A CONCERT, largely arranged and carried out by the Crew of the Motor Life-boat, was held at Hythe, Kent, on 29th and 30th January last. The notices warned purchasers of tickets that if a call for the Life-boat came, the concert would be postponed. Fortunately there was nothing to interrupt it, and it was such a success that the Mayor, who presided, described it as the best concert which he had heard in that hall. The two performances brought £60 to the funds of the Branch. The concert has already been reported under " News from the Branches," but it was so successful and so original that a full description of the part taken in it by the Crew deserves to be given in The Lifeboat. The following account of it comes from the Hythe Reporter:— " Whether one attended the concert as the admirer of Hythe's splendid Life- boat Crew, determined not to let such an excellent opportunity of paying a practical tribute to their worth pass by, or merely in search of lively, refreshing and quite unusual entertainment, the result was the same—complete satisfac- tion and an evening of sheer enjoyment.

" Nothing quite like it had ever been seen in Hythe before, and the Crew's whimsical and realistic interpretation of the often grim drama of their calling, confined as it was to the necessarily rather narrow limits of the stige, was a masterpiece of ingenuity. No time, thought nor effort had been spared to perfect the lighting and sound effects and scenery, and the result was far in advance of many a professional effort.

The shriek and whistle of a malignant wind, the swish and spatter of spray and foam, the terrifying boom of the maroon and deafening crashes of thunder are effects, we discovered, which are not confined to the latest talkie appa- ratus. . . .

" In their scarlet caps and blue jerseys, and with their strong healthy flavour of the sea—the real thing !— they brought with them a jolly, care- free atmosphere which was the making of the show. . . .

" The programme opened, before the curtain had gone up, with the ringing of a telephone telling the Coxswain of a wreck; we then heard the launching, in very stormy weather, with thunder and lightning and roaring wind, and, when the curtain went up, we saw the Hythe Life-boat—or an excellent fac- simile of it—manned by its crew, going off to an imaginary wreck. It was thrill- ing to see wave after wave breaking over the bows of the vessel and to see the men drenched by the spray! Having reached the wreck, they stood by, and then, after divesting themselves of their oilskins, they proceeded to give a short sing- song. One of them sang' The Admiral's Broom '; another recited ' The Life- boat '; a third played a trombone solo, ' When the Lights are Low,' and all the crew joined in singing ' There's a Good Time Coming.' " During the intervals between the songs one or other of the Crew threw out a line to see if there were any fish to be caught. The ' catch' was a crate of beer. . . .

" The curtain, was then lowered for a couple of minutes before the final tableau was presented—the Boat on its way home from the wreck.".