Less food, more money It has become a tradition that, at the end of the annual conference of the marketing and sales division of Ciba- Geigy UK, delegates are served a ploughman's lunch and the difference in price between that and the full luncheon is donated to a charity connected with the town where the conference is held.

In 1986 the conference was held in the St Pierre Park Hotel, Guernsey and at the end of the luncheon Reg Norman, managing director of Ciba-Geigy UK, handed a £300 cheque to Guy Blampied, chairman of Guernsey branch.

Open day boost Avonmouth, Shirehampton branch were invited to take part in the Port of Bristol Open Day. The branch had a large area in which to set out a souvenir stall and display, which no doubt helped to bring the total amount raised to £198.83. An HM Customs sniffer dog demonstration, a display of ships' flags put on by the local Shiplover Society and tours of the docks and Avonmouth and Royal Portbury were other attractions during the day.

'Talk-in' total Raymond Baxter, chairman of the RNLI's public relations committee, was one of the guests of honour at a lifeboat evening organised by Woodbridge and District branch. More than 200 people attended the 'lifeboat talk-in' at Woodbridge Community Centre where Mr Baxter gave a talk on the RNLI and interviewed three East Anglian lifeboatmen, Roger Trigg, helmsman at Southwold, Coxswain Peter Burwood from Harwich and David Barrard, motor mechanic at Lowestoft. Wood-bridge Sea Scouts and cadets from Deben Yacht Club gave sterling help before, during and after the evening, and ladies of the branch sold souvenirs and ran a raffle. The evening was enjoyed by all and was a great financial success, raising £426 for the branch.

Another successful evening organised by the branch was held at the Woodbridge Riverside Theatre where the Felixstowe Musical Theatre performed revue and raised over £400 for the Institution. Lifeboat action photos were displayed in the foyer and during the intervals Libby Purves and Paul Heiney, radio and TV personalities, introduced crew members from Aideburgh and Lowestoft.

Fortune smiles Morpeth ladies' guild had the good fortune of being allowed to organise a fund raising event at Meldon Park, home of Mr and Mrs Michael Cookson, where 14 stall holders assembled to sell a range of gifts, all having agreed to donate 10 per cent of their takings to the guild. More than 400 people visited the event and the guild's own souvenir stall made £750. The total for the day, including donations and a raffle, was £1,658.

Action Anne Once again BBC Radio Newcastle organised a Lifesaver Appeal over one weekend last year when many fund raising events on behalf of the RNLI were organised by groups and individuals throughout the city. One such event was a sponsored abseil from Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland, carried out by members of the Sunderland Outdoor Activities Association. Acheque for £126 was handed over to intrepid area organiser, Anne Aiston, half way down an 80ft cliff. In total the appeal weekend raised more than £16,000, enough money to buy new inflatable lifeboats for Sunderland and Blyth.

Pub's reward Staff and customers of the Rose and Crown pub, St Albans, received a fitting reward for the support they give the local branch. A raffle was organised by landlady Mrs P. Milligan over Christmas which made a marvellous £505 for the Institution. At a small ceremony in the pub, chairman John Cox gave Mrs Milligan a framed photograph of a lifeboat, as a token of appreciation, on behalf of St Albans branch.

Hirsute loot The loss of two opposite quarters of Chief Petty Officer Dave Rye's head of hair, parts of Captain Peter Sayers' 'full set' and half of captain Mike Geddes' 21 year-old beard raised the grand total of £492 for the RNLI. The three seamen on board Shell tanker MS Erinna then cajoled other crew members into doing the same. Some lost the hair on one arm, a leg or an eyebrow while some of the shipboard wives were let off with just a lock of hair.

