With all the fuss about ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ around at the moment, it is no surprise that many have jumped on the bandwagon due to the massive amount of publicity it has generated. However, there has been a bit of a fuss over a group of women that nobody would have expected would be interested in this steamy story…

The good old Women’ s Institute  (WI) are just about to celebrate their centenary in 2015, and are a very well-respected institution. It was originally set up during the First World War as a way for women in rural areas to join together in producing food.

Its members are mostly older women who have retired, but it is just starting to become popular with younger ladies. They are known for their jam and chutney making as well as delicious home-made cakes. They are normally pillars of society. and whenever there is a church fete, jumble sale or school fayre, you can normally find these ladies serving teas and coffees with an assortment of biscuits, cakes and scones.

They did cause a bit of a fuss a few years ago when they produced a naked calendar in order to raise money for cancer (They are prolific fundraisers for many charities). It became so popular that the film ‘Calendar Girls’ was based on their story.

Anyway, some of these ladies belong to a writing club based in a small country town. They had already discussed ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and decided that they would like to have a go at writing something raunchy themselves. So they did!

They were producing their own small book made up of short stories covering different topics such as crime,  and adventure etc, but the final chapter was to be a ‘bodice ripper’ (us Brits do love a euphemism). Most of the members were up for having a go at writing the….climax of the book, and a winner would be chosen from the submitted entries.

The person who actually did win was a little coy, and did not want her identity disclosed as she thought her ‘gran would be furious’ (must be one of the younger members then)! Anyway. the chapter was pretty explicit and had to be rated XXX as well as an advisory given (probably so as not to excite the older readers too much).

It has had a bit of a mixed reception so far. Some people are rather shocked that the WI ‘would be involved with such smut’ and others were surprised ‘they had the nerve to print it due to some of the language involved.’

Of course the proceeds from the sale of the book are going to the local hospital for the treatment of cancer, and quite a few of the locals are only to happy to buy the book for the cause (not to mention the racy bits).

I know which book I would rather read!!