Taking the plunge Thirty-six volunteers made their first parachute jump from 2,000 feet at the Al Skydiving Centre, Newnham in June and three weeks later Jim Marriott, landlord of the Ship Inn and organiser of the jump handed a cheque for £2,536.50 to Andrew Moore, chairman of Hitchin branch. Such was the success of the jump that Mr Marriott formed a skydiving club at the pub and although he has since moved on to new pastures, the club survives and is now raising money for the Lowestoft lifeboat appeal.

Margaret Hart, wife of Barry Dock lifeboat coxswain John Hart, and two crew members, Mark Fisher and John Ham also made a sponsored parachute jump, in aid of the station branch. In the fullness of time Mrs Hart was able to hand over a cheque for £1,250 to her husband.

Last minute cancellations due to strong winds delayed Simon Quantrill's parachute jump for six weeks before he successfully took the plunge. Simon, a member of Deben Yacht Club, Woodbridge, and a keen RNLI supporter, raised £85 among his friends and fellow students at University, money which he presented to John Chapman, chairman of Woodbridge and District branch, with the town's Mayor, Mrs Vera Freeman, in attendance.

Some enchanted evenings Nell Gwynn's former residence, Lauderdale House, Highgate, was the setting for Hampstead Garden Suburb branch's musical evening. The music was provided by The Mid Summers ensemble who played music to suit all tastes. All tastes in cheeses were also satisfied by the London Cheese Company who provided a delicious selection to go with the wine. Invitations had to be limited by the space available, unfortunately, but everyone was delighted with the £370 that was made during the evening.

Fowey lifeboat coxswain Brian Willis and his wife Dianah were the guests of honour at Polperro branch's dinner at Nelson's Restaurant, owned by Peter and Betty Nelson. During a highly enjoyable evening, when over £360 was raised, Coxswain Willis presented a plaque to Eileen Gendle in recognition of her services as branch secretary from 1978 to 1985 during which time the amount raised by the branch rose from £282 to over £3,000 per annum.

The fund to pay for a new lifeboat for Sennen Cove station was swelled by a cheese and wine party held by Ron and Barbara Warner last May. They took out a special drinks licence for the evening, when the entrance fee was £1 with drinks sold at 60 pence per glass. A fortune teller added to the fund's fortunes by passing on all the silver that had crossed her palm and a local artist donated a superb oil painting of a lifeboat in a westerly sea. Food and company were excellent and Mr and Mrs Walker's hard work was well rewarded with over £422 made for the fund.

Garden paradise Joyce and Betty Walden of St Leonards struck lucky with the weather on the day of their garden party and so many people turned up that there were not enough seats for everyone. Theanswer? Ten flag day box containers were dragged on to the drive with pillows off the beds on top to provide some impromptu seating. With such initiative the party couldn't fail to be a success and at the end of two hours £465 had been raised.

Christopher Sanders, a newly recruited Shoreline member, hosted a party in his St Albans garden last July which raised £127 for the local branch.

Among the guests were the Mayor andMayoress together with the local MP and his wife. Chris, who spent 23 years in the Royal Navy, is now planning his next fund raising campaign.

Wedded bliss When Mr and Mrs F. Clark from Neston, South Wirral, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary they asked friends and relatives to give donations to the RNLI instead of presents.

Neston and Parkgate branch were delighted when, after their anniversary party at the local Civic Hall, Mr and Mrs Clark were able to hand over £300 collected from their guests.

In a similar show of generosity Luton branch received a cheque for £200 from a local couple, both of whom were getting married for the second time.

They had decided they had enough home comforts so when asked what they wanted for a present the answer was, "something for the RNLI." Round the clock Not content with running a 24-hour darts marathon, office staff of the Sally Viking Line and customers of the Crown Hotel, Ramsgate, decided to organise a pool and quiz marathon at the same time. When everyone had recovered and when all the money raised was safely collected, a cheque for £1,000 was handed over to Ramsgate branch chairman, Councillor R.

Taylor, who was at that time Mayor of the town. A further £179.99 has come in from the marathon since the presentation.

In spite of a blistering heatwave and the World Cup final to distract them, an eight man team from the Waggon and Horses pub in Newham, London, manfully finished a 12-hour darts marathon.

Their scores were recorded on a computer and the team now defy any other darts team in East London or Essex to better their total and win the challenge trophy. However, the RNLI came out the winner from this particular darts marathon, benefiting to the tune of £500, which the team handed over to East Ham branch.

Artistic touch For two weeks in April Mrs Susan Chandler held an exhibition of her floral paintings in the Dartmouth branch of the Trustee Savings Bank.

From paintings sold and money taken for programmes Mrs Chandler raised £456 which she generously donated to Salcombe and Hope Cove branch.

Anniversary effort To mark the 50th anniversary of fund raising for Bexleyheath ladies' guild by Mrs Edith Beaumont, current chairman of the guild who was supported in her work for the RNLI by her husband untilhis death in 1982, the guild decided to make a special effort to increase their activities during the year. During a boating exhibition at the town's Broadway shopping centre the guild were kindly given, free of charge, a display area and were able to sell souvenirs during the two weeks of the show. Over £1,7(X) of souvenirs were sold and £360 was collected in donations from collecting boxes. In the financial year 1985/ 1986 the guild raised £7,717.