On parade Scott Little and Paul Lament, both members of the 1st Largs Boys' Brigade Company, handed a cheque for £71.25 to Helmsman Bernard Andrews of Largs lifeboat and R. Watson, the station's honorary secretary, who is also an officer with the company. The money was the collection from the annual North Ayrshire Battalion Junior Section parade and dedication service, held at St John's Church, Largs.Carnival cash The small village of Conyer, near Sittingbourne, Kent, donated a magnificent £1,132 to Whitstable lifeboat station as a result of its 1986 charity carnival. More than 100 people packed into the Brunswick Arms pub in Conyer to see Councillor Jean Newman hand a cheque for £600 to the station, being the outstanding money from the carnival.

Some of it had already funded items of equipment for the station such as protective clothing. The latest donation will help construct an outbuilding to house the lifeboat's new turntable. The Brunswick Arms added £400 to the total by having a collecting bottle on the bar.Dry year Not many people can boast that they kept their New Year's resolution for a whole year, but Mike Griffin, Keith Hansford and Derek Taylor, all from the Dorset village of Chideock can. On the morning of January 1, 1986 they woke up to find that they had signed a pledge not to drink for a whole year.

Despite great temptations of free drinks on aeroplanes, and the traditional harvesters' tipple to stave off dehydration, all three kept to their promise and avoided the punishments for not doing so: ten black leather lashes or two pints from the drip trays to drink. Publican Mike Tuck and his wife Marilyn from the George pub, Chideock, did their bit to keep up the enthusiasm by organising auctions and raffles throughout the year, and by the time the three men were able to enjoy a drink again, more than £750 had been raised for the RNLI.

Big Band bonus Members and friends of the Taverners Big Band spent their Christmas eve visiting pubs in Christchurch and Mudeford playing carols and making money for the Mudeford lifeboat appeal. Guest players in the band included Steve Mead, winning soloist for two years running in the BBC's Best of Brass competition, and also Steve Waterman, member of pop singer Alison Moyet's band and the Erasures' brass section.

Despite fewer people in the pubs, the band were pleased to present £98.33 to Mudeford station.

Hasty exit A coffee morning organised by Maiton ladies' guild in February at the Talbot Hotel was just in full swing when the fire alarms sounded. Minutes afterthe building had been evacuated two fire engines arrived. Not to be put off by such excitement, and exemplifying the tradition of lifeboat ladies, Lady Worsley, guild president, proceeded to draw the raffle in the hotel car park.

The all clear was soon given and the coffee morning was able to carry on as usual. In spite of the interruption, the ladies were able to raise £340 during the morning.

Flower power A raffle organised in Rochford by the Festival Committee of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies of Great Britain resulted in the magnificent sum of £4,209.88 being donated to the RNLI.

Mission complete Derrick and Jeans Waters have completed a lifetime's ambition of visiting every operational offshore lifeboat station, 147 in total. The mission has taken them 29 years of holidays to complete and many of the stations have closed since they started their grand tour in the Isles of Scilly all those years ago. They are both involved with fund raising for the RNLI, Jean recently completed 10 years as chairman of Winchester branch and Derrick is the branch's box secretary, as well as being one of thefounder members of the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society.

Support from overseas The 62 (Cyprus) Support Squadron Royal Engineers chose to support the RNLI in 1986. Although military commitments of the squadron intensified during the year a large number of fund raising events took place. The squadron Wives Club organised a dutch auction and car boot sale, realising £200 and a raft race with over 50 teams from all over the island added £1,000. A total of £1,500 was raised during the year.

Loss at sea During his latest transatlantic trip yacht deliverer Jim Longman spent time weight-watching as well as weatherwatching.

Whilst still 1,500 miles from America his time was up for completing a month-long sponsored slim organised by Christchurch branch and Jim was determined not to miss out. So he reported in by radio telephone from mid-Atlantic that he had shed five pounds. The annual slim attracted 100 contestants, including Green Goddess Diana Moran preparing for a new television health and fitness programme and raised about £4,000, bringing the total since the event started four years ago to £24,000.

