The Ladies of Rylstone Calendar

 

              The Ladies of Rylstone Women’s Institute Alternative Calendar was created in 1999 by members of an English ladies social group to raise money for leukemia research.  When one of the ladies husbands fell ill with leukemia, they were spurred to action. 

              This group, The Women’s Institute, whose motto is “seek happiness in achievement,” is the largest Women’s National Charity in England.  The Queen is a member. Women’s Instiute groups across England have steadily focused on fundraising methods to improve the quality of life for women and  families in their communities for many years.  As of January, 2000, this calendar’s sales have raised over $500,000.00 for The Leukemia Research Fund.  That amount continues to grow as does the popularity of the calendar models.

               The Rylstone Calendar Appeal models, who posed nude for the photos are well respected WI members, between the ages of 45 and 66.  Although not your typical pinup girls, they have shown the world that “women of a certain age” should  not be taken lightly.  These older women speak to us through their bodies and expressions, a message that is hard to ignore.  Maturity has its pluses; it is possible to age like a fine wine.  The calendar  illustrates the reality of the aging woman as a wellspring of beauty, desirability, and art form.  This calendar’s popularity and the positive sensation it has created sends a lifeline of hope and enthusiasm toward women everywhere who dread the drying up years.    

              Miss February - Angela Baker’s husband John, died of leukemia in 1998, and the calendar is dedicated to him.   John actively raised money for research and was very supportive of the calendar idea.  During his illness  John grew  fields of sunflowers to share with his loved ones in the hopes that when the flowers bloomed he would be cured.  Sadly, he did not make it, and the sunflower has become the unofficial symbol for all fundraising for leukemia and lymphoma research by his friends and family.  A sunflower is prominently displayed in each of the calendar photographs for this reason.

              John’s death forced The Ladies of Rylstone into battlemode.  They forged together, closer than before, and with the help of photographer, Terry Logan, produced a calendar product that was unprecedented.  Because of their status, sense of humor, and classic grace, these ladies have become national figures who have appeared on The BBC, Nightline, The Today Show, as well as in People magazine.  They have received rave reviews from women and men worldwide, as is displayed on their message board at their website on the internet. 

              I believe that in addition to the money these women have raised for leukemia research, and the attention the calendar has brought to this terrible disease, they have also helped to dispel the myth of the watered down  and washed up older woman.  From Cole’s Introduction to the Journey of Life, “my grandmothers both felt a deep sense of shame and revulsion at their own failing bodies.  These feelings reflect our culture’s intractable hostility to physical decline and mental decay, imposed with particular vengeance on older women.”  After I read this passage, I felt like I was doomed to be despised in my old age because of my decline and because I was a woman.  After I saw the Ladies of Rylstone on tv, read about them in People magazine, bought and viewed the calendar, and visited the website, I felt better somehow.  These dames were not washed up.  I am grateful to these women for the good works they have done and the good they have done for the self esteem and revitalization of womankind at any age.   Cheers.