Tomorrow, tomorrow, is only a day away......

Tomorrow, September 1^st is a very exciting and  long awaited day for the LittleTheatre Company ladies, it’s the day we launch our Calendar Girls calendar. This has been such an interesting journey for all of us and we’re delighted that finally everyone will be able to see what we’ve achieved.  Coincidentally tomorrow is also the day that the amateur rights to the play “Calendar Girls” is being released. Little Theatre Company are delighted that they’re able to perform this wonderfully inspiring play in March 2013.

For those who don’t  know the story the play was written and based on a true story. Because of  Beryl Balmforth, one of the original Calendar Girls  and Grassington Players member, the Yorkshire Dales amateur theatre company have the honour of being the first company to perform Calendar Girls, tonight, Friday 31^st August, the day before the official amateur rights are released.

Mrs Balmforth will not appear in this production but she said that as a story beginning in the Yorkshire Dales she felt it only fitting that it should start its amateur life there. John Baker, whose death in 1998 inspired the original calendar was also a member of Grassington Players. The Little Theatre Company and our own Calendar Girls wish Grassington Players “Break a leg” for tonight’s  performance, it will  undoubtedly be especially poignant for them.

We hope that people will pop into the Brewhouse tomorrow from 10am until 10pm when they can enjoy  the wonderful  entertainment provided at Little Theatre Company's   Playathon and of course buy  your Calendars hot off the press.

Calendars are priced at £8. We can accept cash or cheques but not card payments unfortunately.

We look forward to seeing  everyone then.

Our baby is born

Today our baby was finally born and Essential Print Services carefully packed them and sent them on their merry way. To say we're all very excited doesn't even come close.

How to be a calendar girl (or boy)

In Burton shop windows you will have seen lots of posters displayed for the touring professional production of the play Calendar Girls which comes to Derby in September - details and how to book are here.

We saw this cast perform the play in Nottingham last year and we can thoroughly recommend their version. A few people have glanced at the posters and asked if it was OUR show. We don't take to the stage at The Brewhouse until March - but you'll be able to read all about our show and its rehearsals on this blog nearer the time.

Anyway, to promote the Derby production - which takes place between September 24-29 at The Assembly Rooms - Derby Live is running a competition encouraging daring theatregoers to get their kit off and strike a Calendar Girls-style pose.

If you want to take part, you need to send your entry to: Be A Calendar Girl or Boy Competition, Derby Live, Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Derby, DE1 3AH with your full name and contact numbers before the closing date of Fri 7 Sep.

Derby Live will then judge all the entries and pick four favourites as finalists. Those finalists will then be invited to see the show on Mon 24 Sep, where, along with a guest of their choice. They will meet the cast backstage afterwards. The ultimate winner will take home £50 worth of credit to use at Derby LIVE shows and events - oh and they might just be featured in the Derby Telegraph too.

There's more about the competition here on the Derby Live website.

Go on! Be brave! We can tell you from experience that it's great fun.

Ready to stuff?

As you'll know our "baby" is currently at the printers and will be hot off the press this coming Friday. As we're launching our Calendar at Little Theatre Company's Playathon on Saturday, the ladies have a fun night on Friday putting calendars into plastic bags. So, Calendar Girls if you're not doing anything Friday 31st August - 7pm please hotfoot it to the Brewhouse and lend a hand. I know you're all very excited to see the finished product, we have created something very special.

I would like to give a very special thanks to the Brewhouse and staff  for their generosity and help. It is very much appreciated.

Meet our very own print evangelist

There was great excitement at 'Burton Calendar Girls HQ' when we signed off the final proofs of our calendar.

Our 'baby' is now in the very safe hands of Essential Print Services, a Derby company who have been very generous and helpful in offering us a great deal for our print run of 1,000 calendars.

Here's Tilley (our photographer and calendar designer) collecting the proofs from Laura (pictured left) of Essential Print Services.

Calendar girls Tilley and Elaine both know Yvonne Gorman - owner and print evangelist of Essential Print Services - from local business networking groups and knew she would be the perfect person to entrust to the vital job of printing our calendar.

Yvonne and her team are passionate about print and know how to get the best results whether you are looking for stationery, business cards, brochures, trade show banners, flyers and leaflets or personalised promotional items. A bit like our Tilley, Yvonne's enthusiasm for what she does is obvious within seconds of meeting her and we would thoroughly recommend asking Essential Print Services for a quote next time you need any printing done. When you see the finished calendar I'm sure you'll see why.

