WOMAN'S WORLD.

Evening Star, Issue 22445, 16 September 1936, Page 4

WOMAN'S WORLD.

b y “DIANA ”

Reports of social functions will be weltome'd for this I column. ** Diana will also answer all reasonable cjues- / tions relating to the home, cookery, domestic science, and any topic of interest to women.

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL

Will correspondents please not® that items intended for Wednesday’s ‘ Star ’ must be in the office by Tuesday afternoon, and those intended for insertion on Saturday by Thursday afternoon, or at the latest, Friday morning. In the latter case they must be brief. Miss Fan Peake is the guest of Mrs Guy Tapley, London street, Mrs W. Laidlaw has returned from a visit to Mrs Bell at Shag Valley. Mrs W. A. Crawford has returned from a visit to the north. Mrs Stewart Macpherson returned yesterday from a visit to Singapore. Mrs J. F. Taylor, of Wellington, is the guest of her mother, Mrs E. H. Runnerstrum, Royal Terrace, for a few days. Miss Cracroft Wilson, Christchurch, is tho guest of Mrs Jack Anderson, York Place. ' Mrs A. S. Herbert and Miss Constance Herbert, of Kelso, have been spending a short holiday in Dunedin. Mr E. R. Smith and Miss Stella Smith returned yesterday afternoon from a visit to Rarotonga. Miss Mona Butcher, Central Otago, is the guest of Mrs Aubrey Stephens, Hawthorn Avenue. Mr and Mrs E. T. Moller are spending a short holiday motoring in Central Otago.

Miss Nan Orbell, Levels, Timaru, has returned home from a visit to Dunedin. Mrs Thomas Brown, who has been on a visit to Auckland, is spending a few days in Timaru. Miss Roma Heinemann has returned to Wellington from a three months’ holiday in Dunedin as the guest of her aunt, Mrs A. de Beer. Miss Blackmore, principal of St. Hilda’s Collegiate School, has returned from a visit to Auckland and Wellington. Miss Katie Gillies, who spent the vacation with her mother in Timaru, has left to take up her new duties in Palmerston North High School. Miss Vonda Miller, of Nelson, arrived this week to take up the position of sports mistress at the Dunedin Technical High School. Miss Eva Hart, of Wctherstones, returned to-day from a visit to Honolulu. With her niece, Miss Zita Hart, she spent a few days in Timaru, where she gave a talk to the South Canterbury Women’s Club on her travels from London to Russia and showed beautiful examples of the handcraft of the countries visited on the journey. Miss Drayton, secretary of the Victoria League in London, intends making a trip to New Zealand at tho end of the year and not only visiting ail centres where the Victoria League has branches, but also touring the country under the auspices of the New Zealand Victoria League. Miss Drayton will bo in Dunedin about the middle of December, and will bo the guest of Lady Sargood during her visit here.

Mr J. MTvinuou and Dr Seidehcrg M’Kinnon will leave to-morrow morning to spend a week’s holiday at Woodbury, South Canterbury. Mrs O. J. Peake and Miss Min Peake, of Cambridge, who have corao to Dunedin for tho Burdon—Peake wedding next week, are the guests of Mrs Howard Dodgshun and Mrs Stewart Macpherson. All tho branches of tho Otago Home Economics Association are busily engaged in arranging a display of members’ handwork. This will be on view in the Concert Chamber on Friday afternoon next, when an array of varied handcrafts, antiques of special interest, flowers, and delicatessen will testify to the versatility of the modern housewife In tho evening there will bo an “ old identity parade,” when members themselves will display costumes of their pioneering forbears and dance some of the old Scotch dances, including “ Petronella.” Professor Strong, 0.8. E., will open tho display in the afternoon. Tho Musselburgh Rise branch of the Home Economic Association held its annual meeting on' September 7 in the Sunshine Hall, Mrs A. Harris presiding. The following members were elected for the coming year; —President, Mrs G. Glue; vice-president, Mrs Grenfell: secretary, Mrs Mercer; committee— Mesdames A. Hams, Poison, and Macintosh. Mrs Leary thanked the retiring president for her interest and work throughout the year, and wished the group every success in the future. The usual monthly meeting was then held, tho roll calk being ‘ My Favourite Soup.’ The competition for the evening was for home-made sweets,