Antarctic antics Before sailing on her last voyage to the Antarctic the captain and crew of HMS Endeavour invited Sir Alec and Lady Rose to spend a day at sea off Portsmouth. They were welcomed aboard by Lieut Stephen Meredith, the captain's secretary and also Lady Rose's great nephew. Knowing the Roses' keen interest in the RNLI the crew organised a sponsored weight lifting contest during their tour of duty in the Antarctic which raised £300. The money was sent to Sir Alec on the ship's return to Portsmouth and he in turn handed it over to the Portsmouth (Langstone Harbour) lifeboat station to buy additional equipment for the station.

Sir Alec and Lady Rose, with the help of Havant branch, made a further £7(K) from a very successful cheese and wine party in the garden of their Havant home.

Going, going, gone! Landlord of the Pilot Inn, Eastbourne, Andy Bell-Smith, is not a great lover of the sea, which is perhaps what makes him admire what lifeboatmen do. He and his wife Ruth organised a charity auction in aid of the Institution, with customers of the pub donating items for sale. Local auctioneer.Andrew Parkes, gave his services for the evening free of charge. The auction was a great success and raised £528 which was duly presented to Coxswain Graham Cole of Eastbourne lifeboat.

Crafty rafts Maidstone Villages branch has only been formed for a year, but it has been a year to remember. A pram race on New Year's day caused a lot of hectic fun and a raft race at Maidstone River Festival was hard work but created a great deal of excitement. Branch members have also flown the RNLI flag over their stand at several village fetes during the year which has brought in some £2.780 in total.

Hair today . . .

Ingham Purdy sported, until a few months ago, long blonde hair; things have changed now. In May he decided to have his lovely locks lopped off to make money for Padstow lifeboat crew funds; a pleasing result for all concerned as £105 was raised.

Hull University student David Bradshaw had his 21 inch long hair cut and auctioned for the RNLI in July and collected £41.95 from fellow students which was then handed over to Willerby ladies' guild.

Yet another hairstyle and beard to be sacrificed to the lifeboat cause was that of Derek Brookes who persuaded regulars at the Beech Tree. St Mary Cray to part with £2(K) when he parted with his locks.

Antiques roadshow Terry House and Alan Willis of Two Counties Radio's Antiques Forum programme were the guests at Moordown and Charminster branch's RNLI roadshow with antiques and craft stalls.

The two experts valued some 160 items charging 50 pence a valuation and, together with bric-a-brac, local crafts, quilting, glass engraving, wooden toys, miniatures, pottery and collectibles stalls, the day made £273.

Flag weeks Lewisham branch excelled themselves during their 1986 flag week and raised over £6,(KH). a new branch record.

The week's collecting began with a church service at the United Reformed church, Lewisham, in praise and recognition of the work of lifeboat crews around the country. Members of Hastings lifeboat crew and the Mayor of Lewisham, Councillor Margaret Sandra, were at the service.

Two staunch flag week collectors from the Eastern region have sadly had to stop collecting. Mrs D. Gray of Rochford, Essex, has collected for the local branch for 13 years, but age and failing health of both her and herhusband has brought Mrs Gray's collecting days to an end. Mrs R. Sutcliffe has, for the last nine years, covered the twin but separated villages of Paglesham Church End and Paglesham East End on her bicycle, bringing in record amounts each year. A double cataract operation has stopped Mrs Sutcliffe cycling and collecting. The Eastern region is very grateful to both ladies for all their help in the past.

Members of Cannock and Wolverhampton branches joined forces to make collections at Hylton Park service station on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire in July. It was the first collection of its kind at the station and holiday makers from as far afield as Orkney and Hoy, Cornwall and Kent queued patiently to make their donations, and close on £1,000 was raised.

Golden miles The 26 miles and 385 yards which form a marathon course are proving very profitable for the RNLI as more and more people taking part under sponsorship are running for the RNLI.

Stuart Wood ran in the 1986 London marathon, completed the course and raised no less than £900 for Petts Wood and Grays branch in the process.

Stanley Thompson from Gateshead, 71 years young, completed the course as well. Not surprising, really, as he has already finished the Newcastle, Paris and Windemere marathons since he took up running four years ago. His effort brought in £460 for the RNLI.

Jim and Dorothy McDonald had a marathon journey to complete just to get to London for their big day in April, travelling down from Inverkeithing in Scotland. Although Jim is a regular marathon runner it was Dorothy's first time and both were delighted with the £473 they raised for their Inverkeithing ladies' guild.

Based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, Lieutenant Keith Naylor, the fire officer at the base also competed in the London marathon, sponsored by friends and colleagues to the tune of £318 which he handed over to Lizard- Cadgwith station branch at the lifeboat house.

