The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-18


 sorts. Then Queen Ena became, next to the Queen of Rumania, the best
 gowned royalty in Europe, while | Princess Arthur, with her short skirts, her high heels, her rather saucy It, tie hats, and even a black beauty patch below her left eye, is certainly one
 of the most decorative of our English royalties.
 On the second of May the private view at the Royal academy was one of tSe functions that drew all that is most rep resentative in London's social and artis- 1 tic life. A week later grand opera comes into it's own again at Covent garden for F weeks. The racing season also com
 mences for fashionable folk during the first week in May, and as it is likely that
 the King and also the Prince of Wales will run horses at one or other of the
 big meetings, there is sure to be an im- mense revival of this fashionable and
 royal sport.
 There is to be no horse show, as had
 been hoped for, at Olympia this season
 That huge glass-roofed structure which
 served as a detention camp for German
 prisoners early in the war and la ter was
 turned into d storehouse for military
 clothing, cannot be got ready in time
 to make it possible for the usual historic
 display Instead the beautiful grounds
 in Richmond park will be used. July
 and are the probable dates for this
 most delightful pageant
 The King and Queen will be in resi-
 derce at Windsor during Escot week. and
 they are once more to attend the races
 in state, a custom that has been, of
 course, entirely suspended for five years
 Henley also is to be revived and the July
 race meetings al Newmarket. Goodwood
 will once more be the eliminating race
 meeting of the summer season. There
 t,-
 Solent will be silent, but I am told that
 the preparations for grouse shooting this
 season will be of unprecedented impor- tance and that the twelfth will see
 the greatest gatherings on the moors
 The number of house parties at famous estates will be larger than have occurred
 for generations. So it really looks as if we were to wake up from a long and very unpleasant sleep during which we fortunately many of us have found only too real But 1 think the general tend ency is to inspire the younger genera tion with a more cheerful and happy
 view of life. They have had a very gloomy and sorrowful time to pass | through, and now it is the general feel ing that they should be shown something of the happiness of life.
 I met very interesting Russian lady recently who escaped from Petrograd some months ago after a series of most terrible adventures. Under ordinary cir cumstances she is woman of great wealth who lived, as did all Russian mo- bles five or six years ago, life of ex- traordnary luxury and extravaganza in Fetrograd and Paris. To her and to her husband money meant nothing except as a means towards the end of some mate- rial qualification She spent hundreds of thousands of rubles in gowns and en- tertaining, while her jewels were the envy even of the great ladies of what was once | the capital city of Russia. Now this woman is exiled, a frightened refugee, | with nothing left except some broken 1 fragments of her gorgeous jewels which | she contrived to smuggle out of RussN | by braiding them into the masses Of | beautiful hair which she wore coiled round her head. One string of pearls re- mains intact, and this she managed to keep because she very cleverly painted each pearl bead black with stove polish. I She is actually eating her jewels now. and she told me that if she can get suffi-
 cient backing she is going to set up an atelier in London, where she will show
 some of the latest Paris models which will be copied in her workrooms All the great dressmakers of Paris know me we'll" she told me. "I have spent mil
 lions of rubles at their establishments l and I will try to teach London women tc | dress little better than they do' (C'Onvright 1q19l