An 80-year-old woman posed for a succession of revealing photos which turned into a fundraising calendar for charity.
Hazel Sargent, from Cranham, decided to bare all one day in March during lockdown one for a bit of fun after a supermarket delivery.
She explained: “It just started as a joke really. We had a delivery from Sainsbury’s and there were two huge bunches of broccoli and a big bunch of bananas.
“Although I’m 80, I’m young at heart and I decided that I would strip off and place these in strategic places.
“I called my partner and said ‘take a photo of this’, which he did.”
Hazel shared the picture in a WhatsApp group with fellow female members of Upminster Golf Club, who she said loved the photo and spurred her on to do more.
A number of other pictures were taken around different themes, including Halloween and Christmas, while the last picture was taken on her 80th birthday in September.
The golf club members made a calendar personally for Hazel to mark the milestone, who took it on to choose her own photos and print her own calendar to sell and raise money for Little Havens Hospice.
Based in Benfleet, it is the chosen charity of the year for the men’s and women’s captains of the golf club and cares for children with life-limiting illnesses.
Hazel said: “Charities have not been making as much money and at the golf club, we usually have quiz nights, social evenings so money goes to the charity from those events. We haven’t been able to have those.”
She is currently in remission for bone cancer and many of the photos were taken whilst having to shield.
The former machinist has also been busy sewing scrubs for NHS staff at Queen’s Hospital in Romford.
She added: “This (the calendar) kept us going. It was all good fun and was for such a good cause.
“It seemed to make the time go quicker and because I could keep my mind active, it did help. I feel quite pleased that I’ve done it and that the ladies appreciated it so much.”
She has sold out of the 100 calendars she ordered and raised around £1,200 for Little Havens once factoring in additional donations.
But Hazel is not ruling out getting more copies published in the future.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here