Bear necessities Mrs Mary Woods of Hamble ladies' guild, has been knitting personalized teddy bears since 1984, and the proceeds of the sale some 466 teddies has provided three Neil Robertson stretchers for Beaumaris, Eastbourne and Hayling Island lifeboat stations, and items of clothing for the Torbay crew.

The teddies are made to Mrs Woods' own design and their jumpers and trousers are removable for drying out! They are quite safe for children to play with, and stand about 9in high.

Mrs Woods will knit you a teddy with the name of your boat on his jersey for £ contact her at 14 Broad Way, Hamble, Hants.

Choral concert A concert by the massed choirs of the Barry and Penarth Male Voice Choirs was held the United Reform Church in Barry.

The concert was organised by the Barry Dock lifeboat station branch, with the help of Barry ladies' guild, and raised £200.

Baking for funds Two beautifully decorated cakes were raffled and raised handsome amounts for the branch or guild involved.

On the Isle of Wight the West Wight guild raffled a cake made, decorated and donated by Mr R.J. Foster of Yarmouth. His cake was iced in RNLI colours, the upper surface decorated with an Arun class lifeboat and the names of the Yarmouth crew members piped round the sides of the cake. The proceeds the raffle amounted to £238.50.

Another work of art was raffled by Henleyon- Thames branch. This particular cake was made by Mrs Tester of Highmoor and was based on the Sennen Cove lifeboat station.

Everything depicted, with the exception the boats, was made from icing sugar and the cake raised £154 for lifeboat funds.

Great cake sale Deprived of its annual lifeboat lunch sale this year, due to lack of suitable venue, the Edinburgh Leith and Granton ladies' guild managed to obtain the loan of a large empty shop for two days in a busy part of central Edinburgh to hold a Great Cake Sale.

It was all arranged in less than three weeks, but the response was magnificent. There was a stall for cut spring flowers and a grand draw but the main attraction was the thousands of gorgeous cakes and the final result was a splendid £3,500.Family evening Three members of Harwich lifeboat crew and their families were honoured guests among 200 people at the 'family' evening organised by Woodbridge and District branch.

Second Coxswain David Gilders, Emergency Mechanic Ken Branch, Crew Member John Titheridge and station honorary secretary Captain Rod Shaw took part in a 'Question and Answer' session with the audience, preceded by a film and slides of the Harwich lifeboats in action.

Colourful stalls were manned by Rod Mortlock of the Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society with his splendid models, John Kneebone with secondhand books and, together with the sale of souvenirs and refreshments, the event raised £425.

Never too old! Mrs Joumeaux of St Helier, Jersey, who will be 100 years old in August, spends her days knitting bed-socks and baby clothes which are sold at the local annual auction on behalf of the RNLI. Over the years she has raised many pounds for the lifeboat service.Young James Graham, aged three, joined fund raisers in a sponsored swim organised by Tamworth ladies' guild and raised £40 for lifeboat funds.

James was initially only going to swim one length but was enjoying himself so much that he just carried on and swam a whole six lengths.

Around 20 people took part in the event and raised approximately £300.Supporters weekend The Spring bank holiday weekend saw lifeboat crew and supporters from throughout the south east converge on Camber Sands Leisure Park for the third in a series of events staged by the Dungeness lifeboat crew and committee.Activities included visits to lifeboat stations at Hastings, Eastbourne and Dungeness. At Hastings the crew proudly showed off their new Mersey class lifeboat Sealink Endeavour, at Eastbourne the visitors viewed the Rother class The Davys Family (on relief duty as the station's own Duke of Kent was being refitted) and were also able to see the new economy type tractor for the inflatable lifeboat (left)! The final visit to Dungeness saw a practice launch of another Rother The Alice Upjohn and a man overboard drill.

The evenings were well catered for, cabarets were staged and the lounge area was the site of an interesting display of boat models, photographs and cuttings outlining the history of the Dungeness lifeboat and souvenir stall.

On the final evening two cheques were presented to Frank Martin, chairman of Dungeness branch- the first for£580 from Oakley Leisure Group and the second for £1,800 being the proceeds of a long series of fund raising events run by the staff of Camber Sands Park, supported both by visitors and owners of private chalets and caravans on the site.Operation Sterndrive is a big pull for supportersOperation Sterndrive is a big pull Three men set off on a back-breaking, 13- mile narrow boat pull to raise funds for the RNLI. Bryan and Janet Ralph of West Bromwich organised Operation Sterndrive, and with the support of Lichfield Cruising Club and local boating clubs have so far raised over £4,000 by sponsorship and selling advertising space on following boats.

