Time and time again comes the news that a branch or guild has passed all its previous achievements. There is Swansea which, with special efforts for Jubilee year, raised a record of £3,214. Then, at Lymington, the branch and guild reached £6,152, a 60 per cent increase on last year; it included the money raised to pay for the propellers for the new Yarmouth lifeboat ('We provided the propellers', said branch treasurer Rex Reddrop at their AGM, 'and all they had to do was to put a lifeboat on the front and they were away!'). At Cottingham, a small ladies' guild achieved £1,400 and is out to increase that amount in the coming year. At another small inland town, Driffield ladies' guild raised £2,000 with its flag day, cheese and wine party, fashion show, coffee morning and secondhand sales. Yet another small branch, Parbold in Lancashire, raised £1,763; to the money raised by their own efforts was added an unexpected bequest of £1,000 by the will of the late Henry Sullivan, a local man who had served in the Royal Navy.

Neil Anderson, a 13-year-old Sea Cadet, helped Lowestoft ladies' guild to reach its 1977 target of £5,000. He started his work for lifeboats two years ago with sales from his back garden.

Their success led to a more ambitious idea; he hired the hall used by Sea Cadets to stage a public fete and, helped by his family, raised £135. Another individual effort was made by a committee member; she donated to guild funds a proportion of the profits on the sale of three tons of home-made marmalade made in just over a year. Since its formation 16 years ago Lowestoft guild has raised over £34,000.

Willesden and District branch was formed last June with a committee of 11 Shoreline members. Membership soon increased to 18 and a late entry was made into the Borough of Brent's September three-day annual show in Roundwood Park. The stall, manned on a rota system, raised over £400 after all expenses had been paid and enrolled 11 new Shoreline members.

Thirteen-year-old David Morgan of Scarborough became the youngest person to swim the Channel when he completed the marathon in 11 hours 10 minutes last July. The people of Scarborough had raised £2,500 to finance the venture and, at David's request, the £1,500 which remained unused was given to Scarborough lifeboat. Great courage, great generosity.

Twenty-one members of Uttoxeter ladies' guild took part in a recent 'talent' project. The target for each participant was to turn £1 into £5.

Such was the enthusiasm (carol singing, nearly new sale, home-made bread, marmalade and lemon curd, slimmers' lunch, home printing, tea cosies, coffee mornings were just some of the means employed) that the final total came to £331.49, an average of more than £15 each.

Ainsty Factoring Co., a firm of builders and plumbers merchants based in Malton, North Yorkshire, usually send their customers a gift at Christmas: a pen or diary or calendar. Last Christmas they decided to donate the money instead to the RNLI, telling their customers what they were doing and inviting them, if they wished, to add their own contribution. As a result a donation of £250 was made to the lifeboats.

During last season's cruises to Madeira and the Canary Islands, passengers on board two Fred Olsen liners, Blenheim and Black Watch, donated the generous sum of £3,000 to charity, and Fred Olsen Lines have presented it to the RNLI to be used for inshore lifeboats.

In the winter 1976/77 issue of THE LIFEBOAT it was reported that solo transatlantic yachtsman David Sandeman had signed 500 envelopes bearing the lip Jersey stamp commemorating America's bicentenary and had taken them with him across the Atlantic. Franked both in Jersey and Rhode Island, they were given to Jersey ladies' guild by David's father, Brian G.

Sandeman. They have now all been disposed of and the total profit for the RNLI is £2,416.99.

Over the past five years young people from Godalming have raised £560 for the RNLI. Members of the Wilfred Noyce Youth Centre, who have raised £100, are adopting Eastbourne lifeboat for their fund-raising efforts.

Macduff ladies' guild funds received a new year boost with the presentation of a cheque for £205.15 raised from a darts tournament in Macduff Town Hall last November; the total also includes £60 from the Plough Hotel which handled the catering during the tournament finals. The cheque was presented to the guild president, Mrs May West, by fisherman Percy Watt who, with Bill West and George Slater, organised the event.

