WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 7, 28 August 1931, Page 34

WHAT WE WOMEN THINK

The ‘Prince, God Bless Him! [TYPICAL of his Royal Highness: was an incident .not.long ago in Piccadilly, An elderly man, whose sight was obviously bad, was. standing on the kerb waiting anxiously for a chance to cross, When & young man slipped an arm through his and gently piloted him to the other’ side. "Why," exclaimed someone, as the helper passed into the throng, "do you know.-who that. was?" "No," said.the old man, "but he was very kind." "He always is," said the other; "it was the Prince of ‘Wales. " Russia To-day. "I FOUND that Moscow, and, as a eorollary, the whole of Russia, was an enlargement of the Russian ship on which I journeyed from London to Leningrad; the same ludicrous Hvangelistie Communism on the surface and the same greedy, ambitious, admirable human nature beneath. The only difference between -the ship and Moscow was that there were fewer cranks, fanatical Jews, and useless scoundrels on the ship than in Moscow."-Liam O’Flaherty in‘"I Went to Russia." Worth Trying. A NEW type of cover for placing around the outside of indoor flower pots is being used in pretty sitting rooms, It is made of stiff canvas painted. gilt, and is about six inches deep, the top and bottom edges being stitched with bright-coloured raffia. Upon the canvas itself is a "picture," also done in raffia, representing a sum-mer-time garden scene; one of the most attractive shows a herbaceous border beside a lawn with an archway eovered with pink rambler roses. The Tote’s the Thing. ‘A Scot, like everything else in these days, is being democratised. It ig still fashionable, but is ceasing to be exclusive. . The feature this year was the sudden vogue and undeniable appeal of the tote. Neither the racing nor the dressing attracted the main interest. Sport and society were alike put into the shade by the elaborate betting installation. For good or ill it is recognised that gambling is the passion of the hour among all classes, especially since we have learned to gamble by machinery. An Apt Retort, GENERAL PERSHING’S memoir has excited a good deal of critical comment, but no rebuke can be sharper than that of the young woman detailed at one time as his chauffeuse in Paris. Owing to some mishap she arrived a few minutes late, and the General, fuming with impatience, exclaimed: "Your avez dix minutes de retard, mademoiselle!" "Et yous, mon General, dix-huit mois," was the lightning reply.

The ,Chameleon Sex. OMEN are queer creatures. That sounds like a masculine jeer, but is not-is, in fact, a reflection impelled by studying the latest fashion magazines. The books of the Recording Angel may reveal that, eating or dreaming, at work or play, women are very much the same now as they were 20, 80, or 100 years ago. But according to the photographers of the best fashion papers (and the camera cannot lie!) wonien have changed alarmingly during even the past few. months. .. Up to the time when the summer fashions began to be photographed, women, according to the best mannequin tradition, were of an incredible haughtiness and languid sophistication. They were less beautiful than "fascinating" -fascination being expressed by means of a weary lift of the eyebrows, a Slightly cynical look in the eyes, and the faintest twist of the lips. But now, though still a. little languid, we are quite different people. The languor is. a@ summer languor, due not to bored indifference so much as to an overburdening of the spirits. There is an air of youthful tragedy about us. Troubled innocence has returned to fashion with

floppy hats and trailing frocks. The eyelids still droop, but over a hint of tears rather than mockery, and the eyebrows are lifted in perplexed wonderment rather than in hauteur. It is all very well to generalise, you may think, from mannequins who chame-leon-like suit their expressions to their clothes. Ordinary people are different. Are they? Look at the pictures of society beauties in the illustrated magazines. Have not the photographers succeeded in foisting upon them this tender youthful melancholy? Do you believe that you and I will be able to avoid it, wearing floppy hats and frocks, and seeing this new "feminine" face on every hand? Couleur de Rose. OSE is one of the popular colours for bridal lingerie this year. Triple ninon nightdresses with hip-length jackets to match look lovely in this shade. Hand-embroidered net in spot designs to match the colour of the material with which it is used forms fluted ruffles on some of the new designs.

The Mode, & So far as fashion is concerned; the’ average woman can wear anything she pleases to express her personality and still feel that she is following the mode. Long coats and short jackets for daytime; Patou’s idea of a simple black crepe frock worn with a short white cardigan jacket; tunic frocks, as suggested by Worth, and worn with little one-sided capes that have wide fur collars; Schiaparelli’s new handcrocheted sweaters, which have a surplice line and tie at one side in a fluffy bow-all these are among the garments of the season. Short evening coats that look little more than sleeves are a feature of the new collections. Many of these little coats barely reach the waist and are cut on bolero linesvery decorative and becoming. They are just right for theatre wear and other evening wear. ; Portrait of a Great Principal. « ed "WITH her smooth, light-broww "Hair, graceful floating walk, and lavender. crinoline frock, Miss Dorothea Beale was an attractive figure. She had a keen sense of humour and a Chaucerian love of fun pure and simple -gifts so often denied 'to women teachers. She knew how to choose assistants to work out her purposes, and her staff included some of the most delightful personalities. Her Christianity was a pivotal factor in all she did, and said, it was always a faith rather than a creed, and she never lost her feeling of wonderment that the human body, a pinch or two of carbon, a few chemicals and a little water, could yet be the dwelling-place in time of an immortal soul, the very temple of the Holy Ghost.. Her social flair was unfaltering; she jj never allowed goodness to become an anti-social goody-goodiness. She! hated frumperies as much as falseness. When she died the little college begun at Cambray had grown until there were over a thousand learners within its walls, and the filaments of its infiuence touched the life of every civilised country in the world. And to many of her old pupils her death at 76 seemed as incredible a thing as the passing of Queen Victoria a few years later. She had created an Dton for girls. Not Charming. A FRIEND who boasts that she is "domestic, not intellectual," and I say "boasts" because her tone as she says it is a little vainglorious-com-plains that the intellengertzia are socially dull. She described a party at which every guest save herself was an artist, a critic, a poet ora publisher. "Circumstances have deprived Us); f£ two sets of friends," she said. ‘ e Army lot we often thought dull whex George was in the Army. Then we had the academic and suburban lot at--." "And now we live in town, and George, as a publisher, brings us among the intellectuals. The Army men had charm and the academic men had grace of manner, but 'the intellectuals have neither. They don’t try to entertain you. They sit back and expect you to entertain them-and 'they don’t mind showing that they’re bored if you fail to do so. If they scintillated with wit or charm themselves they would have some right to expect it from others. But they dou’t. They can talk of no--thing but their own achievements." we