Raffles, cake sales,
coffee mornings… all would have gone down a treat and made a tidy sum. But the women of one
village were set on doing something rather more risque to raise funds for their
crumbling community hall – volunteering to strip for a charity calendar. And they became even more
determined when some members of the village hall committee unkindly suggested
they might have more success if they kept their clothes on.
Some feared the calendar
would damage the reputations of villagers in positions of responsibility, while
others argued the idea was a little tired, after the success of Calendar Girls
starring Helen Mirren, the hit movie based on the antics of the Rylstone
Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire. But for those brave enough
to flick through the pages, the calendar starring the ladies of Castleside in
the Durham Dales is perhaps more daring than the original, in which strategic
positioning of cakes helped protect the modesty of the models.
The Castleside girls are
made of sterner stuff. In one shot ten ladies pose naked on hay bales – with
the farmer’s permission, of course. In another a local beautician, the parish
council clerk and a sales rep run hand-in-hand – bottoms bared – across a
cornfield.
Castleside Calendar
organiser Heather Thompson, 45, said: ‘The original Calendar Girls calendar is
lovely, but they are hiding behind their buns. We are in for a penny, in for a
pound and it is all out there. It is more Geordie than North Yorkshire in that
respect.’
After Miss Thompson’s idea
was rejected at the hall’s committee meeting, she decided to take matters into
her own hands. ‘It made me quite annoyed,’ she recalled.
‘I was so determined, I
literally went out that night and knocked on people’s doors to ask them if they
were willing to do it.
‘I was amazed how many
people said “Yes”, even though we didn’t know each other.’ Soon well-wishers –
many of them men – were pouring money into the project to cover publishing
costs, and local photographer Sarah Thew offered her services for free.
All were keen to save the
100-year-old hall, built through steelworker subscriptions, which is the centre
of the community, hosting everything from bingo to dance classes.
The Castleside Calendar
girls include parish council clerk Gemma Donaghy, 27, who is seen tending her
plants in the buff. Pensioner Sadie Ayton, 76,
known locally for her bra-fitting skills, was the oldest of the group to
undress. She said: ‘My wedding reception was held in the village hall, so I
knew I had to do something. First of all, I thought it was just
sponsoring them, then they asked me to take my clothes off. I am naked when I
go to bed each night anyway, so I thought, “Why not?”’
Now even the women’s
critics are starting to come round to the calendar, which costs £10. Dawn Kentish, 42, a
committee member, explained her initial opposition. ‘Even if the calendar
pictures are classy, there will still be a minority who won’t approve,’ she
said.
‘We didn’t want to offend
anybody. As a committee, we decided we didn’t want to commit to funding it
ourselves.’
David Dixon, 70, chairman
of the committee, said: ‘There were a few members who were rather circumspect.
There were concerns it had been done before and wouldn’t work.
‘But having seen how the
whole community has got into the idea, we are delighted to have their help.
It’s certainly a talking point in the village.’
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