all members exchanging recipes of the same and partaking of each other’s sweets. After the usual business, supper was handed round and the meeting was brought to a close. After the final performance of ‘ The Fourth Wall ’ on Saturday evening the committee of the Dunedin Repertory Society gave a supper party in the Returned Soldiers’ Association rooms in honour of the members of the cast and those who had helped in the production. Mrs Richard Hudson (president of the society) thanked the performers for their admirable team work, and commended the front of house staff and the back stage helpers for their work in helping to make ‘ The Fourth Wall ’ the success it was. The Otago branch of the Music Teachers’ Association held a social last Saturday in honour of the graduates in music at the University this year and the successful diploma candidates at the examinations held by both colleges last year. Dr Galway welcomed the guests, and a very enjoyable time was spent in a competition to name photographs ■ of musicians and solve the mystery of a musical competition. The competitions were in charge of Miss M. Martin and Mr F. Cawley. Among those present were Misses B. Favell, M. Martin, A. M'Oaull, V. Brunton, J. Armstrong, N. Hobson, M. Service, M. Gawne, M. Matheson, R. Wright, M. Frazer, E. Ford, Mrs J. C. Mason, Signora Stella, Dr V. E. Galway, Messrs M. Scherek,F. Cawley, G. W. Johnstone, G. Stella, and H. Riddle. Yesterday afternoon Mrs Roland Fulton and. Miss Hunter-Weston -were hostesses at a “ bathroom ” party, given at the home of the former fn Pitt street, the guest of honour being Miss Fan Peake, whose marriage will take place next week. The guests were Mesdames Norman Speight, Maurice Myers, Guy Tnpley, Leonard Black, G. Dickinson,”J. K. Laidlaw, D. Smeaton, and the Misses Joan Ritchie, Helen Abraham, and Barbara Williams. In the evening Mrs Ralph Sleigh gave a three-table bridge party at her homo in Newington Avenue, also in Miss Peake’s honour. This afternoon Mrs D. Smeaton entertained guests at a “ linen ” party. The hostess received in the lounge, which was gay with masses of spring flowers, and where an unusual competition made a happy interlude. Afternoon tea was served in the dining room, where tho decorative scheme was in scarlet anemones. The guests were Mesdames D. A. Solomon, F. Halsted, S. GJendining, Guy Tapley, G. Dickinson, J. R. Laidlaw, Hugh Speight, Fraser Edmond, R. Evatt, Roland Fulton, E. R. Harty, Leonard Black, and the Misses P. HnnterWeston, Dorothy Secular, and Joy Barnett. Janefield Women’s Institute. The Janelicld Women’s Institute held its monthly meeting in the Mill Hull on Thursday, Mrs Bowio presiding. The motto was “ Let’s leave tho world a little better by tho work wo do.” The business being disposed of, afternoon tea was dispensed by tho following hostesses: —Mesdames Milner. Nicol, Kenrick, Pond. The roll call was: “ An egglcss pudding which contains

bread crumbs.” Miss Bell (of Shag Valley) gave a resume of the Dominion Women’s Institute conference, recently held in Dunedin, and later a most delightfully interesting account of her tour in and about London, with descriptions of old customs still being strictly carried out in all the traditions of pomp and state and pageantry. Miss Bell exhibited a very interesting display of mementoes, and was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks on Mrs Pond’s motion. Society of Women Musicians. Folk music was the attractive theme which lured a large number of members of the Society of Women Musicians to the September meeting held on Monday night in the Women’s Club. Miss Emilie Logie spoke very charmingly on the subject of 1 Folk Song,’ revealing her sympathy with it as music springing from the realities of deep emotion and the things of Nature. She quoted beautiful poems from different countries and told of their stories of songs of love and marriage, nursery rhymes, lullabies, songs of labour and of Nature, many of which have been saved from oblivion by eager collectors. A very delightful programme followed, leaving the listeners with the thought that emotions and the things of Nature are certainly common to humanity, but arc clothed'with infinite variety by the music expressing the folk soul of the different nationalities. Miss F. Sumner, accompaned by Mrs Raynor Bell, sang ‘ The Oxen Ploughing,’ ‘ My Ain Countree,’ and ‘My Love is an Arbutus,’ and ‘ The White Paternoster ’ unaccompanied. ‘ The Well of St. Kean ’ and ‘ Come, Roger and Nell ’ were sung by Mrs Hartley, with Miss M, Martin as accompanist. The choir,

