Round Table 50th anniversary appeal At their National Conference held at Blackpool in May, Round Table delegates from all over Britain and Ireland voted to raise funds for a Waveney lifeboat. The appeal is to mark the 50th anniversary of the Round Table in 1977 and was proposed by tablers from Northern Ireland who realised that Round Table Britain and Ireland covered exactly the same areas the RNLI.

Village cricketers defeat Surrey One of the best cricket matches, possibly the best ever, in aid of the RNLI was staged at Charterhouse School, Godalming, on May 16. A full Surrey team was opposed by a team drawn from the 815 village sides which compete in the Haig Village Championship.

Seven of the Surrey team had played in test matches, four for England, two for Pakistan and one for New Zealand. Nevertheless, helped by some spectacular catches, the Haig National Village Representative XI got them all out for 150 and won with 152 for four in the 39th of the 40 permitted overs.

The setting was a green and attractive one; Charterhouse School band played excerpts from 'My Fair Lady'; and the whole occasion seem typically English until it was realised that one of the Surrey opening batsmen, Geoffrey Howarth, came from New Zealand, and one of the Village's opening bowlers, Byron James, from Ynysygerwn.

There were two beneficiaries of the match, Geoff Arnold, the Surrey and England cricketer, whose benefit year it is, and the RNLI. It was a generous gesture of Geoff Arnold's to share the proceeds of the match with the RNLI.

The chairman of the RNLI organising committee was Mrs Richard Saunders, and there were stalls and sideshows under the trees, run by the Central London Committee.

Thank you . . .

So often the RNLI is both touched and heartened by generous, unexpected gestures made perhaps anonymously, perhaps by old age pensioners. Two such instances occurred at the London office in Ebury Street after reports of the AGM and the deficit for 1975 had appeared in the press. A man, his shirt sleeves rolled up, came in from a near-by work site with two £10 notes in his hand: he said that he and his mates had read that the lifeboat service needed money, so they had had a whip-round and made it up to £20. A letter arrived on the same day from Miss Margaret Dent, sending her 'OAP's mite'—£3: 'If I were a wealthy lady', she wrote, 'I'd love to buy a nice new boat for the wonderful chaps who go out on the seas to rescue folk in trouble.' Lotteries Act 1975 The Secretary of State has made a Commencement Order under the Lotteries Act 1975, by making amendments to Sections 45 and 43B of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963.

The following changes are now in effect: Section 45: small lotteries by registered societies, associations or branches: The price of a lottery ticket shall not be more than 25p (previously 5p); the value of a single prize shall not be more than £1,000 (previously £100); the total value of tickets sold shall not exceed £5,000 (previously £750); the amount of proceeds appropriated for expenses shall not exceed 25% of the whole proceeds (previously 10%).

Section 43: lotteries incidental to entertainment: The expenses incurred in purchasing prizes shall not exceed £50 (previously £10).

New Deputy Master, Trinity House Captain Sir David Tibbits, DSC RN, retired as Deputy Master of Trinity House in April. Captain Miles Buckley Wingate was elected as his successor.

Obituary It is with deep regret that we announce the deaths in April of: Mrs R. M. Lloyd of Conwy, an honorary life governor of the Institution.

Mrs Lloyd has been concerned with the RNLI for close on 70 years and, although 91 last year, was still an active supporter; she was one of Conwy's principal collectors on flag day in 1975.

R. M. Harris, honorary secretary of Port Isaac from the time the station was re-established with an inshore lifeboat in May 1967, until December 1975.

Twenty-one years Among those celebrating Flamborough ladies guild's 21st anniversary on January 12 were Mrs C. Murray- Wells, president for the full 21 years; two founder committee members, Mrs J. Pockley and Mrs R. Leng; and the present chairman, Mrs M. Burns, and treasurer, Mrs R. T. Hardy, who have both been guild members since its formation.

Two ways of looking at i t . . .

In the spring issue of THE LIFEBOAT we published a photograph of Ernie Mangold, a man in his mid seventies who, in two years, collected more than £900 for the RNLI. Now he has written to tell us something of the philosophy behind his work. He says that many people would like to help, but cannot bring themselves to launch out and make the effort that meeting strangers involves.

When he goes out, however, he is not just collecting money; he hopes that he will perhaps find his way to lonely people who long for a chat and a smile whether or not they are able to put something in his box; that he will be able to dispel a little gloom, bring a spark of optimism. 'Many people who have never tried', he says, 'would be surprised how one can be a help—and be received.' Scottish radio appeal The amount raised from the radio appeal made by Coxswain/Mechanic George Davidson, DSM, BEM, of Kirkcudbright, on 'The Week's Good Cause' programme transmitted on BBC Scotland on Sunday, February 22, was £1,316.50.

Selsey Birdman Rally Selsey Birdman Rally, an annual event in aid of RAFA and RNLI funds, will take place on August 15. Competitors attempt to fly 50 metres for a prize of £3,000. They usually land in the water well short of the finish line to be 'rescued' by the crew of the inshore lifeboat.

Likely Lads Rodney Bewes, one of those likeable 'Likely Lads', is among the RNLI's most stalwart supporters, as viewers of the BBC's popular series know well.

Thanks to Rodney, lifeboat collecting boxes have always featured prominently in episodes of each series, and now that the film 'Likely Lads' is on general release, audiences again have the opportunity to 'spot the lifeboat collecting box'! The crew of the Lizard-Cadgwith lifeboat is used to frequent visits from Rodney when he is at home in Cornwall and find his keen interest and support a great encouragement.

Thames barges, Essex smacks An illustrated talk on Thames barges and Essex fishing smacks is to be given by Mrs Molly Kennell, owner of the smack Hyacinth, at the University of Essex lecture theatre at 8 pm on Thursday, October 28. Tickets, price 50p in aid of the RNLI, from G. Delafontaine, RYA Coach, c/o Essex University, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex CO4 3SQ. Please send stamped addressed envelope and cheque made out to RNLI.

Change of address The new address of the Welsh District Office is now: Royal National Lifeboat Institution, The Exchange, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF1 6ED. The telephone number remains the same, Cardiff 31831.

Pass it on ...

Many libraries, as a means of economising, are reducing the number of journals they stock. Perhaps your local library would like to have your copy of THE LIFEBOAT when you have read it; or it might be useful in a waiting room, at a school or in a club. So, please, do pass it on—if it reaches more people, it may bring us new friends and helpers..