CALENDAR GIRL

The true, inspirational story behind the film "Calendar Girls", starring Julie Walters, Helen Mirren, Penelope Wilton and Annette Crosbie, as the women behind the "Alternative W.I. Calendar" (better known to most as the "Naked Ladies Calendar". When John Baker died of cancer, many of his friends in the small Yorkshire village of Cracoe were devastated. During his illness Tricia Stewart had joked with him about creating an "Alternative W.I. Calendar" - she and his wife Angela were members - and after his death they were determined to continue and give the proceeds to leukaemia research. It took guts - and a big glass of red wine - for eleven mature women to pose wearing nothing but a string of pearls and a smile. The result was an astonishing two-year rollercoaster ride as the ladies become international stars. In "Calendar Girl", Tricia writes honestly about the whole experience: Angela's courage and strength, the enormous strain that fame placed on marriages, friendships and family, being doorstepped by the tabloid press and the experience of seeing their story be turned into a film.Above all though, she writes about the positive transforming effect the calendar has had on their lives.