under Miss M. Paine, rendered two unaccompanied Gaelic part songs, ‘ Cradle Song ’ and 1 The Herdmaiden’s Song,’ a Welsh unison song, ‘Loth to Depart,’ and a Manx ‘ Spinning Wheel Song,’ with Mrs Blackman at the piano. Miss N. Hobson gave tho themes of several Chinese songs collected by Dr Koo, and played them without accompanment on the violin. Miss A. Tyrie, accompanied by Miss M. Paine, sang a group of Hungarian songs, ‘Far Away the Cranes are Flying,’ ‘ Marishka,’ and ‘ Shepherd, See Thy Horse’s Foaming Mane.’ Miss S. Bayley illustrated the folk dances of many countries on the violin. Two Hebridean songs, ‘ The Island Herdmaiden’s Song ’ and ‘ Kishmul’s Gully,’ were sung by Mrs A. Watt, accompanied by Miss Ida White. The programme concluded with a pianoforte solo by Mrs H. C. Campbell, ‘ Sussex Mummers’ Carpi,’ arranged by Percy Grainger. Miss J. Jones proposed a vote of thanks to Miss Logie and the performers, and this was warmly seconded by Miss Irene (Barth, the president, who encouraged the choir and its conductor to continue its extra effort of combined work so valuable to its members and to the society as a whole. St. Clair Women’s Club. The annual appearance of tho choir of the St. Clair Women’s Club has become an event to which tho members look forward with pleasurable anticipation. For some years the choir, under the baton of Mrs Douglas Barton, has formed an important section of the activities of tho club, and the concert presented on Monday evening fully met the expectations of those present. Works of Australian women composers —Mona M'Bnrney, Jessie Shlnith, Mollie Carew, May Brake, and Minnie Bull—provided the first part of the programme, including part songs and solo numbers, a brief biographical introduction of each of these given by tho leader of the choir lending additional interest to this part of the programme. Mrs

L. Withers contributed a musical monologue and a recitation in pleasing style. Following these came ‘ Some Women of Comic Opera,’ with effective costumes to suit the characters represented, extracts from the following operas were presented by Mesdames Rendall, James, and M'Lachlan Lilac Time ’), Mrs J. R. Bode (‘Maid of the Mountains’), Mrs Bardsley (‘ Belle of New Work ’), Mrs Johnstone (‘Cingalee’), Mrs C. Thomson (‘Rio Rita’), Mrs Ombler (‘ Patience ’). Mrs Cross (‘ Pinafore ’), Mrs Robson (‘ Yeoman of the Guard ’), Mrs Smith, Mrs Paine, and Miss, May Brook (‘Mikado’), Miss Quartermain (‘Lily of Killarney’), Miss Rhoda Brookes C M ; ss Hook of Holland), Mrs Morris (‘Merry Widow’), Mrs Lawrence (‘Dorothy’), Mesdames Ombler, Humphries, Hisdop, Green, and Miss O. Quartermain (‘ The Mothers,’ by Noel Coward). In response to a special request, Mrs Barton gave a song at the piano, ‘Naughty Little Word.’ At tho conclusion of the programme, Mrs A. S. Dalgliesh, president, congratulated Mrs Barton and her choir on the original and entertaining programme provided, and conveyed to them the club’s thanks.