Falkirk WASPI’s are calendar girls for charity

The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Injustice) organised, posed and sold a calendar to raise money for a cancer charity.

Like many others across the country they were affected by the accelerated rise in the state pension age from 60 to 65 and now 66.

Around four years ago the met at a meeting in a local church where the subject was being discussed.

May Rookes said: “We became good friends as a result and regularly meet up for social events and also events to raise awareness of WASPI women.

“We joked about making a calendar to raise awareness for the campaign and then decided to go for it! We are all in our 60s and have been greatly affected by the sudden increase in state pension age with little or no notice. And we also wanted use the calendar to raise money for a good cause.”

In the style of the Women’s Institute members from Yorkshire whose fundrasing efforts went on to inspire the popular Calendar Girls film and stage show, this saw them in ‘tasteful’ poses at places across the district, including the Helix, Callendar Park and Falkirk Steeple.

The photographs were taken by the women themselves and some by May’s brother photographer David McNie.

Production costs for the calendar were funded by the women themselves and they were printed by Bob at First4frames, who the WASPI members said was a great help.

These were then sold to friends and family for £7.99 and proved to be a sell out.

Thanks to their efforts and everyone’s generosity they have been able to hand over a cheque for £714.50 to Breast Cancer Care.

Those taking part were Maureen Macleod, Celia McNie, Mags Burns, May Rookes, Liz Lumsden, Ruth McIntosh, Annie Campbell, Helen Reeder, Sheila Harkness, Lorna Binnie and Valerie Sutter.

The women have vowed that their fight will continue, despite last year’s judicial review ruling that there has not been discrimination to women born in the 1950s.

But the WASPI members say that they did not have time to make arrangements to cope for years without a pension and continue their call for compensation.