Yummy mummies strip for charity

By Cristina Parry
BBC Oxford

The calendar was the brainchild of Miss September, Hannah Dunn

How far would you go to raise money? Shave your head? Sit in a bath of baked beans? What about baring all?

That is exactly what 11 mums from Freeland, Witney, Cassington and Eynsham are doing for the upcoming 'Yummy Mummy Macmillan Calendar'.

It was the brainchild of Miss September, Hannah Dunn.

"I happened to be watching the calendar girls film and thought that I knew a few mums in the village who would go for it and it all went from there!"

Hannah has taken part in the Macmillan Big Coffee Morning for the last seven years. The first year she raised about £35 and last year it was over £700.

This year she decided she would like to do something to up the ante and really raise money for the charity. The Yummy Mummy team have set their sights high, hoping the sale of the calendar will raise £10,000!

Pam Nichols is Miss November: "I kind of thought it was one of those things that would kind of fall by the wayside and never really happen, but Hannah has really grabbed it by the horns and has taken it all the way through!"

Both women have come into contact with Macmillan by having their lives touched by cancer. Though they have not personally had the illness, their family members have.

The "yummy mummies" hope the sale of the calendar will raise £10,000

About eight years ago Hannah's grandmother died of cancer and Pam's mother in law recently died. "Unfortunately since then there have been another couple members of my family who have needed help so it's something that is close to my heart," says Pam.

"It's nice to be able to give something back to them."

Nurses dedicated time to helping the patients and their families through this difficult time says Pam. "It was something that really held everybody together and it's not something you can ever thank them enough for."

Stripping

This serious message has a fun side and that's where the calendar comes in. Hannah's picture includes a piano and Pam is ironing with strategically placed piles of washing.

"We did have a lot of fun during the shoot," Pam recalls. "There was champagne, lots of laughing and stripping off and all kinds of things to get us in the mood!"

They were all very nervous initially but being surrounded by friends quickly helped overcome inhibitions. "We were all able to help each other in terms of positioning items and shouting encouragement!" says Hannah.

"It's not something we do everyday - taking our clothes off in front of other people - so it was a nerve-racking time. But we are doing this calendar to raise money for people living with cancer so they are suffering a lot more pain than we are for five minutes taking our clothes off and being embarrassed. That's what we all really had to keep sight of."

The women have all tried hard to make it as tasteful as possible by hiring a professional photographer to take pictures in black and white. "We are all defintely yummy mummies!" says Hannah of the results.