Two weeks to opening night of Calendar Girls in Burton-on-Trent

So, it's now just over two weeks until opening night of our production of Calendar Girls at The Brewhouse in Burton-on-Trent.

But it's two YEARS since we first heard that we would be staging the comedy play and came up with the idea of fundraising for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research through our own charity calendar.

This week our publicity drive got a welcome boost with a story in the Burton Mail which reminded people that there will be a raffle every night of the show's run to boost our fund raising total which currently stands at £1,386.

Among the items we will be raffling off are copies of the signed good luck messages we received from the cast of the UK touring production of Calendar Girls - including Ruth Madoc, Sue Holderness, Lesley Joseph, Kacey Ainsworth, Helen Fraser, Camilla Dallerup and many more.

Then there will also be our infamous crocheted calendar girl dolls - though if anyone wants to put in a bid to buy one of them for charity we might consider it! Our challenging target is to raise £2,500 by the end of March 2013 - and we would LOVE to make it.

Tickets for the play - which runs from March 12-March 16 - are going fast with some shows already sold out. Latest news on ticket availability can be obtained by telephoning the Brewhouse Box Office on 01283-508100. But if you are too late to get a ticket you can still pop down to the Brewhouse any night of the show and enjoy a drink at the bar and buy a raffle ticket or make a donation. Each day there will be a different raffle with winning tickets drawn during the second half of the show. Copies of our calendar - sure to be a collectors' item in future years! - can also still be acquired in return for a donation.

Thanks to the friends of LTC and the members of LTC Youth who have volunteered to sell raffle tickets in the bar each night and at the Saturday 2.30pm matinee.

If you would like to support our efforts but can't get to the Brewhouse during show week you can still donate at the Burton Calendar Girls Just Giving page

Every penny will make a difference in these last few weeks so please spread the word about us on social media - help us get more fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter.

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.