MAYFAIR JOTTINGS

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 62, 14 March 1931, Page 20 (Supplement)

MAYFAIR JOTTINGS

PREHISTORIC BELLES RELIED ON MAKE-UP. (From Our London Lady Correspondent.) Everybody is talking about “I Hope They Won’t Mind/’ an anonymous book of piquant and often indiscreet anecdotes about famous people, and trying hard to guees who the author its. Beyond the fact that it k a man, that he must be more than middle-aged, and that he has moved in the smartest theatrical circles, there is not much to help in identification. He tells how the Portuguese royal jewels were saved from the revolutionaries by Gaby Deslys, how the ex-Crown Prince of Germany is bored and seeks agreeable distractions, and how Noel Coward and Osbert Sitwell snub patronising society hostesses. One of the cleverest things is the comment by a theatrical manager, who said of Mrs. Pat Campbell: “You could not murder that woman in an ordinary way. You would have to kill her tongue first!’* THE PERFECT PILOT. At one of the well-known women’s clubs the other day the talk turned to women and aviation. Someone mentioned that brilliant glider, Mile, Susi Lippens, tiie daughter of the Belgian Air Minister, who recently put up a woman’s record with an enginelcse soaring flight of half an hour. Then another name came into the conversation, that of Mrs. Freeman-Thomas, who was Miss Blossom Forbes-Robertson. I learned that this very lovely daughter of the great actor is "a pilot bom. Her remarkable natural aptitude is the more amazing since she suffers f 1 om the handicap of having lost an eye in her childhood days. So intense is her flying enthusiasm that a large circle of friends is left to lament her constant absence from town. Mr. Free man-Thomas, who is Lord Willingdon's eldest son, shares the aviation zeal of his beautiful wife. MAKE-UP IN THE STONE AGE. A curious link with the modem girl was discovered by Mr. Gordon Childe, Professor of Archaeology at Edinburgh University, during excavation work in a Stone Age settlement in Orkney. Cosmetics were constantly dug up, in the form of pots of paint, both pink and blue, but with the pink predominating. Pounded haematite was the crude origin of the Skara Brae maiden’s blush. Just freshly-ground red iron oxide. The professor will have other interesting domestic discoveries to chronicle in the book he is bringing out in 1931. These include the practice of a pretty little burial habit illustrated by a couple of skeletons of old women. They were found in the foundations of one of the Stone Age huts, presumably in obedience to the ancient superstition that the wall of a new building must be propped up by a ghost. WOMEN AND THE R.G.S. There was tremendous indignation among the anti-feminists when, in 1892, the council of the Royal Geographical Society elected some 15 women as Fellows, including Mrs. Bishop, better known as Isabella Bird, most of whose life was spent in travelling in Tibet, Kurdistan, and other remote regions. None other than the late Lord Curzon was the prime mover in an agitation that prevented the election of further feminine Fellows for 20 years. He made the amende honorable, however, in 1913, when, as president of the society, he put forward the motion that women should be elected on the same footing as men. At the present time there are several hundred women Fellows. But next month will witness another innovation. A woman, Mrs. Patrick Ness, will have a seat on the new council which then takes office. A PEOPLE’S THEATRE. Miss Nancy Price is something more than an admirable character actress, whoso many famous roles live in the memory of playgoers no longer in their first youth. She is a devoted worker in the cause of good plays for poor people. In conjunction with Mr. J. T f Grein, she has originated a scheme which brings a long-cherished dream into the sphere of reality. The People’s Theatre is to be an accomplished fact. For a subscription of half a crown, members will be able to buy any seat in the stalls or dress circle for 2/4, and a gallery seat for 6d. Among the fine total of 12,000 members already enrolled are Mr. John Galsworthy, Mr. John Masefield, Mrs. Philip Snowden, and Dame; Madge Kendall. It is hoped to secure a 20,000 membership before the end of the month, when the subscription will be raised, and when the first production will take place, with on allstar cast. SPECIALISTS IN SPORT. Our frequent reverses in the sporting championships of the world threaten to have one rather deplorable consequence. All our sportsmen and sportswomen are being urged nowadays to devote themselves to one game and to one game only—whether it be golf or lawn tennis, cricket or athletics. No doubt some such concentration is almost essential if the player wants to secure the highest honours in any game or form of sport. The career of Mile. Suzanne Lenglen emphasised this very strongly. Nevertheless, we are all rather proud of our all-round sportsmen and sportswomen. Miss Joyce Wetliered is still the finest woman golfer in the world, despite the fact that spends much of her time at lawn tennis and fishing; whilst Mrs. L. G. Owen, whose name appears in the ranking list of the Lawn Tennis Association is nojfeonlv magnificent on the courts, but Mays for England at hockev. Many o th #stances could be cited, and if the pcqgp concerned are not in the very fonjMfct of their favourite game, at least come very near it. > ACT jf|pS’ EIGHT LANGUAGES. Glare, the Liverpool girl, 3: “tT-sße from an ur, derstudy’s role • x-JpEsft Sweet” to the soprano part “Requiem” at the Royal Chortflgpociety s concert, lias no fewer tha-n fly, languages at her fluent comnia,W speech and song. I know of other feminine stage artist T,l, l¥ rit i i 8h ? ** Madame LillibilfTbsen, granddaughter of the great Henrik, who appeared in “The Chelsea Follies” at the Victoria Palace. Madame Ibsen can speak and act. in eight different tongues, and from the point of view of training must be an unprecedented acquisition to revue. She was only nine when she wa* playing lead in cbiidren’6 matinees in Oslo, and at 12 wa* a member of the Liaghijcff Ballet. From the age of 15 she was with Max Reinhardt, the famous German producer, for four year*. -

NEURITIS RELIEVED. Sufferers from Neuritis ancl similar nerve disorders will get comforting relief by taking Rito Pain Tablets. They can be taken without any danger to the heart, and are very quick in action. Get a packet to-day from Barnetts’, Chemists. Cathedral Square. 6