IN TOWN AND OUT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 23, 19 April 1927, Page 4

IN TOWN AND OUT

Kit®

NOTES OMr. and Mrs. Gilberd, of Auckland, are visitors to Hamilton. * * * Dr. Campbell Duncan and Mrs. Duncan, of Rotorua, motored through to Auckland to-day, and will spend a short holiday here. * * * Miss D. Robertson, L.T.C.L., of Green Lane, is at present visiting Wanganui, where she is the guest of Mrs. J. Knight, Selwyn Street. Mrs. Halse, of Masterton, is at present holiday-making in Auckland. Mr. and Mrs. C. Daly have left Wellington to spend a short holiday in Auckland. Miss May Purvis, of Trentham, is at present the guest of Mrs. R. H. Potter, Mount Eden. Miss Purvis will leave by the TJlimaroa for Sydney, after which she sails on the Orama for a visit to England. Mr. and Mrs. Snellgrove, of Sydney, are among the guests at the Grand Hotel. * * * Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Fraser, of Dunedin, are staying at the Hotel Cargen. Mr. and Mrs. Shortt are Dunedin visitors to Auckland and are staying at the Grand Hotel. * *• * The Rev. and Mrs. G. R, Barnett, of Hamilton, are among the guests at the Central Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Fergusson, of Hamilton, are staying at the Commercial Hotel. Mrs. McNapier, of Russell, is at present in town and is staying at the Central Hotel. Misses D. F. and E. C. Mannix, of New Plymouth, are among the guests, at the Commercial Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Newton, of Wellington, are staying at the Central Hotel. * * * Mr. Mrs. Lawson are Christchurch visitors to Auckland and are staying at the Central Hotel. * * * Miss C. M. Treher and the Misses M. and K. O’Shea, of Wellington, are among the guests at the Commercial Hotel. * * * Mr and Mrs. C. B. Frautivein du Pertius and Miss du Pertius have arrived in Auckland from Suva and are staying at the Commercial Hotel. DIXIELAND A FROLIC NIGHT The large number of dancers who were present at the Easter carnival night held at Dixieland last evening were not disappointed in their expectations of a keen evening’s enjoyment, for everything, possible had been done by the management to ensure a pleasurable evening.

A maze of delightful colour effects was introduced into the decorations—balloons, flowers, and streamers each lending their charm to the general decorations. From the gay lanterns suspended from the ceiling black cats grinned as diabolically as ever, their brothers of the Cheshire ilk could have done, and even the man in the moon was there, winking wickedly at all who chanced to catch his eye. The International Seven played the most enticing music; the laughing of the saxophones and the sobbing of the violins making it impossible for many to sit out a single dance! And as for the people there, ’twas inded a representative gathering . . . legal luminaries from Wellington . . t one or two Christchurch folk of note . . . and many wellknown Aucklanders, being cheerfully elbowed and bumped by enthusiastic Charleston artists. A “Sorry, old man!” rewarded by a cheery smile . . . and all were lost again in the swaying throng of merrymakers. Among the dresses worn by the fairer element were some particularly charming models, each sweetly prettyin its individuality. An amusing interlude in the evening was provided by Miss Lillie Kalani, who danced a most alluring hula-hula. The favours distributed throughout the evening were amusing and delightful . . . hats, diminutive and chic . . . whistles . . .eerie little beetles that gave forth a most alarming chirrup . . . and a hundred other novelties. A word must be said regarding the untiring courtesy of the manager, Mr. W. Loveridge, who never ceases in his attention to the comfort and amusement of his patrons. From the moment one enters Dixieland he makes one feel that were you personally not there his dance would be hot nearly so successful, and it takes some subtlety to do that. Among the many present wjere: Miss H. Clark, in gold lace; Miss R. Darby, rose pink seqtiined frock; Miss R. McVeagh, petalled gown of delphinium blue; Mrs. Hutchison, white georgette, heavily encrusted with silver sequins; Mrs. F. Price, charming gown of gold lace; Mrs. Dunne, amber-toned satin; Miss E. Hopwood, gown of black velvet; Miss Joan Hastings, pretty gown of white georgette; Miss Gwen. Edwards, rose pink satin and silver lace; Mrs. Lindsay, twilight blue organdie; Miss Kennedy, ivory satin; Miss Inez Quindall, silver lame, with touches of blue; Miss N. Lee, geranium red J**uin and gold lace; Miss Cath. Hill, gown of panne velvet; Mrs. Asche, pretty frock of mousseline de soie; Misses Jessie McGregor, Workman, Quintall, Shrimpton (Dunedin), Garstin, Miss Thompson (Wellington), Billie Howard (U.S.A ), Lowe, Mesdames Betlume, Lusk. Louisson, Hewitt, Gibbs, Messrs. R. C. Russell, B. Leaning, A. W. Powell, F Price, W. H. Fisher, R. L. Wynyard, D* Keves. D. W Bay ( Wellington), Hamish Mitchell (Wellington). J. ■ L.. Keller, S. K. Kilgour (Wellington), Jj. Juriss (Christchurch), R. Russell, H. Powell. E. G. McGee,' Entwistle, E. CBromarch, Saunders (Mel Jus, ton) Wattie Harby, R. \ • Lusk. K. Loyd, Whitehouse, R- Hutchinson. I nili o , M. J. Hewitt, M. J. Cormick, K. J • Wren, and many others. WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US Virtue is a beautiful thing in women when they don't go about with it like a child with a drum making all sorts of noise with it. —Jerrold. The cruellest revenge ot a woman is often to remain faithful to a man. Bossuet. Women, cats and birds are creatures that waste most time on their toilets. —Nodier. . . Friendships of women are cushions wherein they stick their pins.—AnonyTell a woman she is beautiful and the Devil will repeat it to her ten times. —ltalian proverb.

