Wednesday 31 October 2012

Burton Calendar Girls reach America

Elaine here, reporting that a link to our Burton Calendar Girls blog has appeared on a website about pets and crafting in the USA.

You may know that Carol - who writes many of these blog posts - is a talented quilter who has made beautiful bags and quilts for friends and family and also donated them as much sought-after prizes for Little Theatre Company raffles.

Knowing about my blog for Winnie the Greyhound she made me a special bag from material decorated with dogs which I offered as a prize on Winnie's blog - and it was won by Lori who writes a lovely blog called What Remains Now.
Lori knew that Carol and I were working together on the Calendar Girls calendar project so generously gave us a mention and a link when the bag arrived with her in Indiana.

Lori loves the bag - and Carol loves that it's found such a good home in America. Random acts of kindness are great, aren't they?


Meanwhile, if you know any blogs or websites who might like to link to us - do give us a shout. The more people who know about us and buy a calendar the more we can raise for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research - a charity working so hard to beat blood cancers.

Monday 15 October 2012

Playwright Tim Firth supports Burton Calendar Girls

Bethan Waite, one of the brave ladies in our calendar, took a trip to Frodsham Literature Festival where she had the good fortune to be introduced to Tim Firth - the award-winning writer of the play Calendar Girls.

Tim is patron of the festival, known as Weaver Words, and was more than happy to chat to Bethan about his play, Little Theatre Company's production of it in March 2013 and our current charity calendar project.

Bethan said: "I asked him, 'Please write more plays with such wonderful parts for women in' - and he said that was one of the reasons that he wrote Calendar Girls in the first place."

He also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film which starred Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.

Tim's own website is being very generous in its support for the hundreds of amateur productions of Calendar Girls going ahead in the coming 18 months.

The evening after Bethan met Tim and his wife, the Firths were going to the amateur premiere of Calendar Girls which took place in Grassington - the village where the real Womens' Institute did that first naked calendar.

He told Bethan that was definitely the ONLY production he would be going to see. His mother was due to appear in an amateur production, he revealed - but he wasn't even planning to watch that.

Tim did sign a couple of good luck messages for us which we'll add to the front of house displays when we stage the play next March. Meanwhile, remember to keep an eye on our How to Buy A Calendar page here to see how and where you can buy your own Burton Calendar Girls calendar for yourself, a friend or a relative as an unforgettable Christmas present.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

A HUGE thank you

A few weeks ago I went with hubby Ken and one of our own calendar girls, Vicky, to see the touring production of Calendar Girls at Derby Assembly Rooms. As a group we'd all been to see the same production last July as our director John had wanted to get our confirmation that we were all game to do this production next March. It really is a wonderful production and I'd forgotten just how hilariously funny it is but has the ability to take you from laughter to poignancy in a heartbeat.

During one of our coffee meetings Elaine had posed the question did we think that if we put together a poster we could get the professional cast of Calendar Girls to sign it for us so that we could raffle it to make a little more money for the charity? Well my thoughts were that, if you don't ask, you don't get. So we put together a poster with a picture of our "robed" Calendar girls and at the last minute I decided to enclose one of our Calendars too, just so that hopefully they would see what a professional job we'd done and that the cast would sign it.

So, on the night we went to see the show I left the posters and calendar with the front of house staff and kept everything crossed. On the last night of the tour I received a phone call from the Tour Manager to say that the cast had indeed signed the poster, I was delighted. So my dear hubby tootled off to the Assembly Rooms to collect the envelope. What a great bunch the cast were! Not only did they sign the posters but they signed our calendar too! Such a wonderful surprise and we are truly appreciative of that gesture. So, at some point in the not too distant future we will indeed be raffling off now, not only a signed poster but also a signed copy of our calendar, now surely that has to be worth buying a ticket for.



We have so many events coming up in the near future so please keep checking the blog and spread the word.

Monday 8 October 2012

Burton Calendar Girls to grace the House of Commons

Andrew Griffiths, the MP for Burton and Uttoxeter, is well-known for supporting good causes in the town so we were delighted when he 'tweeted' us to ask how he could help us sell our calendars and raise as much as possible for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

The result was a photocall outside The Brewhouse where our calendar pictures were shot on a theatrical theme, with as many as the girls as could make themselves available on a Friday afternoon.

Andrew was quick to buy a calendar - and add a donation, for which we are very grateful - and he PROMISES us that our calendar will be hanging on his office wall at the House of Commons throughout 2013!

Goodness me!

Huge thanks to Andrew, to Burton Mail photographer Simon Deacon who took the picture, and to the Burton Mail who have featured it on page three (where else?) of the newspaper tonight.







If you want to get your own copy of the calendar everyone is talking about - go to our How To Buy a Calendar page on this blog.

Remember, you can follow Burton Calendar Girls on Twitter here.

You can follow Andrew Griffiths MP on Twitter here.