Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums. Rather than showcasing skimpy outfits or the latest celebrity crushes, the Women of Strength 2014 calendar celebrates inspirational mums from across the UK. These are women who have overcome illness, domestic violence and disabilities to raise their children. The calendar has been created by single mum Dawn Cousins, 39, and all proceeds will go to Mothers 2 Mothers, an international charity helping to prevent paediatric AIDS in Africa. The mum of four from Harrow, London, said she was inspired to create the calendar to empower mums.
A mum has celebrated each of her four pregnancies with a host of wacky stunts - including acrobatics, aerial contortion, pole-dancing and risque photo shoots .
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .
When Kylie Holgate discovered her fiancé was having an affair, her world came crashing down .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
A woman branded the Jolly Green Giant by SOLE-crushing school bullies for her whopping size nine feet has had the last laugh by opening a shoe shop for big footed girls .
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .