Calendar Girls

About 13 years ago a group of women from Rylston in the Yorkshire Dales decided to pose for a nude calendar to raise mony for a hospital setee in memory of a much loved husband who died of cancer. There is nothing new about nude women in calendars. But these were mature women from the Women's Institute (WI)- a very traditional British instittution famous for knitting, flower arranging, baking, making jam and singing the hymn Jeruselem. They became famous because WI members are far too respectable to take their clothes off. The calendar raised enough for the setee and a lot more! Since then they have raised nearly$5 million for Leukeamia& Limphoma Research. There have been two subsiquent calendars, an award winning film and a West End play.
The play rights have been released free of charge to amature dramatic groups and many are performing it, raising money for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Reserch in the process. It is something of interest to me through my interest in am-dram and because my late wife died of lymphoma.
I got involved whenthe localMasham Players performed it to 5 capacity audiences, first in Masham town hall and then in our village hall. It is interesting to see all the behind the scenes work but more interesting is the play itself. It is ammusing throughout, taking off the traditions of the WI and the inability of this group to tow the line or do the traditional crafts. The photography scene is particulaly ammusing with a very nervous cameraman being presented with six naked ladies including his old school teacher. It is also poinient in the way it handles cancer and death.
Incidentally I was told we had the Rylstone WI women in our audience. Go and see it if you can. Then come and tell us what you think.

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