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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Lumley setting off on Nepal trip | Lumley setting off on Nepal trip |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Actress Joanna Lumley is flying out to Nepal to meet former Gurkha soldiers and their families in a week-long trip. | Actress Joanna Lumley is flying out to Nepal to meet former Gurkha soldiers and their families in a week-long trip. |
| She was the public face of a campaign - launched in Kent where there is a large Gurkha community - to secure UK residency rights for all veterans. | She was the public face of a campaign - launched in Kent where there is a large Gurkha community - to secure UK residency rights for all veterans. |
| Accompanied by members of her family and Peter Carroll, who started the campaign, Ms Lumley will meet Nepal's prime minister and president. | Accompanied by members of her family and Peter Carroll, who started the campaign, Ms Lumley will meet Nepal's prime minister and president. |
| She said she was "humbled" by a visit which would be "such a privilege". | |
| "It's thrilling, it really is," Ms Lumley said at London's Heathrow Airport, prior to her flight on Saturday evening. | |
| "We were met by the most wonderful group of Gurkhas outside Terminal 3, with silk scarves and bunches of flowers. | |
| I don't think it can be anything other than wonderful Joanna Lumley | |
| "It's just incredible. I've never been to Nepal before, and this is really going to be just stunning," she added. | |
| "I feel so humbled by the fact I'm going to meet so many ex-Gurkhas and their families, and see where they are and how they live. | |
| "I don't think it can be anything other than wonderful." | |
| Large crowds are expected to greet her on her arrival in Kathmandu on Sunday. | Large crowds are expected to greet her on her arrival in Kathmandu on Sunday. |
| Mr Carroll said he understood there would be "a huge, huge reception at the airport". | |
| "It's almost like a head of state visiting." | "It's almost like a head of state visiting." |
| On Tuesday Ms Lumley will visit Jhapa and Dharan to meet Gurkhas. | On Tuesday Ms Lumley will visit Jhapa and Dharan to meet Gurkhas. |
| Mr Carroll said some people were expected to walk for three days just to be there. | Mr Carroll said some people were expected to walk for three days just to be there. |
| "I think it's going to be an amazingly emotional experience," he said. | "I think it's going to be an amazingly emotional experience," he said. |
| In May, the government said all retired Gurkha soldiers - originally from Nepal - with at least four years service in the British Army, could stay in the UK. | In May, the government said all retired Gurkha soldiers - originally from Nepal - with at least four years service in the British Army, could stay in the UK. |