A sponsored swim on February 25 by the Gold Fish Swimming Club, part of Bromley Society for Handicapped People, raised £267 for the RNLI, as well as a similar amount for their own association. Five severely handicapped people took part in the swim, including a girl in her early twenties with both legs amputated who swam 15 lengths on her back, and a boy who achieved ten lengths with his only possible stroke, the dog paddle.

Penlee lifeboat station, as winner of Westward TV 'Treasure Hunt Town Points Contest', was presented with a cheque for £130 in January. Another donation it received was £6.10 collected by children of Mousehole, carol singing.Balls up and down the country last winter gave an enormous amount of pleasure, and raised excellent amounts for the RNLI. Here are just some of them: Aberdeen Lifeboat Ball, £2,200 (and 13 new life members); Bridport Lifeboat Ball, £600; Dovercourt Caravan Park Club Dance, £250; Great Yarmouth and Gorleston ladies' guild Lifeboat Ball, over £1,000; Friends of the Lifeboat Ball, Peterhead, £883; Saltcoats first RNLI Dance, £47; and Southend-on-Sea 150th Anniversary Dinner Dance, over £600.

The City of Edinburgh ladies' guild runs a shop which brings in about £5,000 a year for the RNLI. This year a second shop was rented for three weeks and made £900 profit.

To celebrate the RNLI's 150th anniversary, the children of class 41, Upminster Junior School, on their own initiative, held a jumble sale in their playground; they raised £25.So successful has its fund-raising efforts been, that at its AGM in February, the Rhyl and District branch decided to send the magnificent donation of £5,000 to headquarters. This means that in the past three years Rhyl has sent in a total of £10,500 over and above station requirements.

Wyboston Sailing Club holds an annual 24-hour sponsored marathon sail. The team which covers the greatest distance receives a shield and the runners-up RNLI zephyrs. Initiated in 1970 by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Club, through the enthusiasm of R.

Jennings, a committee member of Hatfield branch, the crews, kept going with soup and hot dogs, have at time endured rain and storm and have also been becalmed in clear skies and sunshine.

To date a grand sum of £1,900 has been raised for the RNLI.

Lifeboat special to Kyle of Lochalsh: two day excursions by train from Aberdeen through Scotland's magnificent scenery to Kyle of Lochalsh were arranged by the Aberdeen Evening Express for Saturday, April 20, and Monday, April 22. The train was fully booked on both days and it was a real family occasion. A sum of £950 was donated to the RNL! and, in addition, £235 was made on the sale of souvenirs.

The Guernsey ladies' guild, re-formed in March, 1973, raised £1,000 towards the Arun fund, in addition to other money, in its first year.

Two donations have been received from the Navy. One is from the ship's company of the Leander class frigate, HMS Penelope. £160 was given to the Hampshire Rose appeal; it was raised by a raffle, a sponsored swim, a motor rally and a sponsored slim—the three men who attempted to slim in fact put on weight, and had to put into the kitty the amount per pound their sponsors should have been paying, hadthe scales tipped the other way! The second donation, £32, came from a sponsored mountain climb by six junior ratings of HMS Fawn. Lt T. M.

Wilson, as referee, had to go, too. He writes: 'I have heard of some ways of raising money for charities, but this one was downright stupid. I mean, a Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest; so what idiot suggested that we climb Nevis Peak, 3,232' of volcanic mountain?' For three years, North Chingford branch has organised a 'safe' sponsored walk round Connaught Waters, Epping Forest. Totals raised were: 1971, £292.40; 1972, £503.95; 1973, £322.24.

Denis Chasney, a local restaurateur, donated all refreshments.

Mr and Mrs Broadway, of the Petersfield branch, have dedicated a beehive to the RNLI; all honey produced in this beehive in 1974 will be sold in aid of lifeboat funds.

The Department of Health and Social Security Office at Southend-on-Sea held a Lifeboat Day on March 13.

Highlights included a raffle of an anniversary cake made by the canteen manageress, Mrs Margaret Waterhouse, and a 'find the lost dinghy' competition.

£38 were raised for the Civil Service and Post Office Lifeboat Fund.Sandy Fowler, landlord of the Black Bull Inn, Barmston, near Bridlington, went to the bank last November to cash a pumpkin. It contained £10.75 which had been hammered in by customers from their bar change and which had to be dug out of the pumpkin at the bank.

It was in aid of the RNLI.

A cheque for £7.60 has been received from T. Wiffen of Upminster, who raised the money by collecting old newspapers and magazines and selling them to a waste-paper merchant. For each hundredweight he received 80p.

Hilderthorpe Infants' School made a 'Magic Wishing Tree' with a small pool into which the children could put Ip per wish. In a week they had raised £2 for the RNLI.

A cheque for £25.61 has been received from the east wing of Sherwood Park Junior School, Tunbridge Wells. The children themselves thought up all the ways of raising money, which included a judo display (Jp entrance fee), sales of handmade toys, sweets and bookmarks, a collecting box ( Ip per person), other sales and a charity football match.

Ilfracombe ladies' guild, started in the summer of 1970, has already raised over £2,000 by selling souvenirs, coffee mornings and jumble sales.

The landlord of the 'Grosvenor Arms', Hanwell, London, and his wife, Mr and Mrs J. Conway, the barman, J. Kavanagh, and their customers, enjoy seafishing at Weymouth. To show their appreciation for the welcome they receive, they raised £160 for the Weymouth lifeboat station; the cheque was presented to Second Coxswain Vic Pitman when he visited the 'Grosvenor Arms'..