Stratford-upon-Avon was the historical setting for Patrick Howell's marathon run in April; he raised £600 for Stratford ladies guild.

A running event on a more modest scale was organised by St Bernadette School, Balham, when 33 pupils undertook a sponsored run around the school playground in March. They raised £337, an average of just over £10 collected by each child. The school also gave valuable support during London lifeboat week.

Coffee's maid When Cockenzie and Port Seton branch, East Lothian, was re-formed in 1982 Mr and Mrs Whitehead were founder members and Mrs Whitehead set herself a personal target to raise£1,000 purely from coffee days in her home. Such has been the success of the days, and Mrs Whitehead's home baking, that the target was reached this year.

Record box Following our note about the record amount in a collecting box in Wolverhampton we have now heard that when the permanent collecting box in the Swan Inn, Pangbourne was emptied it was found to contain £91.36. The money was collected in three weeks, just before the pub shut temporarily for renovation. It must have been quite a closing down party to bring in that much money! Matrix magic In May 1986 the Bournemouth branch of the Woolwich Building Society became the first branch to join MATRIX, a nationwide cash machine network. To mark the occasion district manager for the Woolwich, John Sillett, made a withdraw! of £100 from the machine which he handed to the RNLI's administrative accountant Phil Williams. The Institution is the Woolwich's charity of the year.

Long trek Cleadon ladies' guild committee member Mrs Sheila Smith, her husband and two friends gave up their summer holiday to make a sponsored 270 mile walk along the Pennine Way. The journey took three weeks to complete, and sometimes meant walking in thick mist and fog and through bogs using a compass and maps. All overnight stops were planned in advance with military precision, and there were no injuries save one blister. Mrs Smith raised £120 by finishing the walk, Mr Smith was raising money for the Sea Scouts and the two friends went along as back-up hikers.

Mostest hostess Denise Latham is senior hostess with the Fred Olsen cruise line and has worked for some years aboard their ship Black Watch. She has now been appointed to serve aboard the line's brand new Black Prince in 1987. For some years Fred Olsen has been a supporter of the RNLI and Denise deserves much of the credit for the thousands raised as it is she who organises the daily raffles among passengers and the other fund raising devices.

Not content with these efforts, in the summer months when she works as cruise director aboard MV Rijnhaven on the Rhine, she holds Sunday church services and the collection goes to the RNLI. Her latest cheque to Poole Headquarters has been for £270.

Pride of place An Atlantic 21 inflatable lifeboat led the Dudley Students Rag Day Carnival in May and had as its 'crew' members of Dudley branch together with the rag king and queen. In taking such a prominent part the branch received a generous share of the carnival's £15,200 takings for the day.

Erdington branch had a D class lifeboat forming the main part of their float in the Erdington carnival; the lifeboat was crewed by local members of Storm Force as it was paraded around the town. The branch also had a souvenir stall in a local park and made £136 during the day, taking the total raised so far this year to over £3,000.

Rain dance Inspired by the musical West Side Story, Lisa (14) and Catherine (11) Cowan, decided to perform a gymnasticdance through the streets of Wakefield to some of the numbers from the show.

Accompanied by four school friends, the girls did their performance on a rather dismal day and it was definitely a case of 'singing and dancing in the rain'.

In spite of the weather the girls' performance raised £56.02 which was handed over to the Heavy Woollen branch.

Reliable sources Ainsdale branch raised £3,130.01 from just five of their fund raising events held during the current financial year. Their house to house collection brought in £1,400; on the flag day itself £384.12 was collected; a sherry morning made £568.78; a cheese and wine evening £600.68 and a book stall made a further £176.43. At a special coffee morning in April, Hazel Allison and Blanche Chapman were presented with silver badges in recognition of their work for the branch.

Reg Bray, chairman of Crawley branch, together with Mrs Bray and Mrs Audrey Wood, showed a £2,000 turnover by selling lucky tickets for footballs and teddy bears from a homemade trailer at summer fetes this year.

Mr Norman Clarke, gives many talks to schools in the Colchester area. One school, St John's Green School, made the RNLI its charity for the year after one of these talks and £97 has been sent to Colchester and District branch as a result. Members of the branch this yearcollected £6,771 during lifeboat week, a 15 per cent increase on 1985. Much of the organisation for the week is done by Mr Clarke's wife, Ruth, who formed the original ladies' guild in 1967.

Bexhill-on-Sea branch is having a bumper fund raising year and their annual appeal has topped the £3,000 mark, more than double last year's total. Three ladies from the branch, with over 80 years of fund raising between them, were recently presented with awards for their lifeboat work.

Sheila Henney and Pip Clare have been members of the branch for 40 and 26 years respectively and both received silver badges. Elizabeth Butterfield has served on the committee for 15 years and received a framed letter of thanks.

Eastbourne branch funds were boosted by some £560 when committee members were invited to man a stall with refreshments for five days at the Bates Green Farm Bluebell Walk at Arlington in East Sussex. John McCutcheon opens his land to the public for the walk and entrance fees are allotted to chosen charities. The farm's big barn is given over to a stalls and refreshment area..