Tag Archives: calender

My Daddy is a Soldier Calendar

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Our hearts nearly melted at Frost when this landed in our inbox. My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures supports the children (Little Troopers) of British Soldiers, both full time and those serving with the Reserves. They aim to build a community where the children and parent at home can support each other, share their experiences and coping mechanisms for long tours.  The charity has also developed unique resources such as the Separation pack; which includes monthly charts that the children use to count down until Mummy or Daddy is home again.

 

We love all of the photos but some of the highlights are:
  • March features little Joshua Hannon, aged 3 celebrating his Dad’s return home from Afghanistan
  • April shows Declan Jones 7 years old, and his Dad Sergeant Mike Jones on parade.
  • June features Reilly James Crowston with his Dad Craftman Michael Crowston.  Reilly was just nine days old and luckily Dad was at home for the birth because he was in special care for five days.
  • The back cover which has 27 shortlisted pictures showing army families from across the globe.

mydaddyisasoldier

This year the Little Troopers calendar will be A4 and include a useful family planner.  The calendars are just £9.99 and can be ordered from the Charity’s website www.mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org. All profits from the calendar will go towards the charity’s work and will help even more Little Troopers next year.

 

 

 

Calendar Girls | Theatre Review

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Tim Firth’s phenomenally successful Calendar Girls has been performed on stage and movie screens across the globe but its run at the local Ealing theatre hut, Questors, is where the drama really comes to life.

Even without Helen Mirren or an expendable budget, the Questors simple props and am-dram cast came together to offer a moving, personable, and simply fantastic adaptation.

After all, simple props such as baked buns and flower-pots were the only items used to protect the women’s modesty for the calendar photo shoot.

From the opening scene of the Women’s Institute partaking in tai chi to the moment they decide to strip for the famous Yorkshire charity calendar, the bonds of friendship are evident both on and off the stage.

Despite the different personalities, from loud Cora, to life-experienced Jessie and the snobbish Celia, once Annie’s husband dies from Leukaemia, they harmonise to raise money for a communal sofa for the hospital which looked after John Clark.

And as the group debate the morality of an artistically ‘nude’ calendar (as opposed to the more common ‘naked’), we shared their every musing from lack of confidence, embarrassment to final empowerment and financial success.

Hannah Whiteoak who plays Ruth was a particular treat to witness.

Her slightly timid, introverted character was played out to comedic effect which balanced the heavier plot of illness and death.

And just when you’re not sure whether she’ll take part in the photo-shoot, she outshines all the ladies as she confidently stretches out her body on the table as fruit envelopes her humility.

Directed by Rachel Knightley (her first production), there were two scenes which really impressed.

In a sombre moment when John’s dying, the women all group together and stand around his wheelchair.

As his lines fade and the lights are dimmed, Annie’s lines overlap John’s as he slowly walks away into the shadows of the stage. It was very touching.

Another clever use of the set was when the WI received all the fan mail after sales of the calendar rocketed both in Yorkshire and abroad.

Letters were dropped to the floor from stage scaffolding above which was very novel.

Despite its amateur status, this is a fine production from Questors and a promising start for new director Rachel Knightley. It had me laughing and caught me crying at all the right moments.

Calendar Girls is running at Questors till Sat 10 Nov. To book tickets, visit: http://www.questors.org.uk/event.aspx?id=364

All photos are by Richard Mead.