SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2728, 24 March 1916, Page 2

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Hamua-Hukanul Red Cross Tea. On Wednesday last a 1 very pleasant and busy afternoon was spent by tho ladies of the lted Cross Committee at the residence of Mrs. A. V. XJdy, of Hukanui, where the tea will again bo hold 011 Wednesday, March 29. Tlie many frionds of Mrs.' Foss, hon. secretary to the Red Cross Committee at Hukanui, will be pleased to hear that she is progressing favourably after hoi serious illness. Red Cross Spinners. The "Australasian" says that tho "Red Cross spinners" aro now sending voluntary instructors into the country to teach* the art to helpers there. Miss Marjorie Ivirkwood was the first to start, out from headquarters, and Sutton Forest was her first "stand." Hero she gave two lessons a day, among tlio fust"of her pupils being' Miss Strickland. Spinning is quite simple, and can he learned by a diligent pupil in about a week. Bed Cross spinners havo, after some experimenting, succeeded iii producing a good-and durable shade of khaki dye from boiled gum leaves, and they are always glad to receive donations of fleeces or bales of wool to keep the N busy wheels going. British Women In Serbia. Dr. Beatrice MacGrogor, who was with one of the Scottish women's units in Serbia, and made good her own retreat and that of the Sisters under her aftei. the German invasion, gave an interesting account of her experiences as a refugee to a few friends in London recently. . Dr.. MacGregor was 'Working throughout the summer, after the typhus blaze died down, at a hospital at Mlndanovata (between Kraginevatz and Valjevo)— 0110 of those medical stations adjacent to the single railway lino which runs from north to south, where tho sick were kept under observation for treatment, and also-in the hope of isolating those sporadic cases of typhus "which still occurred from time to time. The summer, on tho whole, passed very pleasantly for the British unit. The.y lived comfortably, though were under canvas the whole time. Milk and eggs -were to be had, and passable brown bread and some stores were still available. Very strict camp rules were instituted in order to keep the members in health. No 0116 was allowed to eat uncooked fruit or drink unboiled water, and the regulations were apparently effective,' for no sickness occurred. A friendly Serbian officer used to send 1111 battery ponies, so that the sisters could have some riding, and a floor was put down in the mess tent for dancing purnoses. Tho British women learned Serbian dances, and' Serbian officers used to join them. It was. a cheap way of keeping warm. The chief woo. in thoso days was that after rain tho camp would become, a bog. ,

Nurse M. Mackenzie has been granted ono month's leave of absence by the Wellington Hospital Board on full pay, from April 18, and ,has been granted extended leave (without pay) until the dispensary for diseases of the chest is reopened. .

Mrs. Molyneaux. is visiting Ohristohurch.

Mrs. Russell, who has been staying with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Rutherford, Mendip Hills, arrived in Wellington yosterday, eri route for Victoria. Her sister, Miss Rutherford, accompanied her as far as Wellington.

A War Story. • Among tlie numerous happenings of war time of.-which I have read from private sources, tho following illustrates tlie democracy of war timo in Great Britain very well, and is gemiina } remarks a writer in an excliango:— A lady in Edinburgh wrote to the commander of a regiment, inviting four officers to dine with her. These wore not available, so tlie commander wrote that he was sending four privates instead. Tlie hostess then arranged ■_ a hearty feast for these men in the kitchen "with the maids, and they had a very lively evening. When tlie.v took tlieir departure they left cards in 'the lmll. Every one of those four privates had a title!

Mrs. and. Miss Corliss are visiting Nelson. On their return to Wellington, they will stay at "Balmoral," Mulgrave Street, for a while.

Mrs. Wynyard, Mor.ck's Bay, was a passenger by the Remuera for Sydney, whero she joins her husband, who is chief officer of the transport Hororata.

Miss Colborne Veel has returned _ to Christchurch from a visit to Wellington.

A scheme is being promoted in Auckland to raise funds for the provision of equipment for a new children's hospital in Auckland, as a means of perpetuating the momory of the soldiers, nurses, and •doctors of the Dominion who have given up their-lives in the war.' The cost of equipping the hospital will be approximately £3000.

Miss Gaby Deslys, tho celebrated French actress, singer, and dancer, is to bo seon in the-leading-role in a picture, entitled "Her Triumph, 1 ' at the King's Theatre next month.

In a letter written to the "Ot-ago Daily Times," a correspondent states that the best customers Germany has aro our women. "Women do all the buying for the household, and it is an undoubted fact that many of them buy German (and Japanese) goods simply because they save a few pence. The biggest sinners are the wives and daughters of the workers. It does not seem to occur to them that if they buy cheaplabour products they are thereby daily cutting the throats of their own husbands, sons, and daughters. How call they, expect employers to continue paying 'union wages when they themselves do not buy the goods made by their own kith and'kin! But they tumble over oach other to buy what is made by Germans at £1 and Japanese at 2s. Gd. a week. I suggest to the Women's National Reserve that it should educate the -women to buy British goods."