'okdext.] LONDON, August 25. The Manchester Guardian,” commenting on tho work of the Carl Rosa. Compaqy, now giving a season there, says of an Australian artist: “Aliss Beatrice Aliranda sang the part of Tosca not only with dramatic power bub with great variety and a very likeable sweetness and purity of vocal quality in the softer scenes. This contrast between the. gentleness of Tosca and her heroic quality is bo clearly essential to the composer’s idea, and, moreover, so difficult in the vocal sense to achieve, that the highest praise must be accorded Aliss Aliranda for the completeness of her portrayal. The melodramatic is an unyielding material. into which it is not easy to bring the touch of nature, and the find blending of all the elements in Miss Aliranda’s Tosca was both a. vocal and a dramatic triumph.” Mrs AT. L. Reading and Aliss Tessa. Reading. Christchurch, have returned from u holiday in Scotland. They leave early in September for France, and sail for Australia on route for New Zealand in the “ Osterley,” which leaves London, about October 5. Airs Reading, who is interested in kindergarten work, has been visiting tho different infants’ schools in London. Mr J. 13. Blaine, a New Zealand'inventor. and a resident, at times, of Westport, of tho AVairarapa, and of Wellington, who has been over here eleven years, hopes to sft off again for New Zealand early in October. Major E. R. and Airs Harris have arrived in London from Cairo and are ; staying at 30. Norfolk Street, Park Lane, the residence of Air Mops Davis, Airs Harris’s father. They are leaving shortly to join Afr and Airs Aloss Davis at. Baybam Grange. Folkestone. Major Harris resumes his military duties at G.H.Q., Cairo, at the end of : September. A recent arrival in England is Mr J. J. O’Diiseoll, formerly a well-known resident of New Zealand, where he owned various hotels, among them the Commonwealth at New Plymouth and the Royal at Hawera. Travelling by the Canadian Pacific, he crossed the Rocky Mountains to New York, and then completed this, his third round the world tour, by the Carmania. Afr Driscoll is going to Ireland, and will then do the French battlefields. For the last twelve years he has been in Queensland, Brisbane, Rockhampton and other places. He was for many years prominent in racing circles, many first-class racers winning in his colours, including the champion Waiwera Grand National Steeples) and Pharos (Great Northern). The death at the age of sixty-six is announced in London of Ellen Louisa Alary Freeman, wife of James Freeman, of Christchurch (N.Z.). Airs Freeman died suddenly on August 25 at Do wno Cottage, Dow no, near Orpington, Kent. Air J. Rudd and his , sister, Aliss Blanche Rudd, of Canterbury, arrived in England on Alav 14 by the s.s. Alantua. The greater part of their time has been spent with relatives in East A’orkshire, but they have also visited Lincolnshire, Lancashire. Cheshire, North Wale*, Cambridge, Leicester, and. after a- visit to Scotland t’nev begin their homeward journey. .. They attended some of the. Test matches and a number of county cricket’ matches* the Royal Show at; Derby, .and the Yorkshire Show at Leeds. They hope to travel home by the s.s. Shropshire via the Panama Canal, but ns the sailing of that vessel is cancelled and uo. other berths by that route , are available tilt November TO. they have hooked their return passages per s.s. Orvietb, leaving September 17. The weather has been ideal for holiday-making and Air and Aliss Rudd have had the rather remarkable experience of not leaving bad one wet day since leaving Now Zealand on Alarch S.

Sir James Allen, the High Combmissioner, took a. short holiday between the departure of tho Prime Minister of New Zealand and his going to Geneva to the League of Nations meeting. Ho spent his leave with Sir Charles Parsons at Holeyn Hall, AVyam-on-T.yne. Sir Charles is the celebrated originator of the turbine engine. Tho death is announced in to-day’s “Daily Telegraph” of Edward AVilliam Townsend AVard, of AVimbledon, in a nursing borne in London, after a serious illness at the age of sixty. Tho deceased was tho only son of the late Air Crosbio AVard, first Agent-General for New Zealand. Aliss A r alerie Scott, of Hea-rae Bay, Auckland, is now in London continuing her study in Russian dancing methods under Madam© Seraph in® Astafieva., a famous dancer and mime of the Russian ballet. Although Aliss Scott has already had much professional experience a•» a dancer both ct down under ” and in India, she modestly says “ although T. have danced for years, I have ever so much to learn, and go twice a day for lessons.” Aliss Scott has indeed toured the Far East as a solo dancer under Monsieur and Madame .Kurylo, tho former having in the Tsarist times been Imperial ballet master at Warsaw. Tt was they who advised Aliss Scott to study the Russian school of dancing and she therefore paid a flying visit to Australia and New Zealand to see her people before coming here. She arrived by the Ceramic in August and hopes to see Monsietrr and Ala dame Kurylo soon, for they are in Paris just now giving some of the Eastern dances which they and Aliss Scott saw while on tour in India. AJ. Kurylo is giving these in the Edward A IT. Theatre in Paris and will shortly bring their programme of oriental dances to London. Aliss Scott is finding life in London very interesting. She has met the Spanish dancers who are creating somewhat of a. furore. She has also met Aliss Thirza Rogers, a Wellington girl, who is studying with Madame Astafieva. These two AVellington girls first took to their art under Aliss Estelle Beere. Aliss Rogers has got cm so well that she made a recent appearance in a. Coliseum Ballet with Karsavina.