Calendar Girls stripping again after a decade
By ANIMonday, May 11, 2009
LONDON - Six of the 11 members of Rylstone and District Women’s Institute, who first posed for a nude calendar in 1999 for helping cancer patients, have again stripped for charity after 10 years.
To commemorate a decade of charity stripping, member of the institute at Yorkshire Dales are now launching their new calendar in Leeds.
The Calendar Girls first came together in 1999 to raise money for Leukaemia Research, aiming to generate just enough money to buy a sofa for a hospital waiting room.
However, since then, they have raised almost 2 million pounds and have been portrayed in both a Hollywood movie and a West End stage musical.
The saucy calendar of 2010, launched at Harvey Nichols store in Leeds, will feature 12 full-colour images of the women.
The original 11 had split in 2003 after a dispute over the filming of their story.
The first calendar was inspired by the death of Angela Baker’s husband, John from non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1998.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember that’s my story. I feel so many emotions, it’s hard to explain,’ the Daily Star quoted her as saying.
She added: “John did know about the calendar and he said we were all talk, but I know he would have been so proud to know nearly 2 million has been raised for Leukaemia Research in his name.”
Cathy Gilman, chief executive of Leukaemia Research said: “Never underestimate the value of a small personal idea. The Calendar Girls could never have foreseen that 10 years on they would have raised so much money to help save lives and spare other families the pain of losing a loved one.” (ANI)
