Update - 6 December 2008
We were very pleased to hand over a cheque for £1,000 towards the Marple Business Forum's chosen charity for 2008, the 'Find a Cure for Martha' Campaign, during the Christmas Cracker opening ceremony on Saturday 6 December. Our profits haven't covered that amount yet but we were happy to gamble that we are on track to sell similar numbers to last year. So if you haven't got your copy yet you can help us to reach that target by purchasing one from the Ring o' Bells or local shops like Stationery Supplies, Etcetera, Marple Bridge Stores and Camelot.

Mark, Martha and Peter pictured by Arthur Procter during the 2008 Christmas Cracker event on Saturday 6 December 2008.

Our 2006 calendar sales raised £1,200 towards the Iron Bridge Restoration Project funding, a cause close to our hearts and completed just in time for us to include a picture in the new calendar. We were delighted to donate £500 to the Friends of Marple Memorial Park and £500 to Marple Locks Heritage Society from our 2007 calendar sales. The Friends of the Park used their share to create a replica Memorial Stone on the outside of the Bowling Green shelter built by ex-servicemen returning home from the First World War. Marple Locks Heritage Society will be putting their share towards a cast bronze plaque that will dedicate the 'Lock 17' flowerbed display on Oldknow Gardens in memory of the late Gordon Mills. We contributed £1,000 to the new Infants Play Area in Marple Memorial Park from our 2008 calendar sales and it's great to see this revitalised facility being so well used every day.

In past years we've decided how to use the profits from our calendar sales after they have been printed. This year we got our act together and chose to pledge the profits from our 2009 calendar sales to the 'Find a Cure for Martha' campaign for Kidney Research, Marple Business Forum's nominated charity for 2008. It was an easy decision and, having managed to include Martha's picture on the from cover to make clear our intent and we hoped to match or even better previous years efforts.

The calendar will be on sales direct from us at local events like the Marple Wine Club Wine Tasting event, the Food and Drink Festival and the Marple Christmas Cracker. They will also be available in local shops and from the Ring o' Bells pub during normal opening times. If you live some distance away from Marple you can even order them using the on-line order form.

You can see a larger version of the cover if you click on the image below and take a look at the photographs featured each month by clicking the hotspots on the picture of the back cover. Alternatively you can follow the links a little further down the page.

The calendar is A4 size and includes an advert for a local business on each page. We feel that these enhance their appearance and emphasis the local theme and we are very grateful to these businesses for their support, without which the calendar would not have been viable.