MUNDANE MUSINGS “LET’S ALL GO PLAYING!” (Written for THE SUN.) Do you remember, how when our grandmothers were very young, the term “a little carriage exercise” was still in use? Imagine a physician of to-day prescribing “a little carriage exercise” when one of our modern maidens languished!

What on earth would the same modern maiden say if she were trundled about, all bundled up with clothes, for an hour or so in the afternoon? Quite a lot, I imagine! Was it any wonder that invalidism became a fashionable form of amusement, and that women who were not compulsorily active by having to earn their own living, learnt to “enjoy poor health'?”

Scarce a century ago, Wordsworth, without being stupid, could address a poem, “To a young lady who had been reproached for taking long walks in the country.”

Just picture one of our modern poets taking such a theme on one of our sparkling, zippy mornings, when from end to end of the country there are to be seen lithe, nimble-footed girls on .the tennis courts and golf courses and taking long, hard cross-country tramps. At least they all look like girls as you whizz by in car or train, but many of them may be grandmothers. And isn’t it wonderful ffow much better looking the revival of playtimes for women has made the world? Of course it is a revival. The outdoor woman is a much more thorough-going creature to-day than she has been ever before in the whole history of civilisation, butAn earlier times there was no stuffiness quite so dense as that of the ,19th century. Somewhere I’ve read or been told that records exist of poor girls being fined for playing games in the streets of Tudor, London, and before the steam age women of all classes walked and rode vigorously enough. Nor is there anything languid about the girls of Shakespeare, who were nearly all of the open air sort, and the Stuart age abounded in tom boys. Apparently it was not until the beginning of the last century that weakness became confused with spirituality, and sweet health with coarseness.

Happily, we are now in the full swing of the reaction from these stupidities. Since golden girls ran and leapt in the Spartan games more than two thousand years ago there has never been a womanhood more beautiful than our own.

The growth of outdoor playtimes for women has had some unforseen effects. It has, for one thing, vastly revolutionised dress. Never aga*n can fashion be as ludicrous as it was thirty or forty years ago; for surely the sports dres must live for ever, with its perfect lines that follow the true line of the figure, and form the basis for all dress designs.

In my eyes at least, a thing perhaps the most important of all, that women’s play-times are accomplishing, and a thing in which even the churches have hitherto ingloriously failed. That precious thing is that games are eliminating the petty and cruel snobbery of which the indoor woman’s life, unless she happened to be either a scholar or a saint, was largely made up.

The modern girl judges her friends, not by the grandeur of their relatives or the size of their houses, but by their honour, integrity and temper in sports. If you are a good partner or opponent, an ungrumbling companion through the hardships of a long tramp, you can have your social footing in the breezy woman’s world of to-day; but nobody will endure your tantrums just because you happen to be the ninth-removed descendant of a peer, or because before your mother became reduced in circumstances, she used to keep fiftynine servants.

Typists and titled women become friendly on tennis courts and a single figure golf handicap will introduce a girl anywhere. Hail, women with a playtime, off to the open spaces—

“As if thy heritage were joy, And pleasure were thy trade.” —H.M.

