The eighth of March marks International Women's Day, and I'm delighted that the Heritage Hub 4 Mid Wales is marking this event in my constituency by paying tribute to Laura Ashley's legacy in mid Wales.

In 2015, the hub brought 175 members of the Ashley company in a grand reunion together, and it was from this event that came efforts to preserve the archives and memories of those who worked with the Ashley family. One of them made quilts from the original prints in the 1970s, some of which will be on exhibit at the Laura Ashley quilt exhibition in Newtown library, which is starting today and running until 1 April, and I look forward to attending myself. The chair of the National Federation of Women's Institutes has accepted their invitation, along with other WIs from across Wales and Montgomeryshire. The hub hopes that Wales will one day be home to a Laura Ashley museum that will become a global attraction, where her life and works will be curated for all of the world to see. Laura Ashley is one of if not Montgomeryshire's most famous of names. She opened her first shop in Machynlleth, above which she lived with her family before moving down the road to Carno.

As founder of the heritage hub and the driving force of this ambitious mission to preserve the legacy of Laura Ashley in mid Wales, I would like to congratulate and thank Ann Evans, who now has permission for the use of and loan of archives going forward. As a very successful businesswoman in post-war Britain, Laura Ashley is rightfully considered a female icon. So, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to commemorate her legacy, the work of the heritage hub and International Women's Day, all in one.