Press Release: Coventry Calendar Girls to raise funds for much-loved colleague

Coventry’s very own Calendar Girls have come together in memory of a much loved former colleague.

Staff at Coventry City Council’s regeneration services department wanted to honour the memory of Paul Humphreys who died suddenly aged 58 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

They took inspiration from the real life story behind the Hollywood and West End hit, in which members of a Yorkshire village’s Women’s Institute put together a calendar after the death of a member’s husband to raise money for charity.

The Coventry group of 15 women is hoping to raise £4,000 for Cancer Research UK through their calendar.

The calendar was launched at Priory Place’s Bar No. 3 and organiser, Jo Truslove, said she hopes the ‘fun’ snaps would reflect Paul’s character.

“Paul was a happy, fun loving person and he used to get on extremely well with everyone in the department,” she said.

“When he was diagnosed with cancer, we wanted to do something to support him during the treatment. At first it was a bit of a joke but we thought a cheeky, fun calendar would cheer him up.

“Sadly within three weeks he had passed away, which shocked us, because we all thought he’d have a long recovery and then be ok. But we decided to carry on and do it in his memory.

“We spoke with Paul’s wife, Carol, to get her blessing and she’s been really involved and has written some words for the calendar too.
 
“The photos aren’t as risqué as the ones the real calendar girls did, but there are a lot of jokey shots.

“It has been a real team effort – we’ve had so many people wanting to be involved and play a part, whether they are in the photos or helping behind the scenes.

“We’ve printed 500 calendars and the only cost was printing, so hopefully if we sell them all we can reach our target and help Cancer Research UK.”

Mrs Humphreys attended the launch event with members of Paul’s family and said the efforts of her husband’s colleagues had been ‘tremendous’.

“I am so overwhelmed with the effort the girls have gone to. It’s hard to put into words how much it means to me,” she said.

“Paul’s death was such a shock and my life changed overnight but it has given me comfort to see how much he meant to people.”

The ‘Coventry Calendar Girls’ calendar is on sale at £10. To buy a copy, visit www.justgiving.com/joanne-truslove or call Rachael Price on 07967 103480.

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