'A Queen's Gala' at Pitcaple Castle, Inverurie, on Sunday June 10 raised £1,600 for the lifeboat service. During the afternoon six scenes from the life of Mary Queen of Scots were danced on the lawn by pupils of the Anne Taylor School of Dancing (see below). Mary had visited Pitcaple in 1562 and had herself danced on the castle green. The audience was brought right back to the present, however, when a Bristow helicopter, named Pitcaple, arrived overhead! Crew Member Colin Burden organised a sponsored swim in aid of Eastbourne lifeboat appeal in which over 80 swimmers took part, raising £2,581.72. Colin himself raised £900; 14-year-old Paul Davies raised £244 and John Delauney, a lifeboat launcher, raised £187.

A weekend at the Anchorage Hotel, Instow, includes a programme of films made by the hosts, Steven and Sylvia Whitaker, on their own adventurous holidays—diving beneath the Caribbean, for instance, or climbing Stromboli.

The show is free, but when the lights come on a lifeboat collecting box is passed round. In this way Mr and Mrs Whitaker have raised £229.41'/2 for the RNLI since August 1976.

The RNLI ladies' darts league of Romney Marsh has this year nearly trebled its efforts, raising £1,412.07. Sir Alec Rose was guest of honour on 'prize-giving' night, presenting the league awards. That night there was a special raffle the proceeds of which, £700, was divided equally between the amenities funds of Littlestone ILB and Dungeness lifeboat stations. To show its appreciation for the work of the league, Littlestone crew, as a personal gift, has presented a silver shield which will be the award for the association's new summer league.

By kind permission of the National Trust, a cheese and wine party organised by the recently re-formed Crewkerne branch was held in the magnificent setting of Montacute House great hall, beautifully lit by firelight and huge candelabra on the centre table. More than 200 guests attended the party and over £325 was raised.

When Ilford branch holds its annual flag week it gets marvellous support from the pupils of Fairlop Junior School. This year the children raised £314.29 with a sponsored swim, sold £97.08 worth of souvenirs and collected £6.75 in flag week boxes plus another £1.63'/2 in a permanent box, making a grand total of £419.75'/2.

The Heron Public House, Luton, of which W. Rooke is licencee, raised £500 for the RNLI in 1978 and by July this year had already raised a further £500. A pram race on June 10 alone brought in £211.

Camberley branch raised £1,900 last June with its second sponsored walk which started at The Jolly Farmer and made its way via The Foresters, The Bird in Hand, Fighting Cocks, King's Arms, White Hart, Three Mariners, The Bee, Windmill and The Cricketers Hotel in Bagshot Cricket Club for a 'bangers and mash' supper; among the 111 walkers was a former radio officer who had been among those rescued by Newcastle lifeboat from Browning of Liverpool after her convoy ran aground off Co. Down in February 1942, a service for which Coxswain Patrick Murphy was awarded the gold medal. A little later in June, 150 people enjoyed a traditional garden party organized by Camberley at the home of the branch's press officer, Joan Collings, and her sister, Margaret, when £270 was raised for the lifeboat service.

Dulwich Hamlet Junior School has contributed £758.11 to the ASA RNLI international sponsored swim appeal.

Falmouth ladies' guild held a highly successful coffee morning in May which raised £508. Howard Lang, Captian Baines of 'The Onedin Line', very kindly went along to draw the raffle.

Fancy dress costumes brightened up a dull and rainy May 28, the day of Weymouth Trawler Race. Weymouth lifeboat, the Arun class Tony Vandervell, led out the trawlers to the line and fired a maroon to start the race. The proceeds of the day, £500, were given to the RNLI.

The boys of Eton College chose the RNLI as a charity to which they would like to donate a Chapel collection and a cheque for £90.67 was sent to help the lifeboat service.

'Newly-weds' Mr and Mrs Noel Leaf, son and daughter-in-law of Coventry ladies' guild's chairman, greeted guests for the second time in their 11 years of marriage at a mock wedding reception held at the home of Mr and Mrs Cecil Gay last June to raise money for the lifeboat service. Invitations were £1 each and guests brought gifts which were left wrapped and sold 'sight unseen'. In all, the event raised £90.

When Shoreline member G. Reeve broke his leg last spring he charged his friends and colleagues at Westminster College, Oxford, lOp to sign the plaster.

