MONITOR: THE RYLSTONE WI CALENDAR

Tabloid opinion on Rylstone Women's Institute's decision to strip off for their year 2000 calendar

The Express

FROM SOMEONE who still looks round first before sunbathing topless, I've got to hand it to the ladies of the Rylstone WI in North Yorkshire for posing naked among the potted plants and pickles for a fund-raising calendar.

They've certainly showed a lot of bottle or should that be bottled fruits? All shapes and sizes and aged between mid-40s and early 60s, the women got the idea when the photos they submitted were constantly turned down for the official Women's Institute calendar, which I gather still concentrates on what makes a good piccalilli rather than a good Pirelli. (Christa Ackroyd)

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The Mirror

APPARENTLY, "LOTS of red wine" helped the middle-aged members of Rylstone and District Women's Institute to get their kit off for a charity calendar. Is that all? The WI members I knew would have needed class A drugs to persuade them to part with their knickers. Still, you've got to hand it to these Yorkshire ladies. They've certainly taken the tedium out of tapestry [and] the fustiness out of flower arranging and, I'm sure, Miss March will be raising much more than dough with her baking pictures. (Sue Carroll)

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Daily Mail

THE WOMEN in this WI calendar won't give Cindy Crawford any night sweats, but looking at these photographs, you have to admire their nerve, obvious sense of humour and refusal to be ashamed of their bodies. The Rylstone WI ladies might have started a new trend: the "barefaced chic" look. Women everywhere will get together, think of a charity they want to support, get out the camera and whip off their clothes. (Cindy Blake)