Virgin Flight Will Give All a Buzz

It’s hardly the typical choice for in-flight music, but passengers on Virgin Atlantic Airlines’ budget flight from Newark, N.J., to London today will learn chicken and turkey calls on a kazoo. “We finally found the perfect amalgamation: no-frills entertainment and no-frills flight,” said Barbara Stewart, author of “How to Kazoo” and music director on the flight. Stewart, of Brighton, N.Y., earned a free round trip by agreeing to perform on the kazoo. “Some people work their way through college,” she said. “I kazoo across the Atlantic.” Stewart also will give tips on making sea gull, frog and swamp sounds, as well as how to play the kazoo with the narrow end stuck in a bathtub or gin glass. “These are particularly useful for musically marginal people,” she said. “People are sick of watching other people have a good time and not being a part of it.” Virgin Atlantic, started in June by Richard Branson, president of London’s Virgin Group, a record company, offers free transatlantic passage to performers willing to put on in-flight shows.

--Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, was listed as “comfortable” in a London hospital specializing in diseases of the heart and lungs. A spokesman for Brompton Hospital said tests were continuing on the 54-year-old princess, a heavy smoker, but he declined to specify any ailment. Margaret, former wife of top photographer Lord Snowdon, was admitted to the hospital “for investigation” after what London newspapers described as an abortive attempt by royal officials to keep the move secret. Several papers reported that the princess went into the hospital through a tradesmen’s entrance at the end of a tunnel from an adjoining building. But hospital officials said repeatedly that Margaret’s arrival was not an emergency, just a routine check. “She is comfortable and undergoing investigation,” said the Brompton administrator, George Doran.

--Princess Caroline of Monaco and her husband, Stefano Casiraghi, abandoned the annual 22-day car rally from Paris to Dakar, Senegal, on the fifth day after their truck overturned in Algeria. Neither was injured in the accident, race officials said.

--Actor John Houseman has been named recipient of the 1985 Alley Award. The award was created last year to recognize significant contributions to the theatrical arts and is presented by the Alley Theater in Houston. Houseman, 82, who also is an author, director and producer, will accept the award April 21 in Houston. The first “Alley” went to playwright Arthur Miller.