ORIGINAL CALENDAR GIRL MAKES A ‘DATE’ WITH LOCAL LADIES ON EVE OF SPECIAL BIRTHDAY


Picture courtesy of Janus Photography


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As Tracey McAtamney, from Balsall Common, headed into her 60th birthday year, she made a promise to herself – to do something both memorable and meaningful.


And in the background to her milestone celebrations with family and friends recently, a personal project percolates, which is aiming to do just that – her own ‘cheeky’ charity calendar!


She’s also brought 38 plucky members of her Ladies First Professional Development Networking group, aged between 19 and 80, in on the ‘act.’ And the calendar, which is now in post-production after a two-day shoot at Mallory Court Hotel & Spa in Leamington, is set for its red-carpet launch in October at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.


A highlight of the journey so far for Tracey and her team, came with a recent visit from the original Calendar Girl herself, Tricia Stewart, who has pledged her support for the latest venture honouring a legacy of 27 years.


Tricia, now 77, famously had the idea for the Alternative WI Calendar, in 2000, going on to sell more than 300,000 calendars and raising £6.5m.


As ‘Miss October,’ she was one of 11 plucky Yorkshire ladies, aged between 45 and 65, to pose for the Rylestone & District WI naked calendar, the first of its kind, which inspired a hit movie, West End stage play and musical.


And as the Ladies First 2027 Calendar goes into its post- production phase, we ask both ladies to ‘lay it all bare. . .’


What inspired you to do your calendar?


Tricia: “It was a joke in the beginning because every year WI produced a traditional calendar which was usually photos of hills and letterboxes and sheep and this particular year our president asked us if we had any photographs to submit. I just turned to my friend Angela Baker and said, we should do an alternative WI calendar featuring the crafts of WI but in the nude! And she laughed. It stayed as joke for a couple of years until her husband John was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and we thought the time was right to do it. It was totally against the image of the WI which is why I thought it was so funny!”


Tracey: “Turning 60 is the heart of this charity calendar. This project is about caring for myself, inside and out, growing in confidence, and choosing to live as the happiest, healthiest version of me. More than anything, I hope it encourages other women to feel proud of themselves too - because we deserve to celebrate who we are right now.”


What was your experience like shooting the calendar?


Tricia: “On shoot day we all met up under the cover of darkness wearing dressing gowns and slippers and with carrier bags and the odd bottle of wine - and Terry Logan (the husband of Miss July!) photographed eight of us that night on his 20-odd-year-old camera. We had one set of pearls which we were putting on each girl in turn for their photo. It didn’t actually hit home the scale of what we were doing until we saw how amazing the photographs turned out, that was a magic moment.


Tracey: “Shooting the calendar was great fun. Over two days, LIVE24-SEVEN.COM


LOCAL PEOPLE TRACEY MCATAMNEY


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