We got our boobs out at the boozer!
Regulars at my local got more than two pints of lager and a packet of crisps! Gel Pugh, 56, Albrighton
The thought of posing in my birthday suit didn’t faze me!
Nattering away on the phone to my niece Rima, 41, I was excited to hear her plans.
It was September 2019 and she was organising a calendar photo shoot in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Busy rallying the troops to take part, Rima needed 12 volunteers.
But they had to be brave. See, they’d be baring all at our local pub
The Dartmouth Arms.
Nothing but G&Ts and snooker cues to cover their modesty!
And the pictures of their naked bods, wobbly bits and all, would make up the pages of the charity calendar.
Lots of the regulars from the boozer put themselves forward.
‘If you need any help, or even someone to step in as a model, let me know,’ I said to Rima.
‘That would be great!’ she said.
The thought of posing for the calendar in my birthday suit didn’t faze me, to be honest. Especially as the cause was one so important to me and my family. Cancer had plagued our lives.
First, it’d been my aunt, Ethel, who’d died in her late 60s from the illness.
A niece of mine was also diagnosed with the disease 10 years ago, undergoing chemo and radiotherapy.
There was my sister, who sadly passed away last year. Then, there was me. In 2012, I’d been diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump in my left breast.
I was the fourth woman in my family to receive the diagnosis.
I had a lumpectomy, followed by a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I even had my ovaries removed to reduce the risk of it returning. But cancer hadn’t just impacted me.
It had affected my whole family, across generations. Rima herself had taken the gene test, and when she tested positive, had a double mastectomy in December 2014. My two grown-up daughters worried they carried the gene, too. In April 2018, my youngest, 31, decided to have the test to check. It was positive. With a six-year-old child, she was told if she wanted more kids, she should try before her 35th birthday. She was also told to consider having her ovaries and breasts removed in the future. It was devastating. So, if I could raise
awareness and support the research to find a cure, I’d do it.
Running the calendar idea by my partner Mark, 58, I was chuffed to have his support.
‘I think you’ll be brilliant,’ he winked.
My best friend Diane, 62, was a regular at the pub, where the calendar was a hot topic of conversation.
I told her I planned to join them on the day, too.
‘The more the merrier!’ she said.
She couldn’t wait to get her kit off for a good cause.
Plus, Diane and I were pros at this.
We’d already posed for a calendar supporting breast cancer two years earlier.
Then, come October, I took a day off work from my job at the supermarket.
Arriving at the pub, I met the rest of the gang, all excited for the fun day ahead.
The photographer was very patient, putting up with our giggles.
After stripping off, we toasted with gin and tonics to put us at ease.
And soon, we were relaxed, gliding into each pose.
Playing snooker, sitting at the bar – all in the buff!
And although we all had great fun, we also appreciated the important reason we were there.
So many of us had been touched by cancer.
‘Here’s to you, ladies, and all our loved ones!’ Rima said, raising her glass in a toast.
And two weeks later, we received the printed pictures for the calendar. Everyone looked fabulous! The picture of me behind the bar with gin glasses obscuring my boobs was chosen for the August slot. Mark was impressed! In November, Rima put the calendars on sale in the pub, selling them for £12.95 each.
They were a hit, and by the end of the year, she’d managed to sell loads, raising £800 for Cancer Research UK.
I’m so proud of Rima, and all of us for taking part.
It takes a brave lady to bare all in the boozer.
But if it helps to save lives, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
We all had great fun – but for an important reason