Hyannis to Rockland from page 233 were asked regarding the operation of a voluntary lifeboat service outside Government control. The predominantly shore based role of HM Coastguard was a fact which many of the audience found hard to understand.

Since the forum was not a trade show, as at Hyannis, various commercial interests had established individual trade displays in their hotel rooms; it is apparently a feature of this annual event that after conference hours everyone tours the hotels and samples the hospitality offered by each firm.

The evening culminated in a dinner and dance and I was glad that the following day was spent visiting my host's family on the journey south to Boston Airport for the return flight to England.

One aspect of the visit which took me totally by surprise was the effort made by my English host, wearing his journalist's hat, to trace for me various Pennell namesakes around the small settlement of Pennellville, Maine. Americans seem to place far more importance on lineage than do we, and I was rather embarrassed by my own lack of knowledge.

Thankfully my distant ancestors were shipbuilders in the eighteenth century, which at least implied a natural descent.

The week was an experience I shall not forget and the hospitality overwhelming —more than seven days would require a full fitness training programme. My suits spent eight days unworn and I was all but forbidden to wear a tie—thank goodness for the 'woolly pully'! I hope that the many formal and informal discussions in which I was involved will eventually lead to a more active voluntary lifesaving organisation on the New England Coast, but money and many more dedicated men will be needed. The most surprising thing to learn was that most of the rural fire brigades in existence in the United States already operate in a manner very similar to the average RNLI station branch, with fund-raising events augmenting the locally levied rates, which fund the operational unit, yet few people had considered equating this organisation with marine search and rescue or a lifeboat fleet.

One last impression of the visit, much of which was spent 'on the road': the cleanliness and cheerful service at all the roadside cafes and restaurants. As a DI shortly returning to the coast, I found this aspect of American life particularly pleasing; I hope that I may find the like when travelling in the UK!.