Skittles marathon A 24 hour skittles marathon, organised by the ZIXEX Club, and held at the Royal Oak, Pewsey, was an unqualified success. Enthusiastic teams from the Women's Institute, the Chamber of Commerce, the Fire Brigade, various pubs and local papers, the RNLI and club members bowled all day and night and after sponsorships, raffle money etc were collected a total of £689.78 will be presented to the RNLI at the club's annual dinner in December.

Festival funds The Festival of the Plough is celebrated annually in Epworth and this year the Midland Bank donated £200 to sponsor a vintage tractor in the ploughing competition. The Festival Committee generously donated this £200 to the RNLI and also contributed a further £200 from the festival's profits.

This splendid donation of £400 was later accepted by the secretary of the Epworth ladies' guild at a presentation evening.

Salute to flag officers Nearly 60 flag officers from 20 different clubs forming the Blackwater Estuary Group were thanked for their marvellous efforts in fund raising for the RNLI at a sherry morning held at the Boar Hotel by the Maldon & District branch. Malcolm Robinson, chairman of the branch, reported that £15,001 had been raised during the past year, a fantastic achievement by everyone concerned.Reliable sources For the fourth year running Peter Bowman of Crewe branch received the Miss Day Trophy. This goes to the branch member who collects the highest total during lifeboat week. The branch has now reached the halfway mark in its bid to raise £8,250 for the West Kirby lifeboat appeal.

The Britannia pub in Colchester has raised £500 in a special effort to collect funds for the RNLI. It was spearheaded by the darts team in a sponsored darts marathon but there was also a substantial draw and a raffle. A cheque was presented to Mrs Clarke, secretary of the Colchester district branch.

A charity evening at the Castle Barge pub, Newark, raised money for charity when 100 people took part in games and a general knowledge quiz. A cheque for £73 was presented to the chairman of the Balderton branch.

Despite the appalling snowy conditions £952.03 was collected by Ilkeston branch on its flag days, with £315 being collected by Mr and Mrs Toplis.

Grantham ladies' guild were so thrilled when a collecting box at their local public house contained £60.19 that they composed a splendid note of thanks in rhyme.

A talk and film show was held by Gosport branch in the presence of His Worship the Mayor and Mayoress of Gosport. There were 52 branch and Shoreline members present and Mr Roy Smith, secretary of Hay ling Island lifeboat station gave a talk illustrated by slides. This was followed by the film In Danger's Hour. The souvenir stall realised £35.35 and collection £20.14.

An annual RNLI auction organised by Coventry ladies' guild was held in Parkside Garage Showrooms, Coventry, which kindly donated the space free of charge. Hundreds of items were sorted into lots and catalogued and the auctioneer also gave his services free.

After a lively morning of bidding the magnificent sum of £600 was raised.

The Lifeboat Theatre Players raised £2,000 for Kidlington branch with aperformance of the pantomime Aladdin.

Magnus Simpson, the Guizer Jarl of Lerwick's Up Helly Aa Fire Festival, had a smashing time when he broke open two giant whisky bottles which had graced the bar of the Morton Lodge for 15 months. The money collected benefited three local charities and £580 was presented to Lerwick branch.

Samantha Gorman, 11-year-old grand-daughter of two Harrow branch committee members, undertook a sponsored walk for the RNLI in near freezing rain and called it a day after 12!/2 miles. Samantha was none the worse after a hot bath and collected £37.50 from her sponsors.

Hundreds of Lowestoft people found themselves living in the past at Sparrow's Nest Theatre when Jack Rose, a former lifeboatman and local historian joined forces with Lowestoft branch treasurer Robert Moore to present a programme of historical slides. As well as depicting the history of Lowestoft lifeboats from 1801, the coxswains and crews, the dramatic rescues and work of the Institution, the work of the local ladies' lifeboat guild was also illustrated.

The evening raised £524 towards the cost of a new Tyne class lifeboat.

Radio appeal Listeners came up with thousands of pounds in aid of the RNLI during a broadcast appeal. A cheque for £2,200 was handed over by BBC Radio Kent station manager to the Mayor of Gillingham, Marjorie Whitehouse, who is a patron of Gillingham branch.