The 35ft boat was hauled from Fradley Junction, near Alrewas to Kettlebrook Wharf, Tamworth and a string of decorated boats and friends in fancy dress followed Bryan and his team during the two-day pull.

Bryan is pictured left, with Trevor Lee and Bryan Thompson (pullers), Maggie, a helper and Janet Ralph who steered the boat throughout the pull.

The money raised will be used to buy new waterproof clothing for the Criccieth lifeboat crew.

n brief A VARIETY of events organised by Harpenden branch, including a summer lunch, quiz evening, a sponsored dog-walk, a trip on a steam train on the Severn Valley Railway and the regular wastepaper collection (117 tons) resulted in a splendid £12,500 being remitted to headquarters last year.

FOLLOWING a wine tasting evening organised by Tighnabruaich Ladies' guild a 'silent auction' raised £994 for lifeboat funds.

In 1988 this small guild forwarded £7,600 to headquarters, the result of just three fund raising events.

THE 165th anniversary of the founding of the RNLI was commemorated by Epping branch with a barn dance. The evening was a great success and £452 was raised.

IN OCTOBER the Walton and Frinton Ladies' guild celebrated their tenth anniversary with a dinner. A toast to the guild was proposed by George Price, Eastern regional organiser, and the guest speaker was Ray Kipling, deputy director of the RNLI. During the dinner Mrs Kemp, wife of the coxswain, presented the branch with a cheque for £ 1,000 bringing the total raised to £22,700.

A FASHION show organised by Withernsea Ladies' guild resulted in £682 being raised for lifeboat funds.

TWO FLOATS made by Spilsby branch and entered in the Spilsby Carnival held on May Day collected £ 150 along the route. One of the floats depicted an oil rig sinking with a lifeboat coming to the rescue and the other a fishing boat sinking with a lifeboat and helicopter involved in the rescue.

A 'SILENT AUCTION' held by Rame branch raised £575 of which £ 103 came from the raffle of a magnificent cake made and donated by Mrs Pauline Fortey. Among the guests were Andrew Young, South West regional organiser and Captain Grindal of HMS Raleigh.

A SUPPER party organised by the small Albrighton branch raised a record £ 1,120, and together with further donations the sum of £ 1,200 was sent to headquarters.On the right trail Members of Newcastle (Northern Ireland) Round Table presented a new trailer to Newcastle lifeboat station to help with launches at low water.

Present at the handing over of the box trailer at the station were Round Table Chairman Peter Law, Newcastle honorary secretary, Robin Sweetnam, lifeboat crew members and Tablers.

Pull for the RNLI Twelve teams came to the Royal Victoria Country Park on the edge of Southampton Water on a dry but overcast day for the second annual Tug-of-War, sponsored by BT Marine and other local firms. The event was organised by the Southampton Lifeboat Board.

Around the main arena were several sideshows, Punch and Judy, a mini fun fair and a visit from Alex Mouse. Souvenirs were on sale and a Peugeot car helped sell draw tickets.

Competition was fierce and the winning team was the Langley Tavern from Hythe.

One of the less successful teams, but one which joined in the fun of the day, was a local firm, Wrights Glass. Not only did they lose every pull but they were defeated by a scratch ladies' team from the spectators! Prizes were presented by Captain John Simkins, chairman and chief executive of BT Marine and it is expected that overfl ,000 will be raised from sponsorship.

Long-haul help Hong Kong, the most far-flung of all the RNLI's branches, continues to thrive and raise funds for the lifeboat service 'back home'.

Founded by expatriates in 1982, it has already raised more than £15,000 for the Institution.

Overseas generosity When a party of Scouts, Cubs and Beavers from the 1 st Afcent International Scout Group from the Heinsberg District, Brunssum, Netherlands visited Ramsgate lifeboat station they brought with them a cheque for £1,063.

The money had been raised by sponsored walks and the collection and sale of waste paper. The chairman of Ramsgate Branch, Mr R. Taylor, received the cheque on behalf of the branch and the visitors were then given the opportunity of a short trip in the station's Atlantic 21 lifeboat.

Southern Comfort Lifeboat supporters were cordially invited to a cruise on the Norfolk Broads by Howard P.

Bell, honorary liaison officer of the Eastern Region.

One hundred friends and supporters boarded Southern Comfort, a Mississippi paddle boat, for the Broadland cruise - which was followed by a luncheon at the Petersfield House Hotel, Horning.

