Two girls of Stamford High School, Lincolnshire, Rosetta Birkbeck and Gillian Foot, enjoy collecting for the R.N.L.I. Late last year they sent £33 14s. 4d., and explained:' We have made the collection in several different ways. Six members of our form acted a play called "Pongo". We made tickets and programmes and charged the rest of the form an entry fee. In this way we made nearly two pounds.

Some of the library books in the form needed replacing so we sold the old ones and put the money into our collection. We have also had some small competitions such as a treasure trail, guessing the number of peas in ajar and naming a doll, as well as weekly contributions from our pocket money.'' When Mr. A. W. Sir ley, the retiring honorary secretary of the St. Albans branch, stood down last year, he gave out a further supply of Smart ie tubes, for no less than £43 had been raised 'by this means' during the previous year. And the means ? Well, tubes so distributed are expected to be returned to the honorary secretary full of 3d. pieces.

Rembrandt Philatelies, of Southampton, arranged in November, 1968, for a number of past captains and masters of the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth to autograph personally a limited number of the commemorative covers printed to mark the occasion of the last voyages of these liners. The sale of the first signed covers brought in £50 to the R.N.L.I. Other cheques resulting from the sale of signed covers are expected to be received from time to time.

Mrs. Constance G. Taylor, writing in October, 1968, from Fleming's Hotel, London, W.I., reported that as a passenger aboard the s.s. Pacific-Northwest homeward bound from Vancouver to Glasgow, she made a bet with Chief Engineer Henry Topping 'that he would not be able to grow a 1-inch beard between Cristobel and Glasgow'. It was agreed that the loser should deposit about £4 in the R.N.L.I.

collecting box in the ship's bar. However, a Force 12 hurricane delayed the voyage by two days, with the result that Mr. Topping, a day before reaching Glasgow, was prepared to deposit the bet as agreed because he believed that, although his beard might be 1 inch long, it would be due to the delay. Mr. Taylor did not agree with him, so it was agreed to split the difference and each put £2 in the box.

Another passenger present agreed to add £1. Result: £5 for the R.N.L.I.

The youth of Brent, Middlesex, in a sponsored walk on Sunday, 17th November, 1968, over a distance of over 22 miles raised £400 towards the cost of an IRB. The walk was promoted by the Wembley branch of the R.N.L.I. This was one of the first such attractions organised in the country in aid of the life-boat service.

Children attending the Redcar Zetland County Primary School, Redcar, Yorkshire, recently gave unwanted toys, games, jig-saws, etc., which were sold in an empty shop in the town, making £42 for the R.N.L.I.Mrs. N. Feasey, of Bear Cross, Bournemouth, who is 71 and has been interested in the work of the R.N.L.I, for many years, recently collected over £7 for the life- boats in a collecting box in her home in 18 months. But she was not content with that. While the collecting box was bringing in the pennies she sent copies of THE LIFE-BOAT to her son who was serving in the Persian Gulf aboard H.M.S.

Gurkha. He, in turn, got his shipmates interested in the R.N.L.I. and in no time they sent a donation of £50. Mrs. Feasey adds: 'Let's hope that other crews will follow the idea..