Sailboarder ill Sailboard expert Sandy Kirkwood was forced to abort his bid for a world record when weather conditions forced him to abandon a sail from Scotland to Bangor. He had battled through heavy seas on the 100-mile journey from Bute, off the Scottish coast, but became seasick within sight of the County Down seaside town. Sandy was the first to attempt the crossing on a sailboard and his magnificent effort raised £1,000 for the RNLI.

In the swim Members of the Castlereagh Sub Aqua club presented a cheque for £250 to the RNLI in Belfast.

Hors-d'oeuvre It is a little known fact that there is a branch of the RNLI in the Dordogne area of France, known as the Riberac Ladies' Guild. Actually it is a Ladies Luncheon Club consisting of nine members whose various fund raising events included an art exhibition and a bringand- buy from which £60 was raised.

Since its inception a year ago the club has sent the RNLI £110.Fashion cash-in A fashion show organised by Faringdon branch at the Royal Military College of Science of Shrivenham, raised £1,675, the highest sum for a single event since the branch was formed in 1974.Singing our praises Over £10,000 was raised at an RNLI concert at St David's Hall, Cardiff.

Richard Baker, OBE, presented the concert and the Morriston Orpheus Choir delighted the audience with music ranging from Verdi's The Glory of Israel to I'm Gonna Walk, a spiritual number during which the audience were invited to clap along. Soprano Suzanne Murphy and tenor Arthur Davies were soloists, accompanied at the piano by Ingrid Surgenor. The money raised will pay for a new D class lifeboat at New Quay, Dyfed.

The Long Eaton Operatic Society presented a concert entitled Songs from the Shows. The show was a sell-out, raising £286 for the Long Eaton branch.

A good start to the financial year for the branch, which last year raised £6,000.

Generosity abounds Relatives of a committee member of Moreton ladies' guild recently celebrated fifty years of marriage and when sending out invitations they asked for donations to the RNLI instead of presents.

This generous gesture resulted in £346.50 being presented to the guild.

Mrs V Jones, of the Wainfleet ladies' guild, celebrated her 90th birthday by also deciding not to accept presents but to ask people invited to her party to donate to the RNLI. The collection amounted to £87 and was made up to £90 to match the lady's years.

News from Cider Country Taunton Cider's appearance at the annual Jersey licensed trade and catering show resulted in £504 being handedto the coxswain of St Helier lifeboat.

The money was raised from raffles and a prize draw for show visitors.

Volvo Appeal A two-year fund raising agreement between the Institution and Volvo Concessionaires Ltd, launched at the Earls Court Boat Show in January, aims to provide a new offshore lifeboat for the RNLI's fleet.Since the Boat Show, RNLI volunteers have been combining with the Volvo dealer network throughout the country to try to sell the IVz million prize draw tickets which will have to be sold if the target is to be reached.

Volvo Concessionaires Ltd—sole importers of Volvo cars into the UK— have supplied nine 340 DL models for use as the star prizes in individual draws in nine participating regions and the company is also helping to promote the venture with the RNLI at a large number of county shows and similar events around Britain.

So far, response has been very good.

Highlights to date have included £500 raised in four hours at the opening of a road bridge in Devon; £600 raised in one day at the Daffodil Sunday event at Newmarket; £1,000 in two days at the Tyneside Fishermen's Festival and £1,600 in five days at the Arndale Shopping Centre, Stratford.

Volvo have also provided special collectable posters for Storm Force members to add to, month-by-month, to produce a colourful insight into the work of the RNLI.

Julian's jump Julian Packard, 33, who works in the RNLI's fund raising support centre at Poole headquarters, volunteered for a parachute jump earlier this year and, after a weekend course, jumped from 2,000ft above Goodwood Airfield in May. He landed safely and has gathered in £44.70 from sponsors for RNLI funds..