SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2819, 10 July 1916, Page 2

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

A Red Cross Afternoon. Much success attended the Red Cross afternoon, which was organised by Aire. C. W. Dixon, and held in the Hataitai Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Holly decorated tlio main room, in which a sale of cakes, sweets, fancy goods, flowers, etc., was held, the varans stalls having their goods most attractively arranged. In charge of tlieso were the following:— Sweets and ilowers, Mrs. A-rlow and Mrs. Longmoro; fancy goods and cakes, Mrs. J. Brown, and Mrs. Council. In charge of the afternoon tea arrangements was Mrs. W. E. Jackson. An excellent musical programme had "been arranged by Miss Eva Smith, and Mtogetlier a very pleasant afternoon was. spent by all wiio were present. Mrs. Dixon expects to'be able to hand over for Ked Cross purposes the sum of at least .£3O as a result of her effort. Work of the British Red Crr-.. To the Bed Cross Stores ii. .on, in a quarter .which up to now u.. _ut been commercially busy, there is io ue seen,a never-ending stream of motor lorries all day and all night loading or unloading stores. • Enormous space is needed to hold these goods. A London paper says:—"from South Africa, Egypt, India, and Ceylon, New Zealand, Central and South America, United States, Trinidad, Java, Sierra Leone, Cyprus, Fill, Nigeria, Malta, Siam, the West Indies, Costa Rica, Hong-Kong, Japan, Cuba, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Madeira, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Hawaii, Seychelles, San Salvador, and from many other places have come not only very many thousands of poundti but countlcss stores; these vary from consignments of, say, 10,000 blankets, or 1000 frozen carcasses or four tons of grapes to cases of safety-pins and cigarettes, splints, and bandages, walkingsticks, hats,. oranges, chairs, honey, and Guava jelly, to mention at random a few things from the .immense lists. This variety shows that not only an unstinted generosity, but an endless amount of careful thought has gone to the choice of the gifts. In commenting upon the rapidity with which large demands can be met, either from the head stores in Pall Mall or from other stores in different parts of London, a Christcliurch writer mentions that quite recently the British Ked Cross unite in Serbia asked for 15 tons of cotton-wool. This liugo supply was packed and on its way in less than 24 hours. 'A hospital .asked for a kitchen.outfit to feed a hundred men, and in : 8 hoiiTs the whole equipment was on its way. Another evening at about 7 o'clock an order came for beds, bedding, and all furnituro for an emergency hospital 'in: France, and soon after 5 o'clock next morning, tlio whole equipment had started on its way. "I understand,'.' the writer continues, "that the biggest achievement of the department i;t this way was the provision of an enteric hospital at Calais for the Belgians. Within three weoks a hospital was built in England, consisting of six wards of, 26 beds each, a dispensary, disinfecting room, destructor, kitchen, laundry, diriing hall, and nurses' and orderlies' quarters. The hospital was built in sections, and sent over by special trains and steamers, with a hundred workmen to' erect it at Calais, and all this within threo weeks.

: "All' this work, with tho exception of tho actual 'building, has boon done by voluntary workers with fuuds supplied by tho public of tho British Empire, and it is a comforting thought that now, when wo have reached that period of tho war when the casualties in tho British Army will bo heavier than ever before, every lshilling that wo subscribe for the sick and wounded, will bo mado to go as far as it is possible to mako a. 6hillin.q go towards lightening tho lot of our brave men in the hospitals."

• Mrs. Holland, tho Mayoress of'Christchurch, in making an appeal for socks in connection with the Countess of, Liverpool Euiid, stated' tliait the wearers of hand-knitted ones were practically immune from frost-bite. This, Mrs. Holland said, had been proved,, and it should bo an incentive to knitters to put forth their best efforts, for the horrors of frostbite are something to be dreaded beyond many things. . Miss Ferguson and Miss Read have returned.to.Timaru from Wellington. Mrs.. Mitford has returned to Wellington from a visit to Auckland and ltotor ua. Speaking at the public meeting at Redcliils, Christcliurch, Mrs. Waltor Hill made a strong appeal to those present' not to ask the returned soldiers questions as to what they had seen and gone through while at tho battle front. Such questions could not possibly do any good, and only tended to recall "incidents which could very well be forgotten. The marriage took place in the Presbyterian Church, Martinborough, oil Thursday of Mr. Albert Frederick Staveley, second son of Mrs. Wilson, of Stratford, to Miss Ellen Elizabeth Ames, only daughter of Mrs. Ames, of Martmboroiigh. -.The Rev. J. M'Gregor per-formed-the ceremony. Miss.Kitn Wilson (Christchnrch) is visiting friends in Wellington, and, later on, will visit Bulls. The wedding took place in St. Peter's Church last Wednesday of Miss Edith Seagar, only daughter of' Mr. and Mrs. E. of Johnston Street, ICarori, to Mr.',..lames H. M'Lareii. Tho ceremony was' performed by the Rev. H. Watson, vicar!of St. Peter's. The bride wore a gown of ivory crepe do chine, mado with a court train, and a veil fastened. with a spray of orange blossoms. The bridesmaids were Miss Doris Staples ] (chief), Miss Elsie Hull, Miss Dome Churchill,- and Miss Mona Churchill, all of whom foro frocks of gauged pink silk, and hats to match. Tho best man was Mr. 6. St.aub, and Mr. H. Seagar was groomsman. After the ceremony a j reception was held in j Courtenaj Place, and later Mr. and Mrs. M'Laren left by the Riverina for Sydney. Thc bridegroom will bo going into camp with the Eighteenth l?cinforcemcnts.