What a thrill

After speaking with Ian Leech yesterday we were thrilled to be able to see his Olympic torch and to have our pictures taken with it, it really is a beautiful design.

To carry an Olympic torch

Our Calendar is raising money for the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Association – which works to find cures for these blood cancers – but there are many other wonderful charities working in similar fields.

Today Elaine and myself met with Ian Leech one of the Olympic torch bearers. To be chosen to do this is such an honour and Ian was awarded this honour for his huge efforts in raising awareness for the Lymphoma Association

Ian lost his daughter Melissa in May 2008 to non Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 20. During Mel’s battle both he and Mel wrote blogs as a way of dealing with their battle and to raise awareness. Many people seem aware of Leukaemia but much less so with Lymphoma.  After losing his beloved daughter Mel, Ian put all his efforts into finding ways to deal with his loss and so his journey began.

Lymphoma is the 5^th largest cancer diagnosis and is most common in people under 30. The Lymphoma Association supports  anyone affected by lymphoma, friends, family and carers. They only deal with lymphoma and have an online site with forums and message boards for people who are looking for support and information.  Ian published a wonderful book in memory of Mel called “One day at a time- Mel’s story” and has his own website www.mad4mel.co.uk.

Ian explained that being  given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch has given him the opportunity to visit many schools and talk about why he was chosen. He has also been a key speaker at many events which has enabled him to spread the word more widely about the LymphomaAssociation. He also give his time generously to many other charities and has a cycle ride from London to Paris coming up which would have been Mel’s 25^th birthday.

We wish Ian every success in his future ventures to spread the word and make people more aware of the Lymphoma Association.

Almost there

Tomorrow afternoon Elaine, Tilley and myself will be meeting for what will be our final meeting before the Calendar goes for printing. The pictures have been taken, we decided who we need to thank on our Calendar, people who've given their time generously, Sheelagh who so magnificently made every one of us look so beautiful for our pictures, Elaine for her tireless work on our publicity and spreading the word.There are so many people that we're grateful to, Mike for his costume and prop contributions, Matt for his splendid lighting and helping to set up the theatre for us and Ken for his tea/coffee making. Most importantly we could not have done this without our wonderful Tilley, photographer extrordinaire, we cannot thank her enough for her tireless work in taking the pictures, her vision and patience and for all the work she's done since to ensure that we have the most stunning Calendar.

Tomorrow we'll check the proofs, make sure everything is in place and then we have to let our baby go to the printers. I know that we're all super excited to see the final product in its printed form. And so the next part of our adventure begins, we launch the Calendar on September 1st and our hopes for selling as many copies as we can to enable us to donate as much as we can to such a worthy cause. Now it's up to you, please support us and spread the word.
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P.S: Here we are taking a final look at the calendar page proofs on Tilley's laptop. We're so pleased with the finished result.

Countdown to calendar launch

In recent years the Little Theatre Company - of which all the Burton Calendar Girls are proud to be members - has held a 'Playathon' every two years as our main fund-raising event for the company.

This year, as before, we'll be taking over the Brewhouse, in Union Street, Burton-on-Trent, for 12 hours between 10am and 10pm on Saturday September 1, and offering non-stop entertainment by our members.

And we can also reveal that this will also be the day when our calendar will launch!. It will be the first chance for anyone in Burton to buy one of these calendars - so if you pop in to the Brewhouse any time between 10am and 10pm you can snap up the first available calendars.

ALL the proceeds from the sale of these calendars will go to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. None of the money is going to LTC funds - but we thought by launching the calendar on Playathon day we could have 12 hours of non-stop calendar selling too to get this charity project off to a flying start.

We would also love to see as many of you as possible at our Playathon on September 1. Admission is completely FREE - but we will be running an all-day tombola for Little Theatre Company funds. Entertainment will include lots of comedy sketches and music from a couple of our recent musical shows. There will also be a two-hour 1940s section with music, dancing and 1940s fun from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. The Brewhouse bar will be open and there will be coffee and cake, of course (See, with the Calendar Girls there's ALWAYS coffee and cake). We look forward to seeing you all.