MISS Jo Golby will be entertaining Ledbury and District U3A with her talk 'Between Stairs - The Life of a Lady's Maid' on Thursday afternoon February 15, at their monthly general meeting in St Katherine's Hall, Ledbury.
Jo, who has been a guide at Warwick Castle and Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, talks about the life of a lady's maid in the larger houses of England in the 19th century.
All aspects of a lady's maid's life are covered from attending to her mistress's every whim, dress making, and concocting lotions and potions, to a section devoted to corsets and fans.
Neither servant nor family, the lady's maid was a crucial asset to any lady of society.
A friend and confidant to her mistress and in herself a fashionable accessory, all be it a dreadfully over worked one.
During the talk, delivered in full costume, the audience are invited to sample the gruelling restraints of wearing stays and engage in a practical session in the 'language of the fan' (a most essential art form for all ladies to learn and gentlemen to understand).
The meeting begins at 2.20pm after tea/coffee. Doors open at 2pm. All U3A members and prospective members are welcome. Regular attendees of the Ledbury and District U3A meeting please note the temporary change of venue.
If you would like to know more about the U3A, please contact the membership secretary on 01531 633637 or look at the website u3asites.org.uk/Ledbury
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