A grand total of £ 1,208 was raised for local lifeboat funds from this very enjoyable fund raising event.

That was the week that was London Lifeboat Week not only reached the elusive target of £250,000 but exceeded it handsomely, with a grand total of £266,132.

The whole of London within the Metropolitan Police area was covered, together with the City, and involved the efforts and enthusiasm of many many stalwart supporters.

One example is the Liverpool Street station collection where on Lifeboat Day £1,895.27 was collected. This included £677.11 collected by Mrs Rene Fitzgerald (who is wheelchair bound) and her daughter Christine.Hot snacks! Montrose lifeboatmen can now look forward to readily available hot snacks. The patrons of the Salutation Inn have presented the lifeboat station with a microwave oven.

There was also a cash balance which, together with the proceeds of a prize draw and bottle collection, will buy a plentiful supply of ready-to-cook meals.

Cheque rescued! On a warm sunny afternoon in May Graham Bradshaw and Stephen Gilbert were 'rescued' from the sea off Pendennis Point, Falmouth. They were holding a cheque for £ 1,000 when Falmouth's Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat, under the command of Royston Prynn, came to pick them up.

Graham and Stephen are better known as the Falmouth-based Platinum II Road Show and this was the second £1,000 they have raised for the RNLI since they started ten years ago. After being delivered ashore by the lifeboat they presented the cheque to Lord Falmouth, patron of the Falmouth branch.

Prior to the presentation there was a very spectacular '999 services' display organised by the branch, emphasising the emergency services available for both visitors and lo-.

cals.

Static displays were put on by the police, ambulance, fire brigade, Maenporth surf rescue and HM Coastguard. A Nimrod from RAF St Mawgan started the display with a low-level fly past, two auxiliary coastguards who had been surreptitiously slipped into the choppy water released orange smoke dis-tress flares and maroons were fired. A Sea King helicopter from RNAS Culdrose dropped two divers into the water and they assisted the two' casualties' onto Falmouth' s Arun class lifeboat Elizabeth Ann..

A commentary was given throughout by Captain D.G. Banks, secretary of Falmouth branch.

A further £250 was raised from the sale of souvenirs and a collection by Sea Cadets.

The picture shows, from left to right, Mrs Pat Richards, organiser of the display, George Laity, branch chairman, Lord Falmouth, Stephen and Graham, the chairman of Carrick district council and the Mayor of Falmouth.Xtra help for Penarth As a postscript to the fund raising pledge mentioned in the Spring issue of THE LIFEBOAT, the Halifax Estate Agency in Penarth donated £250 to the Penarth lifeboat station branch.

The agency had pledged £10 for each of the first 25 houses sold by its newly opened branch.A birthday with a difference A fifth birthday party in the village hall for Billy Salisbury of Quorn, Loughborough had all the trimmings - plans were made for the despatch of invitations to the whole of his school class and friends; lots of food, lots of noise and lots of fun were promised.

But Billy's mother could not face the thought of him receiving a vast amount of presents. So she suggested to Billy that, with his agreement, there would be a 'no presents' condition - all parents of invited children would be told that, should they wish, they could make a donation to charity instead.

Billy chose the RNLI, everyone was informed and Mrs Salisbury contacted a local branch member who brought along a collecting box.

A set of RNLI posters arrived on the day and Billy behaved impeccably in the face of the 'no presents' condition. He was thrilled when Mr Webster, a member of Loughborough branch, called to open the collecting box and counted a magnificent £43.18.In brief EVERY YEAR the firemen of Horndean fire station in Hampshire hold a bonfire night party, the proceeds of which go to a worthy cause. This year the firemen decided to donate £ 1,000 of the money raised to the RNLI and a cheque for this amount was presented to Commander Bradshaw, vice chairman of the Waterlooville branch.

FOR THE FOURTH year in succession the annual Christmas variety show held at the Stanford Hall Theatre, Loughborough was held in aid of the RNLI. A cast of over 50 performers ensured three-and-a-half hours of fun and laughter - resulting in £700 being raised by Loughborough and District branch.

HELMSMAN Geoff Nugent and his wife Maureen (a committee member of Cullercoats Ladies' guild) arranged a surprise party for Mr R.J. Taylor, honorary secretary of Cullercoats branch at the Queens Head public house. More than a hundred guests attended and included past and present crew members, local ladies' guild and station branch committee members. The landlord, Bill Routledge, took the opportunity of presenting a cheque for £600 to the branch.Clubbing together Stevenage Board Sailing Association, Stevenage Sailing and Canoeing Association and Stevenage Model Boat Club have got together to raise £10,000 for the Institution.

