Miss Mackie-Campbell of Stonefield, Argyll, organised an equestrian day and designated the RNLI as a halfbeneficiary.

The event had to be postponed owing to atrocious weather, but in spite of this, when held soon afterwards in scarcely better conditions, it was a resounding success and Tarbert branch benefited by over £500.

Down Cruising Club, Northern Ireland, raised £64 when donations were collected at its annual dinner in November. Throughout 1980 members have amassed £662 for the RNLI.At a small seaside town one always hopes to see retired seadogs sitting, contemplating their adventurous past; at Clovelly George Lamey, 85 and a former coxswain of Clovelly lifeboat, has been doing just that day in, day out, for the past seven years. The only difference with him is that he happens always to be holding a collecting box, though not once has he asked anyone for money. Last year he managed to bring in £2,776.85'/2 in this way and, since he began, he has amassed £ 11,762 for the RNLI. Clovelly branch and guild raised a record £15,756 in 1979-80.

Church Stretton is a small, rural village in Shropshire but together with the adjacent All Stretton and Little Stretton the branch raises over £1,000 every year for the RNLI. The 1980 houseto- house collection and flag day made £324.63 and in the same year a wine and cheese party was arranged which made a further £200.

The Reed family of New Romney and their friends organised a coffee morning at their home last October to raise money for Littlestone-on-Sea lifeboat. It was a happy morning and £173 was the final result.

For two decades Mrs Mona Cuthbert has been the honorary secretary of the thriving Huddersfield ladies' guild and luncheon club. More than that, when last November a presentation to mark her long service was made to her on behalf of 200 local lifeboat people, she was described as the kingpin and guardian angel of the club which, over the past five years alone, has raised an average of £1,300 a year.Despite torrential rain and sheet lightning, six boys from Wilson's School, Wallington, Surrey, completed a relay swim across the English Channel.

It took the boys—Stephen Crowley, Bradley Walter, Iain Pickering, Mark Shepherd, Ian Jones and Paul Bowler—11 hours and 21 minutes and £3,000 was raised in sponsorship for the RNLI with a further £2,000 for improvements to their own school.

Peter Newton of East Hading chose a quicker way to cross the Channel last August but was able to present Wroxham and District branch with £385.30 as a result. He water-skied the 33-mile distance with the help of Varne Ski Club, thus fulfilling a long ambition.

The 3rd Poole Sea Scouts covered a lot of water in their sponsored row in Poole Harbour; at the end of it they were able to hand over a cheque for £87 to the RNLI with a similar amount going towards their headquarters' funds.

It has taken only six years for the Chilterns branch to raise £25,000. Last June the Earl and Countess of Howe kindly lent their home for a summer ball attended by more than 300 people; music was supplied by Memphis Jazz Band and Sound of Profile. A raffle raised £553, the printed programme collected £625 and the net profit for the evening was £2,429.

Continuing his long and active support of the RNLI, Lawrence Bellhouse, owner of Nashs Tudor Restaurant, Leeds, organised a gala dinner andcabaret last October. The stars who came and donated their services were Charlie Williams, Peter Wallis, The Duvals, Sandra Mark and David Laine.

With bingo, a tombola, collections, raffles and an auction conducted by Alister Dick which raised £380.50, an impressive final figure of £2,500 was reached for Flamborough lifeboat appeal.

A barn dance held by Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park branch netted £160 last October. There were 100 guests at this successful occasion and during the evening the branch president, Councillor E. Trevor, organised an impromptu auction which brought in £30.

Warrenpoint and Rostrevor branch in Northern Ireland became £70 better off when Mrs Chloe Trenam, wife of Colonel Richard Trenam, former DOS (Ireland), was persuaded by the ladies of the local yacht club to run a Yoga class. Each participant paid a fee which instead of going to the instructress was donated to the RNLI.

The ladies' guild of the small community of Hunmanby in North Yorkshire was holding a coffee morning and raffle for a bridal doll when the income for the event was suddenly boosted by a surprise donation of 152 dollars from the mess of BP tanker British Liberty.

Over £550 was raised altogether.

After a dance organised by Vic Cherry at Northfleet Power Station, Gravesend, a cheque for £275 was presented to Mrs Eileen Bethell, chairman of the local ladies' guild.At Peel branch's annual crew and helpers party, given by the station's past and current presidents, crew members ran a tombola which raised £39.50 for the Institution.

Peter Gilbert, chairman of Pewsey's Zixex Club, had not made a parachute jump for 35 years and his vice chairman, David Owen, not for 25 years. By courtesy of the Joint Services Parachute Association they were able to relive the experience last August and raise £750 for the lifeboats in so doing.In Mevagissey, Cornwall, an award is made every year to the licensee of the hostelry that has made the largest collection for the RNLI. For the fourth year running this has been won by Mr and Mrs Frank Ellis of the Fountain Inn who brought in £140, but by all accounts the runners-up are providing hotter competition each year. Mevagissey branch also man a souvenir shop on the quay the gross takings from which in 1980 were more than £10,000.

