Weymouth Calendar Girls
Im March last year my friend and dear landlady for the last 9 months, decided to top the makeup less selfies by offfering to do a topless one if someone sponsored her. Myself and many of her friends offered to join in and Weymouth Calendar Girls were born.
The first shoot took place 10 days after Sallys Facebook post offering to go topless and by then we had already raised just under £2,000 in sponsor money.
It was SO much fun. We spent the day shooting in various rooms around the house with a professional photographer who acted as if we were fully dressed so it became easier and easier as the day progressed – which might have also had something to do with the copious amounts of bubbly that we were being offered. We had so many props and room themes that when it came to choosing which photograph of which girl or group of girls went into the calendar it was very difficult. Rock chicks with guitars, ladies at tea, tennis and football, bubble bath, pillow fights and pyjama party. The first photograph was a baptism by fire – we all trouped outside topless to a pink limo that had been lent to us for the day and posed with pink umbrellas along its side – much to the amusement of the passing traffic and pedestrians -by the time we went back inside we were really fired up and ready to do what had to be done. I don’t think anyone really cared after that what anyone saw as we were all friends in the same situation.
Our second shoot was held on Weymouth beach in the afternoon and a traditional Weymouth fishing boat, the Sarah Louise, in the evening.
It wasn’t as easy to plan as the first shoot, at Sally’s beautiful home, as we needed to get permission from the council and various other agencies to shoot in public locations – they were all supplied free of charge as we were doing it for charity and we were set.
Three very nervous girls arrived with the photographer outside Greenhill Beach Huts on a busy Saturday afternoon. We had our pink ‘Weymouth Calendar Girls/Going Topless for Breast Cancer’ T-shirts on and the love and support that was shown to us was overwhelming so we soon started to really enjoy it.
The third shoot was Christmas themed, in September, back at Sallys house. Sallys Aunty Marg came and decorated the Christmas tree for the shoot and helped make the house look wonderful and Mama and Popsy came, as usual, and supported and helped out … along with many other people. It was a wonderful day again!
A few weeks before Christmas the calendars went on sale and we had ‘fun’ nagging various people and companies to sell them and also friends and family to buy them from us. We raised almost £3,000. What an incredible experience – a memory I will treasure forever.