SPILT INK CLUB HOLDS MEETING IN HASTINGS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 50, 15 March 1937, Page 5

SPILT INK CLUB HOLDS MEETING IN HASTINGS

Owing to unforseem circuinstances3 the first meeting of the year of the Spilt Ink Club had to be postponed, and was held in- ths G.F.S. Rooms, on Thursday evening. Unfortunately, several members were indispospd or otherwise engaged, and the attendanee was small. A pleasant evening was spent, however, discussing literary amtters in general, authors, * periodicals, competitions, style, etc., forming the subjeets chiefly. The Hastings representative of the new magazine which is to appear shortly under the nama of Woman Today, read an interesting account of the cost per item of bringing out the publication. It should prove a valuable addition to the numerous periodicals devoted to woman 's life and iiosition to-day. A hearty vote of thanks was tendered to Mrs Gardener for her instructive and enjoyable discourse on the subject. This yvas followed by an article on the Grafton Cemetery, Auckland, accompanied by several quotations from the quaint epitaphs ' on some of the stones. The reader touched on the contrast provided between the peace and quietnesis in "God's Acre," and the roar of the traffic on the Grafton bridge. The meeting closed after delicious refreshments had been handed ro'und by the hostesses for the evening.

SILK SPUN FOR ROYALTY'S C0R0NATI0N ROBES The silk ior the Coronation robes for members of tlie Royal Family is being spun in Eaigland, behind the ancient walls of Lullingstone Castle, Eynsford, Kent. Five hundred thousand miles of thread are required and to- fulfil the order 1,000,000 cocoons will have to be "reeled off". The silk industry in Britain is at onoe one of the oldest and newest. After the reign of Charles II. it languished, but in recent times, thanks to the vision and enterprise of Lady Hart Dyke, who adopted silk as a childhood licbby, and tlien saw its commer'cial possibilities, the business, is flourisliing. Her "farm" . at Lullingstone Castle has already achieved fanie and is oue of the "sights" of Kent. It is, indeed, the only silk farm in England. Lady Dyke is not the original owner of the castle, but she took over the old place when the owner was " forced to move under pressur© of heavy taxation — a fate which has befallen many land'ed gentry since the war. Having engaged an expert manager, she co-operated with him in' obtaining ■ the latest information • concerning silk production in China and Italy. She theu purchased large quantities of silkworm eggs and installed the best ipachmery, The silk produced on* the Lullingstone farm is considefed too valuable to be used in the xnakin'g of even the xnost expensive silk stockings. Already a large area of land had been planted with about 50,OCO mulberry trees and buslies, to provide fbdder for iuture liatclies. Queen Mary inspected tlie' farm recently, and expressed keen' in'terest.