To organise a massive cheese and wine evening with more than 200 guests is no mean achievement when you are over eighty, confined to a wheel-chair and reliant on the telephone for making all arrangements. Nevertheless, the irrepressible Mrs Hamley-Rowan, already awarded an honorary life governorship of the Institution for her years of service, has succeeded in raising £250 for her East Sheen branch by running such an event this July. In addition to the cheese and wine party, her lifeboat day collection in March also belied her supposed handicaps by surpassing all records and reaching £790.

Kidderminster guild organised a punch and pate party where guests were able to sample over 40 different pates, all made by guild committee members. Over £200 was raised.

A 'schools at sea' exhibition organised by the Chippenham branch in March turned out to be a great success.

Seven primary schools exhibited RNLI-orientated paintings, models, writing and poetry. A 'rescue at sea' was organised by two schools with a landrover ingeniously converted into a lifeboat! During that evening an RNLI film was shown after which Sir Alec Rose talked about his voyage around the world. Among the other organisations taking part were the St John Ambulance Brigade and Chepstow Auxiliary Coastguards. RAF Lyneham lent a 26-man liferaft and Pains Wessex Schermuly donated rockets and smoke flares. In all over £420 was raised.

After seeing a Uptons' foreign coin appeal leaflet, Robert Pink, chief officer on the Shell tanker Donovania, put a collecting box in the ship's bar so that officers and crew could donate their surplus foreign coins. In all £50 was collected. In addition, Mr Pink has issued a challenge to other ships in the fleet, to see if any of them can top this amount. If the challenge is accepted, it will be a considerable boost to RNLI funds.

By re-cycling old horse shoes from his son's forge and offcuts of marine plywood from William Osborne's yard at Littlehampton, Mr Jefford of Arundel has found an effective way of raising money. The plywood is cut and fastened to the shoes, then painted with the RNLI flag and the inscription 'Littlehampton ILB—Blue Peter I. Mr Jefford has already raised £18.

In the autumn of 1977, the ladies of three villages in North Yorkshire formed the Wensleydale ladies' guild.

Since then the guild has raised £398 from coffee evenings, their house-tohouse collection and flag day. In anticipation of a big event planned for this autumn, ladies of the guild meet regularly to sew articles which will be sold.

Although too young to help on flag day, Enfield Girl Guides and Brownies were able to donate £68.94 to Enfield branch's lifeboat week fund, for this was the amount raised in their St George's Day church service collection.

Another £1,140 was contributed to Enfield by Southgate branch of the Round Table.

Teesmouth guild organised a fashion show, staged at the Dragonara Hotel, Middlesbrough, in March. There was also a hair styling demonstration and a perfume counter. In total the event raised £433. Another fashion show, this time held in May, was organised by Reading branch. Grand Western Motors kindly provided the venue and by the end of the display £ 115 has been raised.

A ball, held by the Mayor of Surrey Heath, who is also Camberley branch's president, realised over £500 for the RNLI. Unfortunately the mayor was unable to be present but the deputy mayor presided and the 174 guests, including Major-General Ralph Farrant, chairman of the Institution, enjoyed their evening very much.

Two shaves have raised over £100 for the RNLI. The first took place in May when Mike Newman, landlord of the White Hart, Bristol, shaved off half his moustache. His sponsors raised £55. And a 22-year-old beard grown by Norman Stringer, landlord of the Black Prince, Princes Risborough, was shaved off in aid of Swanage lifeboat, raising over £90.Clare Gill, a nurse at Kilronan, and the local Garda sergeant, P. Connolly, organised a sponsored walk which raised £153 when a number of walkers turned out in spite of a strong gale and heavy rain.

No one can say that the Palm Line shipping group is not doing its bit to help the lifeboats. A collecting box has been placed in their conference room along with a list of suggested fines.

Fineable offences include: late arrival for meetings, lOp; untidy dress, lOp; absence of stationery, pens or pencils, 5p; smoking without permission, 20p.

Collecting boxes have also been put in all ships in the Palm Line fleet and at their head office. One contribution for £117 was a credit for a quantity of substandard beer carried on board Katsina Palm on one of her voyages.

Surbiton branch has increased its profits from £222, when it was formed ten years ago, to £3,133 last year. As well as its flag day the branch organised a wine tasting evening, dances, whist drives and a riverboat evening.

The Carnmarch Hotel, Newquay, recently collected £20 in six weeks in the lifeboat box in the bar, by displaying above the box the following letters 'YCWCYFPFTLB' which being translated means 'your curiosity will cost you five pence for the lifeboat'! Dungeness lifeboat has been adopted by the 3rd Hither Green Brownies of Catford and in the last two years the 24 girls have raised £193.73.

Errors made by members of Poole Model Yacht Club raised over £11 for the RNL1. During their annual regatta, competition was sharpened by imposing cash penalties for any infringements of rules during racing. At the end of the regatta an RNLI pennant was presented to Brian Ashell who had contributed the least..