Charles and Patricia Lester have been creating textiles and textile art in many forms for the past 50 years and this year they will be celebrating this by presenting a number of events telling their story and using these events to raise funds for their favourite charities.

The very first event will be held at the Rolls Mansion at the Hendre in Monnmouth – ticket enquiries:

clare-tuggey@uptodatematters.co.uk

This first of many such events in the coming year will be in aid of The Lifeboats – RNLI to be held in The Orangery and the Great Hall of Rolls Mansion.

Rolls Mansion – The Hendre – Monmouth – a glorious house created for Charles Rolls who jointly with Henry Royce started the Rolls Royce motor company.

Colour inspirations taken from the walls of this amazing property and a beautiful Emporer moth recently emerged and just such a beautiful combination of colours and textures.

Textile art – colours and textures inspiration

This first event is to be a static exhibition including photographs and textile art. Charles and Patricia will be giving a talk about their story – from rags to riches – which encompasses their own story of how Patricia took in alterations to making clothes and textile art for some of the most exotic women and homes in the world as well as their costume work for films and opera. The story also includes how past inhabitants at the workhouse might reel in ghostly amazement at the contrast between their terrible lives to the extraordinary clothes and luxury that now fills the part of the workhouse in Abergavenny – that was once known locally as ‘The Tramps Hotel’! Another part of the story is the tale of the very first opera for which they were costume designers – again contrasts in that the beautiful young heroine’s life of arcadian simplicity does not protect her from the lascivious attention of the owner of the Yoshiwara (whore-house) – in true dramatic opera tradition – her father disowns her thinking she chose this lifestyle and in despair she kills herself by throwing herself into the scum of the sewers – and in the finale her ghost rises out of the filth and decay.