More than £15 was raised for the lifeboat service by this novel idea.

At a very successful coffee morning organised by Bridlington ladies' guild in the spring the Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor and Mrs Ken O'Brien, presented the prizes for the grand draw and Lady Mary Macdonald of Sleat, the president, handed over to the RNLI a cheque for £750, bringing Bridlington guild's total to date for 1979 to £1,750.

Seaton Sluice branch's cheese and wine party, organised by Mr and Mrs W. Midgley and held in the banqueting hall of Seaton Delaval on Tuesday June 12, was attended by Rear Admiral Wilfred Graham, then director designate, and Ken Thirlwell, DOS (NE).

The evening's entertainment included a film of Blyth lifeboat made by Mr Hartshone and music by the 'Canny Lassies', who sang and played the Northumberland pipes. There was a tombola and the raffles included a special prize of two tickets to a mediaeval banquet at Seaton Delaval Hall. A profit of £180 was made for the RNLI.

For the second year, Droitwich ladies' guild held a coffee morning at Ombersley Court, home of the guild president, Lady Sandys, and her husband, Lord Sandys. A grand total of £203 was raised.

Colne ladies' guild successfully reached its target for 1978, raising £1,150. Committee members and their children taking part in their final event of the year, Colne Carnival, found that in their oilskins and sou'westers, they were dressed for the occasion—it was an inclement day! During the past six years Hadleigh and District branch has raised more than £3,800, of which over £1,000 has come from special events including wine and cheese parties, at one of which Olympic yachtsman Reg White was guest of honour, a bridge drive, a coffee morning and a dance.

For Newport (Gwent) branch, 1977/78 was its most successful year so far, £3,588 being raised. Despite appalling weather a cocktail party on February 14, for which the Mayor and Mayoress of Newport were hosts, raised more than £1,050.

D. E. Marchant of Beckenham was, until 4 o'clock one Friday afternoon, the proud owner of a beautiful 6in moustache. Then, at a farewell party to colleagues at work who were transferring to another branch, the moustache was threatened. 'Pay me', he said, 'a £1 each for my chosen charity and you can do what you like with it'. Now Mr Marchant has a smooth upper lip, and the RNLI is the better off by £17.

A raft race, discos and a barbecue accounted for the bulk of the £1,000 raised by Wood Green Rotoract Club for the lifeboat service. The club's president, Jim Dinsey, presented this grand amount to Wood Green branch chairman, Stan Brigg, last May on an outsize cheque.

A sponsored walk on Sunday April 1 proved to be Hoi worthy and District's 'best ever' result since the branch was formed three years ago; £861.05 was raised.

More than £7,000 was raised on Birmingham flag day. Two collectors each raised over £200 and Robert Morris collected £40.61 in coins only in one box.

Ashford and Staines branch, entirely run by men, has excellent support from The Three Crowns and its customers at Stanwell. In the past year alone it has raised nearly £200 for the RNLI; more than £110 was collected in boxes at the bars and £86.50 came from a sponsored tug-of-war between the public and saloon bars across the Longford River, a canalised river running along the southern perimeter of Heathrow Airport.

Needless to say, one of the teams ended up getting very wet, with victory going to the public bar. As well as many other stunts, every time a box is forwarded for emptying there is a guess-how-much competition, with all monies going into the box.

Kidderminster ladies' guild held its nearly new shop in May and raised a magnificent £2,257.51, a record for this annual effort.

Customers at the Bedford Hotel, Leicester, raised £102 for the RNLI with darts tournaments and raffles, but the landlord, J. Powell, collected the lion's share of the money when, under sponsorship, he shaved off half his beard and moustache and stayed that way for a week.

West Wight ladies' guild held a dinner dance at the Savoy Country Club, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, last February and raised £240. The annual wine and cheese party at the Royal Solent Yacht Club this year raised £183 and a sherry morning held at the home of Mr and Mrs Postma raised a further £132.

Palm Line ships collect regularly for the RNLI. On a recent 'count' Lobito Palm had collected £148.55, Kano Palm £88, Ibadan Palm £10.04 and llorin Palm £34.

Black Watch, one of the ships in the Fred Olsen fleet, regularly displays a large RNLI collecting bottle in the bar.

People cruising give generously and more than £100 is collected on each trip..