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© Anthony Waring
John Hansell
Dartmouth Caring Calendar - John Hansell
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© Anthony Waring
Bosie and Felicity Vine-Miller
Dartmouth Calendar - Bosie and Felicity Vine-Miller
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© Anthony Waring
Marie Jones
Dartmouth Caring Calendar - Marie Jones
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© Anthony Waring
John Hansell
Dartmouth Caring Calendar - John Hansell
Dartmouth Caring’s new nude calendar
John Hansell is a 62 year-old retired solicitor – which for many would conjure up TV-induced images of a wood lined study and days playing golf.
Not so.
John is an avid windsurfer and surfer and sums up the ethos of the Dartmouth Caring calendar - an active and fun life after the age of fifty. A man of the law who revelled in standing up for the ‘little man’, John says his choice to move to Dartmouth in 1970 certainly disappointed some, but never worried him.
‘My mother always said, ‘you could have been someone in the big city,’ he said, ‘but I was happy to come down here and be a little fish in a little pond, become part of a wonderful community and do something to help those in it. I think there has to be someonewho stands up for the little man and fights his corner against the ‘Big Brother’ whoever that is, state or big business - and I think I did do that on occasion. I also felt it was important to speak on behalf of those who, through circumstance and their own background came to be on the wrong side of the law. Most people are good deep down and the law has to be reminded of that sometimes.’
John said he got involved in the calendar because he wanted to help inspire them – though he modestly said he felt the image must have been ‘touched up’ afterwards. His picture - recreating a famous poster image of a male-model, bare-chested, holding two tyres - has attracted favourable comments from many women of different ages.
‘This calendar, apart from raising funds for a wonderful charity – and it would be worth making a total fool of yourself for such a good cause - says to people who might be getting close to retirement ‘get out there and do whatever you want to, you can achieve anything you set you mind to’. I got involved with windsurfing because it is low impact - if you get something wrong you just hit the water – but also because it is a huge challenge. It gives me a huge adrenalin buzz, something I need. I shall be windsurfing till I’m eighty.
‘I think the photo works because Anthony is a wonderful photographer – and I think he must have touched it up here and there!’
Bosie and Felicity Vine-Miller
Married for 38 years, Bosie and Felicity are a couple who remain immensely close, and their picture in the calendar reflects their trust in each other and in photographer Anthony Waring. It recreates a famous advertising image from the 1980s, in which a couple enjoyed eating ice cream together in an intimate setting.
That Bosie and Felicity agreed to do the shot is down not only to their desire to help Dartmouth Caring, but also to their long friendship with Anthony.
Both have had long careers in the film industry, which have taken them all over the world, to work and live. They have a huge store of stories about their adventures, from working with ‘Chuck’ Heston, to Felicity getting her top off for Nicholas Roeg, the famous director of Performance. However, they were happy to retire to Dartmouth – which they say has a wonderful friendly community and in which they feel very much at home.
Felicity was once married to - now Sir – Ridley Scott, and is the mother of his two sons.
Bosie said the couple were pleased to be involved with the project – and that their image was exactly what they wanted it to be.
‘As a couple we have an immense trust,’ said Bosie. ‘I think that the photograph sums that up perfectly. Anthony suggested it and we jumped at the chance. We knew what a wonderful photographer he was and he put us at our ease instantly. And frankly when you are with your naked wife eating ice cream you can’t help but enjoy it. What’s not to like?’
Felicity said the photo session was a lot of fun to do.
‘I just remember laughing a lot,’ she said. ‘In the picture you can see that I’m pursing my lips – that’s because I am making choo choo noises, like I’m feeding a baby – it was so much fun.
‘We are delighted to be involved with Dartmouth Caring – it has done so much for the community and we are delighted to be part of it.’
Marie Jones, 61, moved to Dartmouth in 1989 and raised a family with her husband Graham.
After Graham died in 1999 she took up running - at the age of 52 -and ran the London Marathon in a time of four hours two minutes at 57. Marie found that running gave her a freedom and release she loved – and has not stopped since.
This year alone she has run the Plymouth and Torbay Half Marathons, the Ivybridge 10k race and the London Marathon – all while holding down a job, and training whenever she can.
She said she wanted to give something back to the community that had welcomed her 20 years before.
‘Dartmouth Caring is such a wonderful charity,’ she said. ‘It really does give help and solace to those members of the community that are often left out. The elderly are often a forgotten minority – one with huge needs and no one to look after them sometimes.
‘This calendar gave all the participants a chance to do something different and to help a charity which could be helping them one day. I was very nervous before our shoot because we did it down on the public pontoon in front of the Embankment in Dartmouth, and you don’t get much more open than that! It was also a bit chilly, but Anthony was so good at making you feel at your ease – he really is a wonderful photographer.
‘This calendar shows what we can all achieve as we get older. I have really come to love my running, the challenge and the freedom of it. I love my training and going to Dartmouth Amateur Athletic Club, and I hope that by appearing in this calendar I can inspire others. I’m still trying to push myself – I’m trying skydiving and abseiling this year!’
First Published July 2009 By The Dart