Their aim is to fund a D class lifeboat, including the kit for the crew, and to date they are well on target with £6,500 being raised from sponsored sails.

Stevenage branch, to whom the money is being presented, would like to thank the clubs for their splendid support and enthusiasm.

Never too young! Adelle Rowe and Sarah Whiteley, both aged 10, undertook a sponsored cycle ride from Braunton to Instow on the old railway line.

The 20-mile journey took them seven hours and raised £50. A cheque was presented to the Ilfracombe ladies' guild at one of their coffee mornings.

Another young supporter, Andrew Homer aged 12, from Crayford in Kent, completed the Junior London Marathon and raised a splendid £215 for lifeboat funds.

Branching out The newly-formed Birchington and District branch got off to a flying start when its first fund raising effort, a coffee morning, resulted in £252 being raised for funds. Lifeboat Saturday, held for the first time in Birchington, proved very successful with the splendid sum of £384 being collected.

Plans are well in hand for other exciting ventures during the summer to encourage the 140 members who have so far joined the branch.A greasy pole joust at Poole Quay raised £200 for the Institution. One of the 28 entrants in the event, which took place in February, was the organiser, Jim Kellaway, landlord of the Lord Nelson Inn. All were fortified by a Wassailing Cup - a hot punch made of cider, red wine, sherry and dark rum - before braving the joust which took place on board the boat Cock On.

The greasy pole was suspended between two outriggers on the boat, owned by Rod Jenkins, and the winner was Martin Diamond who was dressed in Highland costume.

The money was raised through entry fees and a collection among the spectators.Help in kind It is cost effective for the RNLI to buy various chemicals such as battery acid in bulk. However, smaller containers and bottles are then required for easy distribution to the 203 lifeboat stations around the country.

This is where a company called Blow- Mocan comes to the rescue. The plastic containers company, based in Milton Keynes, has been bailing out the RNLI for over three years by supplying hundreds of containers free of charge - a most substantial and welcome 'donation' to lifeboat funds.

Pub trophy A trophy, an RNLI insignia mounted on a presentation shield and inscribed with the words 'With Grateful Thanks', is awarded annually by Yateley and District branch to the public house in its area whose collecting box brings in the most money.

This year the trophy was presented to The Anchor in Yateley, and the landlord Dave Woodwards and his wife Sandra accepted it on behalf of their customers who have supported the RNLI so well with their donations of small change.

The Anchor raised £692 out of £1,300 raised by local pubs, and it is the second time it has been awarded the shield - the first being in 1982, the first year the trophy was awarded.Hammer blow! A grand bottle-breaking event was held at the Vaynol Arms Hotel in Abersoch, when the proceeds from six months hard work by the licensee, Andrew Shaw, were counted.

Long after the bottle had been filled interest in the collection was maintained by a competition to guess the amount it held. Captain Pat Grimason, the station honorary secretary, broke the bottle which held a magnificent £419.25 (£250 being the result of a sponsored shave by Andrew Shaw and lifeboat crew member Keith Thomas).

The competition to guess the amount held in the bottle raised £100, of which £50 was donated to the RNLI and a raffle realised a further £ 100. One of the prizewinners, Nick Collins, donated his prize of a bottle of whisky to be auctioned and the final bid raised £50.

A hot-pot supper with music by the Elite Syncopators Jazz Band completed a very enjoyable evening which resulted in total proceeds of £619.55.In traction Each year Birmingham Science Museum organises a traction engine rally, and over the past nine years Christine and Harry Pickstone and Bill and Maise Cotton of the Birmingham branch have collected nearly £2,500 at the rallies.

To thank the museum's director, Peter Robinson, for his help in permitting the collections to take place, Nigel Richards, chairman of the Birmingham branch, presented him with an RNLI plaque.

To mark the occasion a traction engine from the rally towed an inshore lifeboat to the museum.

Courting success A Palm Court Orchestra concert, under the direction of Ivor Crocker, professor of violin at the Royal Marines School of Music, was organised by Mrs Madge Harper, a member of Goodwin Sands and Downs Ladies'guild.

The musical evening raised £500 and a luncheon organised by Mrs Betty Mutter, treasurer of the guild, raised a further £442.

At the boathouse the souvenir stall took £543 - a secondhand book trolley proves a good source of revenue from holidaymakers! Boxing clever Two pubs have developed novel ways of ensuring that there is a steady flow of money into their lifeboat collecting boxes.