Derek Griggs and Dave Earl of Lewisham branch have built a stand which is taken to events around the borough for selling souvenirs and raising money through lottery sales and competitions. It was first set up on GLC's Thamesday 1980' last September when, with the help of donations from the Thames Water Authority and the British Sub-Aqua Club, about £400 was made. The stand will be used at many events this year, including 'Thamesday 1981'.

Alton branch, formed in 1979, raised more than £800 last October with a cookery demonstration given by Simon and Nicola Cox of Brackley. Between the morning and afternoon sessions of the demonstration there was a ploughman's lunch.

A 'roaring twenties' style party proved a roaring success for Mrs Olive Eades, who organised the event and who has been founder honorary secretary of Chorleywood and Rickmansworth branch for nine years. Two thirds of the amount raised, £855, went to the RNLI and one third to King George's Fund for Sailors.

Bert Ryan, president of the Selsey Bill Lions Club, presented Coxswain Mike Grant with a 6ft cheque for £3,100 raised by the club to pay for a new inflatable lifeboat at Selsey. It only took three months to amass the money through a giant raffle with tickets sold in the village and during 'Crabbers Race Day'.

Landlord of the Coach Station Hotel, Winchester, Mr J. D. Ellis, challenges his customers to beat him at pool. If they win he buys them a drink of their choice; if he wins his customer must pay the cost of a drink of his choice to the RNLI. Already Mr Ellis has given a cheque for £100 to the local branch.

The Dolphin in Cathcart Street, Birkenhead, is filling its second gallon whisky bottle with coins for the Douglas (Isle of Man) lifeboat station. The first one held £100 and its contents were received by Captain Tony Billington on behalf of New Brighton branch.

The Dolphin is a regular haunt of the crew of the Isle of Man steam packet boats and the collection is made by publican George Goff as a friendly gesture to his seafaring customers.For four months the girls of form IV St Rose, Holy Trinity Convent, Kidderminster, worked hard at raising money for Salcombe lifeboat. Through selling cakes, running raffles and organising an eight-hour sponsored swim, Lucy Osborne, their form captain, was able to send a cheque for £120 to Bill Budgett, Salcombe honorary secretary.

To show their appreciation of the services of the RNLI, though they have never had to call upon them, Oxford's Sea Angling Club, under the presidency of Don Chaundy, held a sponsored 'fish-in' at Poole last summer.

The £154.73 raised was handed over to Cowley branch chairman, Stan Preston, at a recent branch committee meeting.

British Sub-Aqua Club members, some of them Shoreline members, went carol singing before Christmas, visiting ten pubs, and sent a splendid £77 they raised for the lifeboats to the RNLI North London Office.A magnificent pineapple was just one of the prizes on the tombola at the annual Kingston branch dinner dance last October—and it was won by the Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Philip Naish. A very good evening brought in £400 for the RNLI.IITYWYPUAPFTLB is the peculiar message posted up behind the bar that has helped raise over £360 at the Haven House Inn, Mudeford. When asked by curious customers for its meaning, assistant manager Mrs Terry Goodison says, 'If I tell you, will you pin up a pound for the lifeboats?' No one refuses but everyone is amazed and amused when she then triumphantly explains, 'I've just told you what it stands for!' Hemel Hempstead branch has raised £280 for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston lifeboat station with coffee evenings and a demonstration of flower arranging.

A cold winter walk along the northeast coast lasting five days and covering 110 miles between Helmsley in North Yorkshire to Flamborough made over £700 for Flamborough lifeboat appeal. The walkers were four members of the Lifeboat Enthusists Society, Leeds Group, Michael Bayliss, Tony O'Grady, Julian Dyson and Jim Walsh. They all work for Britvic- Minster Ltd and, unaffected by the distance covered, plan to do some more walking for the RNLI in 1981.

A hundred lengths of an open air swimming pool brought in £100 in sponsorship for Carol Stevenson, aged 14, who presented the money to Hastings branch.

Donald Walters, a 16-year-old at a special work school earns £1.50 a week; when the Rusthall Working Mens Club held a harvest festival in aid of Hastings lifeboat station, Donald decided to give a whole week's wages to the collection.

Like many boys just before November 5, Robert Ross and Michael Sibley were collecting 'pennies for the guy'; unlike most boys, however, they did not use the money for their own entertainment. Their takings of £6.88'/2 were sent to Brixham ladies' guild.

Worthing branch organised a wine tasting and social evening where £800 was raised. One of the events was a raffle for the ubiquitous gallon of Martell brandy, kindly presented by shippers Matthew Clark and Sons.Every fortnight Mrs R. H. Close of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, whose husband is a Shoreline member, has a meeting with her friends and neighbours for a chat and a charity bingo session. The money raised is always sent to a good cause and recently the RNLI was chosen and benefited by £50.

A huge cheque both in size (6ft 6in by 2ft 6in) and in amount was handed over to the RNLI after a sponsored tandem event held by Mrs Stokes of Woodland Farm, Lower Peover, brought in £1,400.30. The presentation took place during a dance, again organised by Mrs Stokes, and, as with the tandem event, it was a fancy dress occasion..