About us ....

On the 21st of June 2010 I arrived home having just completed my first year of university. I was looking forward to a summer of holidays, partying and catching up with all my friends. It was also the day my mum was diagnosed with anal cancer. Within hours I realised that this summer would be a bit different. Holidays were cancelled and instead of lazy lunches, I was to spend 6 weeks driving my mum to The Christie Hospital in Manchester for radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Cancer affects so many different people in so many different ways and it was heartbreaking to sit in the waiting rooms and see so many people, young and old, fighting for their lives. This was when I decided that I wanted to do something to help them.

It wasn’t until I was back at University and starting my second year that I came up with a plan. I was sat at home one night watching TV and texting my friend when I said to her I think we should do a calendar.

What started out as a joke then became serious but I would only do it on one condition - that we secured the services of the talented young photographer Rosie Hardy. (www.rosiehardy.com) Rosie and I had been to nursery school together around 17 years ago and through Facebook I had seen what an amazing photographer she had become. If I was going to be photographed nude, I wanted it to be with someone I trusted and with such a good reputation.

With Rosie on board my next job was to persuade 11 of my beautiful friends to get involved. Most people thought we were mad, it was less than a month until December and none of us had done this sort of thing before. After a bit of persuading they agreed and were soon as excited as I was.

So on the 12th November we headed to a studio in Manchester both terrified and excited. After a few glasses of bubbly and the services of a fabulous hair and make up artist we’d relaxed enough to be photographed and we hope you’ll like the results.

It’s been hard work so far and it’s not over yet but I’ve loved every single minute of it. My mum is the strongest and bravest person I know and even she has had her weak moments throughout the treatment so I am doing this for her. She has been such a major part of this project and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has supported us so far. With the help of local businesses we have raised enough money to fund the production of the calendars to ensure every single penny we make goes straight to The Christie (http://www.christie.nhs.uk/) Even if we make just a few people aware of this rare cancer and get people talking about it then it will have all been worth it. Anal is a hard word to say and often has a stigma attached to it but we want people to get over this embarrassment and be aware of the symptoms.

My target is to raise £10,000 for this amazing place and I hope that you will continue to support us by buying the calendar when it goes on sale on the 1st December and spread the word.

 

Ellie x