Dame Joanna Lumley takes on new role with Brecon charity

Dame Joanna Lumley has agreed to become an ambassador for the Brecon Dhampus Twinning Association.

The Absolutely Fabulous star, who switched on Brecon’s Christmas lights in 2017, said she was delighted to accept the role.

“I am delighted to accept with a thousand thanks. It will make me very proud,” she said.

Dame Joanna has campaigned for the rights of retired Gurkha soldiers and has a longstanding connection to the regiment, in which her father was an officer.

The British Army has a Gurkha company based in Brecon, which is also home to around 100 Nepalese families.

Ann Mathias, chair of the Brecon Dhampus Twinning Association, said: “We are thrilled that Dame Joanna has agreed to become our ambassador. She has been a member of the charity for years. She is aware of the support we give in Nepal.”

The association has donated money to schools in the Yanchok and Palpa areas and helped individuals who needed funding for medical treatment.

It also supports Kidasha, a charity in Pokhara which cares for and educates street children. Several members of the association have visited to see its work first-hand.

Recently, Ms Mathias and Brecon town clerk Fiona Williams visited the Nepalese Embassy in London to discuss money raised locally for the Prime Minister of Nepal’s Disaster Fund.

Working with Brecon Rotary, the charity has raised more than £7,000 for the appeal so far.

The embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Bipin Duwadi, thanked the people of Brecon for their generosity and expressed interest in the work taking place in the town to strengthen ties with its Nepalese residents.

The charity will have a stall at Brecon with Bells On in Brecon Market Hall on Sunday, November 29, with all proceeds going towards the disaster fund.