When writing labels for bottles, tins, etc., use marking-ink instead of ordinary ink. It never fades and has not to be renewed. This is especially invaluable when marking chemicals, poisons, etc. * * *

If piping-cord is being used when making loose covers it is advisable to wash it before making up. Then, when the covers are washed for the first time, the portions where the piping-cord has been used will not buckle up.

YOUR CLUB AND MINE AN OPEN COLUMN Each Tuesday afternoon a corner will be reserved for original contributions of general interest to womenfolk. The subject matter is for you to choose . . . whatever topic interests you may also be of interest or amusement to others. A book prize, selected by the winner, is offered each week for the best effort. Contributions should be brief, and written on one side of the paper only, and addressed to “Your Club and Mine,’* THE SUN, Auckland.* The prize this week has been awarded to Miss D. Little for the following article: AND SOME ARE BORN GREAT . . . By L. LITTLE. Deep-rooted in the mind of the average individual is the thought that he is born to do great things. He could be a great writer, a great speaker, a parliamentarian, a leader of men, anything in fact but what he is. Chance! Opportunity! Providence! What words they are. Unless we are all pessimists we all have a little Micawberism” in our make-up, but unlike that immortal man we are not gifted to the extent of knowing a chance when it presents itself, and being able to live on nothing while something is “turning up.” The hand of opportunity is velvet gloved and steals sbftly upon us, and if we are not awake to its soft touch the elusive nymph is gone, our El Dorado takes flight perhaps for all time, and we, dull-wits that we are, perchance do not even know that Fate has knocked. We are forever looking for great happenings in our lives —soul-stirring adventures. Our expectations are fanciful and rose-coloured. We are idealists, and we wish those ideals to be real fact immediately, without the prose and hum-drum repetition of our daily life. We are forever aiming higher, and maybe with that very flame-like quality, we are destroying all our opportunities, for in straining ever upward for the fruit just out of reach we neglect the smaller fruit within our grasp. Man without ideals would be a poor creature indeed, and we must necessarily have some goal in view however mundane and earthly it may be. To take what offers in our lives and be content is perhaps too hard, and would lead to a community so mediocre and mechanical as to make us shudder. Right or wrong let us keep our ideals, for while we are striving to maintain them, at least we are not becoming apathetic. “Upward and onward” should be our motto—not merely “onward,” though better that than stagnation in some murky little mental pool. It has been said that some have greatness thrust upon them. Let us hope it will be thrust upon us, for, we are aware that we are not born great, though we may become “oldest inhabitants” and achieve fame in that way!

AN EASTER WEDDING BARBER—ALLEN St. Andrew’s Church was the scene of a pretty wedding on Easter Saturday, when Blanch, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Allen, of Mount Eden, was married by the Rev. Mr. Lamb to Benjamin, the only son of Mr. J. W. Barber, of London. The bride, who was escorted by her brother, wore an exquisitely fashioned frock of ivory lace, and carried a bouquet of warm autumn tones. Miss Margaret Allen, a sister of the bride, attended as bridesmaid, wearing a delightful frock of golden brown, and carrying a pretty bouquet of palest pink flowers. The duties of best man were carried out by Mr. H. A. Millar. After the ceremony a reception was held at the home of the bride’s parents, when a large number of guests were entertained. AN ENGAGEMENT The engagement is announced of Viola, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Barron Speed, “Rawene,” St. George’s Bay Road, Auckland, to Harry, third son of Mrs. Dutton, “Pendla,” Audlem, England, and the late Mr. S. Dutton, Burleydam, Whithurch, England.

PAPATOETOE NOTES AFTERNOON TO MISS GARDINER A very enjbyable afternoon was tendered by Mrs. W. J. Nicholson, of Papatoetoe, to Miss Gardiner, to introduce the guest to the ladies of the parish. Over sixty members and friends of St. George’s Church attended the reception, and a very pleasant afternoon was spent by all. During the afternoon Mrs. T. R. Smytheman. president of the Ladies’ Guild, presented the guest with a beautiful bouquet on behalf of the ladies. Musical items, which were well received, were given by Mrs. R. Smith and Mrs. S. McCullough. During the afternoon a competition was held, Miss D. Waters winning the first prize and Miss M. Waters second, and the honour of the booby prize went to Miss Oxley. During the afternoon a dainty tea was served and the decorations of the hall, which were on a very lavish scale, were in the hands of Mesdames Nicholson and Mellsop. The hostess, Mrs. Nicholson, was attired in mauve brocade; Miss Gardiner, cinnamon brown, and Mrs. Smytheman, cinnamon brown crepe de chine.