Bradford & District | Archive | 2005 | September | 30
From the archive, first published Friday 30th Sep 2005.
A sexy calendar featuring scantily-dressed models and long-legged greyhounds is raising eyebrows in the charity world.
But Miss January - model Michelle Monroe - said the calendar is a light-hearted bid to raise cash for a good cause and designed to attract attention.
Animal-lover Michelle, 25, of Roberts-town, Liversedge, is the January pin-up in the 2006 greyhound rescue calendar called `Long Legged Beauties'. The calendar was set up to help greyhounds which are often put down at the end of their racing career, regardless of age or health.
The calendar features 12 images of different dog-loving models posing with retired greyhounds and £1 from each sale will go to a greyhound rescue centre. "I love animals, and so I wanted to do this straightaway," said mum-of-one Michelle, who said she had been contacted via her business site on the Internet. I do anything from fashion to glamour, but this is my favourite kind of job, even though they always say don't work with children or animals!"
Michelle, who has been modelling for 18 months, said the tone of the calendar was lighthearted and classy but also a bit saucy. "You have got to try to shock a little bit to attract people's attention," she said.
Michelle posed for the shot in July with Joe the greyhound in the private garden of a house in Low Moor.
Website designer and Dumfriesshire Greyhound Rescue committee member Stuart Stott came up with the idea for the calendar. He said the design was aimed at both animal lovers and men who otherwise might not take an interest in giving money to an animal charity. Already orders have been pouring in from across the world.
The campaign to help retired greyhounds has been backed by Calendar Girl Annette Crosby, who starred in the Yorkshire Dales based film of the same name. The actress, who played Victor Meldrew's wife in popular BBC series One Foot in the Grave said: "I think this calendar is a wonderful idea.
In the late 1990s, the Rylstone Women's Institute caused a stir by raising money with a nude calendar. The photographs of the naked middle-aged WI members caused initial outrage - but before long the women were famous and the calendars raised huge sums for Leukaemia Research.
And the story became such hot property that a Hollywood film was made of the story.
The calendars are available for £7.49 at www.longleggedbeauties.co.uk.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008