by Dr. Iain
Corness
Harpic
Bryant is well known in Pattaya and the Eastern Seaboard. Wife, mother,
songstress, bonne vivant and general larrikin, she has now added
“Calendar Girl” to her list of achievements. Even more of Harpic
Bryant will be well known on the Eastern Seaboard, with the release of the
new Pattaya Panties calendar for 2005.
The Pattaya Panties (the ladies touch football team)
has become an important part of Harpic’s life over the past two seasons.
“I was always ‘sporty’ but then I ran out of sports to do. I really
like the idea of just socializing and all the girls in the Pattaya Panties
are good fun, and it’s great fun just to play.” For those who are not
aware of the rules of women’s touch football (like me), Harpic explained
that they play 20 minutes each way, but the competition is five a side.
“It’s a very physical game,” says Harpic, “but after five minutes
of sprinting you have to rest, so there’s lots of substitutions!”
But back to the calendars. Last year was their
inaugural calendar. A ‘nice’ one that was designed to bring some money
into the club coffers. Up till then, the Pattaya Panties had been an
offshoot of the men’s Pattaya Panthers football club, but the girls
wanted their independence (they always do, don’t they!), so the idea of
a commercial calendar was born, to assist fund-raising for the club.
“But we had our clothes on,” said Harpic.
Having decided that the Panties would do another
calendar for 2005, Harpic was one of the ringleaders pushing the concept
towards being more risqu้. I asked her if she had seen the movie,
The Full Monty? “Yes of course. Great movie, but we didn’t go that
far!” said Harpic.
She was also one of the ringleaders as far as directing
funds raised from the 2005 calendar towards charity, a concept that struck
a chord with our local touch football ladies. The charity they settled
upon was the Camillian AIDS Centre in Rayong, where many children with
AIDS are looked after. “When I was at the previous children’s fair I
spoke to many of the children being looked after there. When I saw them at
the following fair I found out that half had died. I also found out that
AIDS is still taboo in Thailand. It’s ignorance (of the disease). People
have to be aware of it, not to be afraid of it,” said Harpic.
Having decided upon the charity, and the type of
calendar, I asked Harpic if it was all plain sailing from there. “Not
really! There was a lot of resistance. Some of our players are teachers,
so they had to be circumspect. Some of our players are under-age, so they
could not be used either. So it looked (at the start) as if all that were
left were Meryl, Lisa and me!” However, they decided they couldn’t get
‘too’ risqu้, and this brought in more ‘models’ for the
calendar project. “We couldn’t do a full monty,” said Harpic.
“We’re old. All fit, but old!”
So the calendar concept was OK’d and a photographer
was needed. Fortunately Brunhilde was a supporter and keen photographer,
so the shooting began in earnest. “She thought it would be fun, and we
thought it would be a bit of a giggle.”
Our budding calendar girls then found that ‘glam’
photography can be hard work. “Photo shoots took hours. We wanted to go
to our sponsors’ premises to do them, but that wasn’t practical.
Lisa’s shot in the pub started at 9 a.m. and we didn’t finish till 1
p.m.! We shot every weekend for three months and Brunhilde took thousands
of photos.”
I asked Harpic if it was easy to play up for the
camera, but it was apparently not that easy. “Actually we were all quite
camera shy. Takes a couple of pints of Guinness, to get going!”
After getting their glamour shots done, they had to
begin the long hard road of selection. “Brunhilde sifted through first,
then we did. Then we did it again and again until we had the final 12.
We’ve still got enough photos for the next five years!” said Harpic.
However, they are not going to use them, Harpic telling
me that they are already planning next year’s Pattaya Panties calendar.
Now is your opportunity to buy the start of your Panties collection! In
fact Harpic would suggest that you buy two. One for the wall and the other
to keep for posterity!
So if you want to help the Pattaya Panties in their bid
to assist little children living with AIDS, and helping them enjoy life
just that little bit longer, buy one of the 2005 calendars. Stocks are
currently being held at the Kilkenny Pub on Walking Street, Jameson’s
Irish Pub on Soi AR (Nova Park), Pat’s Pies on Third Road or from the
Pattaya Panties themselves. At only B. 400, with it all going to the
Camillian Centre, it is a fun and easy way to help. And what’s more, you
get a couple of extra days thrown in free! Confused? Buy the calendar and
find out.
By the way, if you want to see world class ladies touch
football, be at the Horseshoe Point grounds April 30-May 1, where a
minimum of 10 ladies teams will be competing. The Pattaya Panties will be
there, so give Harpic and the girls some moral support. In return, you
could even be allowed to have a peek at the calendar. Of course, you could
always buy one beforehand! Only B. 400 and some little children will thank
you.
The sponsors for the Pattaya Panties 2005 calendar included the Pattaya
Mail, Jomtien Boathouse, Mermaids Dive School, Pattaya Panthers, Pen
Sandilands, Northshore, East Coast Realty, Massic Travel, Jerry Carpenter,
Shenanigans, Nirvana, Jesters MC, Ravens, Four Winds Movers, Home &
Pool, Matthew Brennan, Pat’s Pies, Kilkenny, Horseshoe Point, MBMG
International, Rosie O’Grady’s, Kobe, Kim Price, Art Caf้, Jools
and Easy Riders.
