King's birthday honours: Sustainable fabric artist awarded BEM

Dr Aruna Mene creates many different works of art made from off-cuts of fabric

A former NHS doctor who creates clothes, artwork and other items from textile waste to raise funds for charity has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM).

Dr Aruna Mene, 73, from Hatfield, said being sustainable was something she held "very close to my heart".

"I'm very grateful that my work is being recognised," she said.

She was one of many people in the region to be awarded in the King's first birthday honours list.

Aruna loves to create collages with different colourful materials

After working for the NHS for 30 years as a histopathologist - someone who studies organs, tissues and cells - her hobby has now become her main focus and has "kind of exploded".

"I'm a public speaker, talking about fabric waste and what can be done to stop textiles ending up in landfill sites," she said.

"I just do it because I love it."

She takes fabric waste left over from tailors or old clothes and turns them into fabric collages, rag rugs, baskets and new items to wear.

Aruna makes Amish rugs from old textiles like duvet covers, bedsheets, t-shirts and other old clothes

Any funds raised go to a number of charities she supports, including the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University College Hospital, London; the Evelina Children's Hospital; the Nirmalya Trust in Pune, India; Hemalkasa Health Foundation UK and the Anandwan commune in central India.

Being told she had been given a BEM was a "total surprise", said Dr Mene.

She hoped it would mean more people would become aware of "cheap fashion".

Fabric scraps have been turned into baskets

"So many clothes are made and that leads to excess, and then disposed of which is a total waste," she said.

"It's an environmental disaster and awareness is very important."

Meanwhile, Colin Garrett, 81, from Berkhamsted, has been left "gobsmacked" after being awarded a BEM for services to violin-making.

Colin Garrett said he was not expecting to be honoured for his work

The trained solicitor started attending a violin-making evening class at Cambridge Regional College in 1968, due to his keen interest in the instrument and woodwork.

He said he was only able to attend for a year before changing jobs, then several years later took up another course.

"I was hooked at that stage," he said.

"Then I retired from law as I had a number of minor strokes. I recovered my health and went to Newark College, starting in September 2000 and I spent three years there."

He said he was being honoured for his voluntary work within the industry and charity.

Colin Garrett went to the House of Lords in 2022 to receive a Volunteer of the Year award from the Heritage Crafts Association

He set up the British Violin Making Association (BVMA) membership database, has volunteered with the Rowan Armour-Brown (RAB) Trust and was a trustee and treasurer of LSF-UK (Luthiers Sans Frontières).

"Most violin-makers are jolly good at what they do, but have no experience in law, accounting or business.

"I registered them as charities, helping others fulfil their dreams in the profession."

Other people across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire who have been recognised in the King's birthday honours, include:

• Darts ace Fallon Sherrock, 28, from Milton Keynes, who was made an MBE for services to her sport. She made history in 2019 by becoming the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship

• Prof Iain Gray, director of aerospace at Cranfield University, who was awarded a Knighthood for services to the aerospace industry

• David Clarke, from Harpenden, the chief executive officer of the British Paralympic Association, was given a CBE for services to Paralympic Sport

• Preston Ayres, a trustee at YMCA Milton Keynes, was given a CBE for services to young people

• Nanar Setrakian, from High Wycombe, who is the strategy and protocol project manager at the Cabinet Office, was handed a CBE for services to the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

• Anne Wingate, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, given a CBE for services to beekeeping

• Rev Stephen Wood, minster of Newport Pagnell Baptist Church, received a CBE for services to refugees