Upon hearing that a little lad of seven suffering from leukaemia had made the study of lifeboats his main interest, Jack Groves arranged for him to visit William Osborne's yard at Littlehampton and to go aboard Joy and John Wade, the new Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, lifeboat. On coming ashore and seeing one of the Yarmouth appeal car stickers, the boy asked if he could sell some, and eventually he raised nearly £6.50 in this way. Most of the stickers were sold to doctors and nurses at the hospital he visits.

At 10 p.m. on Friday September 2, 1977,16 players from the Queen's Head, Marlborough, started a 24-hour darts marathon. By 10 p.m. the following night 557 games of 501 had been played and no fewer than 2,020 treble 20s scored. Most supporters had sponsored the players for the number of games played, but two men, including the licensee, offered a penny for every treble 20 scored. Together with a raffle (all prizes given by the players), the sale of RNLI souvenirs and other collections, £760 was raised. During the marathon visitors included the Mayor of Marlborough, Councillor Mrs Lilian Ross.

Ivybridge and District branch, which includes Cornwood, Harford, Ermington, Ugborough and Modbury, was formed in 1975 and raised £1,007 in its first year. The branch aims at striking a happy balance between fund raising and enjoyment for the maximum number of people; as well as street and house-to-house collections, its activities have included a grand challenge cricket match at Cornwood against the Royal Western Yacht Club, a ploughman's supper and RNLI films at Ivybridge, a wine and cheese garden party at Ermington and an open day at Harford.

In appreciation of help given by the RNLI in keeping a watchful eye over the races they organised in 1977, the United Kingdom Offshore Boating Association sent a donation of £50 to the Yarmouth lifeboat appeal.

The 16 members of Roundhay ladies' coffee group take it in turn to hold a coffee morning, each putting 25p in the box whether they attend or not. Preserves, biscuits and cakes are also sold.

In 1975 and 1976 they donated £100 to Leeds ladies' guild luncheon club, but in 1977, Jubilee Year, they increased their lifeboat donation to £170.

The newly formed Spalding and District branch held a cheese and wine evening last November as the culmination of the pick-a-date competition it had been running. During the evening a sealed envelope containing three winning dates chosen by HRH The Duke of Kent, president of the RNLI, was opened. There was also a photographic exhibition of Edwardian and Victorian life in North Norfolk, with pictures of early lifeboats and rescues, provided by P. Stibbons of Cromer. The emphasis of the evening was on making friends rather than money, but both aims were achieved: more than 160 people attended and the profit was over £150.

Sailing evenings organised throughout the winter by Horsham branch not only brought in funds but also valuable offers of help for future events. The very varied programme started with a talk and films on the RNLI presented by Sydney Gillingham, ADOS (SE), and Coxswain Kenneth Voice of Shoreham.

Ten-year-old Emma Harris and her friends, who call themselves The Fox Club, raised £10 for Weybridge branch with puppet performances at friends' houses. They built the puppet theatre themselves and also made the puppets, painted the scenery and wrote their own version of Cinderella to perform.

Michael Vick, publican of the Bull Hotel, Nettlebed, agreed to part with his ten-year-old beard on condition that his customers raised £100 for the RNLI. One pound shares were sold and when the £100-mark was passed last November, local barber Roger Smith set to work. In the end £165 was raised for Henley-on-Thames branch.

In a spur-of-the-moment sponsored cheese roll eating contest at Whitstable Yacht Club, four men raised more than £21 for the lifeboat service. Richard Roscoe managed to consume 12 rolls and Barry Bishop nine, with no ill effects! Hendy-Lennox of Bournemouth have donated £225 to the Yarmouth lifeboat appeal; it was raised as the result of a swop-shop and auction of nautical items at the firm's Lansdowne showrooms.

Berkhamsted and District branch have been given over £150 by Mr Fee, steward of the local golf club; £70 from a raffle and £88 from his lifeboat collecting box. To augment his total, Mr Fee hires ties to members wanting to go into the dining room where, according to club rules, ties must be worn.

Over the past three years the Wyke Hykers of Yorkshire have raised £480 for the RNLI by sponsored hikes. The latest cheque, for £100, presented by Barry Carlisle, their honorary secretary, was received on behalf of the RNLI by Tim Carter, who regularly gives lectures on behalf of the lifeboat service and whose photographs are well known to THE LIFEBOAT readers.

