In about the year 1050, Lady Godiva, the wife of Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering under her husband's oppressive taxation.
Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband to remit the tolls, but to no avail.
At last, tired of her pleads, he said he would grant her request if she would strip naked and ride through the streets of the town on horseback.
Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows so that they couldn't see her, she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair.
But the local tailor, who was called Tom, couldn't bear not to look and so disobeyed and spied on her from his premises - he bore a hole in his shutters to peep through.
And so, to this day, the phrase Peeping Tom is used to describe someone who spies on somebody else who is engaging in intimate activity.
Now, almost 1000 years later, the good ladies of England are again getting their kit off for good causes.
11 girls, who are all members of the Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC) in North Devon, stripped off for the 2010 Cancer Research UK calendar.
They are hoping to raise £2,000 in sales from the calendar and are pictured doing farmyard chores - from milking cows and dressing horses to firing shotguns.
Farm girls turn calendar pin-ups for risqué charity photo shoot
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th August 2009
Daily Mail
A group of young female farmers from North Devon have posed in nothing but their wellies for a Calendar Girls-style photo shoot for charity.
The 11 girls, who are all members of Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC) in North Devon, stripped off for the 2010 Cancer Research UK calendar.
They are hoping to raise £2,000 in sales from the calendar and are pictured doing farmyard chores - from milking cows and dressing horses to firing shotguns.
Hot chick: The eleven farm girls posed naked for a charity calendar in aid of Cancer Research UK. Organiser Hayley Cooper poses as Miss April in pink wellies
The project was the brainchild of 18-year-old YFC member Hayley Cooper. She said: 'I try and do something for charity every year but this has been by far the most nerve-racking.
'When I first had the idea and rang around the YFCs to see who was interested, loads of girls signed up but said they never thought it would actually happen.
'When I rang them all back a few months later to say that I had booked the photographer, they were all very surprised and worried - a few even made their excuses and dropped out.'
Hay, looking good: Miss June Georgie Harris mucks out the horses for the charity calendar
Horse play: Miss October Natasha Davey poses on her steed in the style of Lady Godiva
The shoot took place last month at Miss Cooper's farm in Roborough.
Georgie Harris, who appears in the calendar as Miss June, said: 'The day of the shoot was most amusing - especially when the local churchgoers of Roborough turned up for a service and got a good eyeful of me posing for my photo - how embarrassing.'
Jenny Ashton, who is Miss September, said: 'I was slightly nervous but after the first photo I was well up for it.
'The only down side of the day was being pooed on by the cow I was standing with - it was extremely funny but I had to be cleaned off while standing naked in a parlour.'
Nice wheels: Miss March, Catherine Bellew, wears polka-dot boots for her pose on a tractor
Udderly gorgeous: Miss September's Jenny Ashton poses in green wellies milking a cow
Giving it some wellie: Hollie Wood poses with a pail and a bale of hay as the calendar's Miss August
Miss Cooper added: 'Both my granddads and my auntie died of cancer so my main motivation for doing this calendar is for them.
'We hope to raise more than £2,000 from sales of the calendar, all of which will go to Cancer Research UK.'
A local farmer commented: 'They are all pretty girls and this will probably see a big rise in people wanting to join the YFCs.
'They are all starkers apart from their colourful wellies. I wouldn't mind them in my fields,' he said.
Calendar girls: Back row l-r: Natasha Davey, Catherine Bellew, Gemma Marsden, Lucy Harding, Hayley Cooper, Kelly Grigg, Jenny Assheton, Georgie Harris. Front: Holly Wood, Jenny Ashton and Charlotte Middleton
dailymail.co.uk
Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband to remit the tolls, but to no avail.
At last, tired of her pleads, he said he would grant her request if she would strip naked and ride through the streets of the town on horseback.
Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows so that they couldn't see her, she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair.
But the local tailor, who was called Tom, couldn't bear not to look and so disobeyed and spied on her from his premises - he bore a hole in his shutters to peep through.
And so, to this day, the phrase Peeping Tom is used to describe someone who spies on somebody else who is engaging in intimate activity.
Now, almost 1000 years later, the good ladies of England are again getting their kit off for good causes.
11 girls, who are all members of the Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC) in North Devon, stripped off for the 2010 Cancer Research UK calendar.
They are hoping to raise £2,000 in sales from the calendar and are pictured doing farmyard chores - from milking cows and dressing horses to firing shotguns.
Farm girls turn calendar pin-ups for risqué charity photo shoot
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th August 2009
Daily Mail
A group of young female farmers from North Devon have posed in nothing but their wellies for a Calendar Girls-style photo shoot for charity.
The 11 girls, who are all members of Young Farmers' Clubs (YFC) in North Devon, stripped off for the 2010 Cancer Research UK calendar.
They are hoping to raise £2,000 in sales from the calendar and are pictured doing farmyard chores - from milking cows and dressing horses to firing shotguns.
Hot chick: The eleven farm girls posed naked for a charity calendar in aid of Cancer Research UK. Organiser Hayley Cooper poses as Miss April in pink wellies
The project was the brainchild of 18-year-old YFC member Hayley Cooper. She said: 'I try and do something for charity every year but this has been by far the most nerve-racking.
'When I first had the idea and rang around the YFCs to see who was interested, loads of girls signed up but said they never thought it would actually happen.
'When I rang them all back a few months later to say that I had booked the photographer, they were all very surprised and worried - a few even made their excuses and dropped out.'
Hay, looking good: Miss June Georgie Harris mucks out the horses for the charity calendar
Horse play: Miss October Natasha Davey poses on her steed in the style of Lady Godiva
The shoot took place last month at Miss Cooper's farm in Roborough.
Georgie Harris, who appears in the calendar as Miss June, said: 'The day of the shoot was most amusing - especially when the local churchgoers of Roborough turned up for a service and got a good eyeful of me posing for my photo - how embarrassing.'
Jenny Ashton, who is Miss September, said: 'I was slightly nervous but after the first photo I was well up for it.
'The only down side of the day was being pooed on by the cow I was standing with - it was extremely funny but I had to be cleaned off while standing naked in a parlour.'
Nice wheels: Miss March, Catherine Bellew, wears polka-dot boots for her pose on a tractor
Udderly gorgeous: Miss September's Jenny Ashton poses in green wellies milking a cow
Giving it some wellie: Hollie Wood poses with a pail and a bale of hay as the calendar's Miss August
Miss Cooper added: 'Both my granddads and my auntie died of cancer so my main motivation for doing this calendar is for them.
'We hope to raise more than £2,000 from sales of the calendar, all of which will go to Cancer Research UK.'
A local farmer commented: 'They are all pretty girls and this will probably see a big rise in people wanting to join the YFCs.
'They are all starkers apart from their colourful wellies. I wouldn't mind them in my fields,' he said.
dailymail.co.uk