The landlords of the Railway Hotel in South Godstone, Mr and Mrs P. Stewart, were presented with a plaque by Godstone branch in appreciation of the sum of £567 which had been collected from a single collecting box on the bar during the year.

Mrs Gina Morrison, chairman of the branch, the honorary secretary, treasurer and committee members, together with Dennis Walker, the South East Area Organiser, attended the presentation.

The pub has a number of regulars who enjoy a game of cards, and the normal practice at the end of the evening is for all winnings to be put in the collecting box.

A novel and generous way of donating money to the lifeboat service.

Since taking over The Fleece in the Suffolk village of Boxford, landlord Stuart Ross has encouraged his customers to fill lifeboat collecting boxes on a regular basis and in one year raised more than £400 in a 'swear box' - the later the hour of the curse, the higher the fine! In October last year he raised £606 himself - through sponsorship for going teetotal for a whole month.A rum do Mr Ken Thirlwell, organising secretary for Scotland, received a cheque for £3,700 from Mike Baum, sales director, URM Agencies Scotland.

The money was raised from Watson' s Rum collection bottles placed in over 100 pubs throughout Scotland.

Watson's Rum has supported the RNLI for three years and URM have agreed a continuing package of support for this coming year.

Unshellfish help Since 1982 four very enterprising children have raised £643.54 on the Isles of Scilly from the sale of painted and decorated shells.

The four Prosser children from Tiverton, who spend their summer holidays on the islands, formed the 'company' to sell the shells on the Garrison in aid of the St Mary's Isles of Scilly ladies' guild. Tim, now aged 16, is the manager, Nicola 14 is the painter, Jonathan 11 is the salesman and Caroline 9 is a 'sometimes seller'! In 1985 they were joined by two friends, Paul and David Vickers and, with the introduction of new designs and paints, takings doubled.

Lizzie to the rescue Lizzie tne Lifeboat, the heroine of Dora Thatcher's book, is continuing her fund raising activities - but this time in model form! Modeller and lifeboat enthusiast John Saunders was growing tired of having to refuse small boys requests of 'Can I 'ave a go mister' for fear of damaging his valuable, large scale models so he built a model Lizzie just for them.

The radio controlled mini lifeboat is complete with moving eyes and diminutive Daniel on the foredeck to complete the illusion!Stalwart collector Mrs J.B.R. Crosby of Garrowhill, Baillieston, by Glasgow, is a long-time supporter and collector for the RNLI, but this year she surpassed herself.

Single-handedly she carried out a houseto- house collection in the Baillieston area, and then carried, using public transport, four collecting boxes weighing almost 281b and containing £192.95 to the Glasgow branch of the Scottish Lifeboat Council.

Eight weeks later the same lady was taking part in the Glasgow flag day and after staying at her post without a break, from 10am to 4pm, collected a further £154, and then had to be persuaded to finish. Her parting words were 'Let me know what else I can do to help'.

Extra on the bill The general manager of the London Hilton, Park Lane, Jean Robert Loyer and John Wilson, senior vice president Europe, Africa and West Asia Hilton International presented a cheque for just under £4,000 to Mrs Ann Butler of the Central London Committee.

The money was raised over the Christmas period when the London Hilton added an extra £1 to their guests' bill, with their permission of course! Retiring gift Retiring after 46 years' service with British Aerospace (Military Aircraft), Mr A.E.

Barnett decided that instead of the usual retirement party he would like the contribution that the company makes towards such an event donated to the RNLI.

This resulted in £150 being sent to headquarters by British Aerospace in lieu of Mr Barnett's retirement party - a very generous gesture.Windsurfer donation Mr Matthew Robinson from Lutterworth in Leicestershire made a sponsored windsurf round the Isle of Wight last summer and raised over £2,000 for charity. This was divided equally between the RNLI and another charity and a cheque for £1,040 was presented to the Bembridge branch.

Matthew was escorted round the island by launch, and after setting out from Seaview, on the east side of the island, he sailed anticlockwise taking a total of 7 hours 2.5 minutes non stop, with the wind varying from Force 3-4 from the north to Force 5 from the north east.

The event was sponsored by Carlsberg and was also supported by Mazda Cars and Appleton Insurance with Ultrasport providing the windsurfing equipment.

Variations on a theme George Meller Limited of Ealing held their annual dinner and dance at the Castle Hotel, Windsor and the theme for the evening was 'Man the Lifeboats' with a request that dress would be 'nautical' or 'shipwrecked'.

Raffle tickets for 25 prizes were sold by mermaids, which resulted in £1,037.30 being donated to the RNLI..