North Chingford branch's annual sponsored walk around Connaught Waters, Epping Forest, raised £575 last September. Eleven-year-old Colleen Garnham walked 20 laps, about 10 miles, raising over £80, most of which was contributed by members of the Royal Epping Forest Golf Club. A number of senior citizens were sponsored for about £20 each by their colleagues, and patrons of the Queen Elizabeth Public House gave substantial support.

Another sponsored walk, undertaken by Engineering Cadets of Hackney Technical College (Poplar Centre) raised £525.30. All the cadets will shortly be going to sea and many have joined Shoreline.

A friend of a Sale branch committee member travels extensively by Land Rover. He often gives help to other motorists in trouble either providing a tow or some mechanical help. When given money for 'a drink' he donates it to Sale branch and now carries a lifeboat collecting box in a prominent position in his Land Rover.

Narbeth and District branch sent £1,000 to lifeboat funds last year. Its seventh annual fork supper, held at Queens Hall, was a great success; about 400 people attended and among the guests were Ivor Crockford, ex-coxswain of Tenby lifeboat, and Glyn Williams, DOS (Wales). A darts tournament at the Cross Hands Inn, Martletwy, raised £75.60 Although the British-flag vessel ss Globtik Tokyo never comes to the UK, several of her crew, including her master, have had cause to be grateful to the RNLI when on the British coast in other vessels. At a Saturday night entertainment in the crew's bar, a can of Newcastle Brown Ale, highly prized in a vessel having only foreign lager, was auctioned for the lifeboat fund and was sold for £15. Other donations were collected during the evening and a cheque for £52 sent to the RNLI. The master has now asked for a lifeboat collecting box which can be kept on board.

Last summer Portsmouth Dockyard Angling Club raised £125 for the Yarmouth lifeboat appeal by a fishing competition and social evening.

With help from friends who sold tickets (hand-printed in the school art department) Jeremy Deering organised a rock concert at Shrewsbury School last autumn, when a packed audience enjoyed the amazing sounds produced by three local groups, 'Dixie Chicken', 'Baseball' and 'Slender Thread', all of whom played for lower fees than usual.

The evening resulted in a grand total of £70 towards lifeboat funds.

Janet Hone of Welwyn, aged 13, collects autographs of famous people.

Each time she gets a new autograph her father puts 5p in her RNLI collecting box, and friends and relatives to whom she shows her collection make contributions as well. So far she has collected about £8.

Northwich branch raised over £84 by organising a sponsored paddle on the River Weaver, undertaken by local schoolchildren.

Totton and District branch has raised £815 for the Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, appeal thus paying for the electric winch aboard Joy and John Wade, Yarmouth's new Arun lifeboat. The branch, formed in December 1974, had undertaken a sponsored walk last March at the Deerleap Enclosure, Colbury, in the New Forest; the 150 people taking part had been undeterred by a thunderstorm.

Despite a heavy thunderstorm, sideshows and stalls at Ramsbottom branch summer fete were well supported; music was provided by the local Silver Band and children from a local studio gave a dancing display. By the end of the afternoon £350 had been raised for the lifeboat service.

Over the past few years Worthing branch has organised a sponsored walk for the RNLI from Worthing Yacht Club to Angmering and back, a distance of about 16 miles. Each year the amount raised has increased and the walk on April 24, 1977, produced a record sum of £1,300.

As a result of its annual dance last November, Pembroke Licensed Victuallers Association was able to hand to the Institution a cheque amounting to almost £1,200.

The wives at RAF Coltishall run a thrift shop at which any goods such as cloths or toys no longer needed can be sold; ten per cent of the profits go to charity. Recently Pat Meek, the chairman, presented a cheque for £75 to Mike Pennell, inspector of lifeboats, Eastern Division.

Building up stocks . . .

To augment their supply of goods for sale in aid of the lifeboat service, Wilmslow branch, Manchester, has devised a postcard to be slipped through the letter boxes of houses known to be sold but from which the family has not yet moved: 'We have noticed that you are likely to be moving in the near future, and would be most grateful for any items you do not want which might be suitable for our various jumble/white elephant/book and music sales. If so would you kindly telephone Wilmslow 22789, so that we can arrange collection.'.