Boule me over! Treliske Cellar Supplies of Truro are staunch supporters of the lifeboat service. Five years ago the company's managing director, Bill Peaker, came up with the idea of playing the French game ofboule and organised the first Cornish Open Boule Championship, with the proceeds being donated to the RNLI.

This has now become an extremely popular annual event and a sister company, Fergusons in Plymouth has also taken up the idea and holds a Devon Open Boule Tournament each year.

Mr Peaker is a keen golfer and has also organised a Midsummer Madness golf tournament - teeing off at 0530! This event has been held annually for the last three years and has also raised a considerable sum.

All-in-all the company has raised more than £9,250 through its energetic fund raising efforts for the Institution.

Last Message Greystone Books, publishers of the book ' Last Message 13.58' have presented £ 1,000 to the RNLI.

Written by Donaghadee man Bill Pollock, the book details the dramatic sinking of the ferry the Princess Victoria in 1953 and the part played by the Donaghadee lifeboat in rescuing the 44 survivors. Greeting comrades! The Russian crew of the four masted barque Sedov were surprised to be greeted in Russian when they arrived in Plymouth for the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race.

The greeting came from Chris Southcombe, honorary treasurer of Rame branch who was one of a large party of supporters on board MV Plymouth Venturer which had been chartered by the branch for an evening cruise round the large fleet of sailing ships gathered for the race.

A buffet supper was enjoyed on board and, together with the proceeds of a raffle, £200 was raised from a memorable evening.

Water theme During the last school year pupils of the General Education Department at Armthorpe Comprehensive School in Doncaster based their entire studies on the theme of water.

Various practical activities were arranged, one of which included a visit to Bridlington lifeboat station where they were given a talk and shown the station's Mersey lifeboat.

After seeing a TV news item about the Flamborough lifeboat they decided to undertake a sponsored swim in aid of the RNLI and raised £85 for Bridlington lifeboat as a thank-you for the hospitality they received during their visit. In brief HIS GRACE the Duke of Atholl opened BlairCastle and gardens for the benefit of the RNLI in July. The Atholl and District branch provided and manned various stalls with the helpof Perth and District branch. Mrs McClintock of the Perth and District Quilters Guild provided a colourful display in the Grand Hall and a quilt specially made for the occasion was raffled. Volvo car draw ticket sales were supported by a Volvo car supplied by Strathmore Motors. This very successful day in beautiful surroundings raised £4,005.

MARATHON man Mr Lewis Surridge from Watford took part in the 1990 London Marathon and raised £391.10 for the Hemcl Hempstead branch. Walking every step of the way his time was 6 hours 44 minutes 32 seconds.

A BARBECUE and dance organised at Carrickfergus Castle was a complete sell-out and raised £1,250 for Carrickfergus branch.

A BUSY and successful year for the Cardiff Ladies' guild culminated in a luncheon at St Donat's Castle, which raised £3,900. The total amount raised so far this year is £ 18,000.

A SALMON and Strawberry Summer Supper held by the Gloucester Ladies' guild at Minsterworth Village Hall raised £770.

A COOKERY and Flower Arranging demonstration by Holywell branch raised over £600.

THE 25th anniversary of Croston branch was celebrated with a garden party held at the home of Mrs Beaumont, a former chairman of the branch. The party was opened by Mrs Beaumont's son, Bill Beaumont, former captain of England and the British Lions Rugby Union Teams.

CHRISTINE and Harry Pickstone of the Birmingham branch organised an Evening of Music by a string quartet and raised £ 160.

STYLE was the order of the day when the Belfast Junior branch held a formal supper dance at Balloo House. In addition to dancing the night away to a disco they ran a small raffle and the evening raised £375.

A MIDSUMMER Sherry Morning held by Teesdale Ladies' guild at Wycliffe Hall, County Durham raised a magnificent £766.

STAUNCH lifeboat supporter, Fred Taylor, vice chairman of the Shepton Mallet branch, collected £102 on the first flag day undertaken by the branch. Formed just a year ago in October 1989, the branch has raised £1,000.

THE OLD Aberystwyth pulling and sailing lifeboat John and Naomi Beanie proved a great attraction at the Wings, Wheels and Water weekend at Telford Town Park and helped Telford branch to raise over £700 from sales of raffle tickets and souvenirs.

THE ANNUAL flag day held by Aldeburgh and District Ladies' guild raised £652.91 in the house to house collection and £539.20 in the street collection, a splendid total of just over £1,192.

AN ANNUAL coach trip to London organised by the Haydock Ladies' committee proved a great success, with three coaches filled and £450 raised for Haydock branch.

DURING the last 25 years Prenton branch has raised £55,000 from a variety of fund raising events. The branch celebrated its silver jubilee in September and has many more events planned for the future. Not such a Scilly idea! Nearly 380 members from 41 branches and guilds in the South West Region who were eagerly awaiting a day trip to St Mary's, Isles of Scilly on Sunday, 1 July, were greeted by a notice warning passengers on Scillonian III of rough conditions and a bad crossing! Scillonian III set sail at 0930, and once in Mounts Bay she was joined by Penlee's Arun class lifeboat Mabel Alice , arriving at full speed and performing impressive manoeuvres at close quarters to show off her paces. Shortly afterwards, a Sea King helicopter from RNAS Culdrose swept in and helicopter and lifeboat gave a spectacular SAR display to the delight of a packed upper deck.

With branches from as far north in the region as Moreton in Marsh (North Cotswold), Cheltenham, Lechlade, Sodbury and district and Fishponds in Bristol, it was not surprising that this was the first lifeboat and helicopter action that some had seen.

Once over, the serious business of a rough sea crossing began, and one by one passengers succumbed to the smell of diesel and the unrelenting swell.

Once in the lee of St Martins, the northernmost island, the previous two uncomfortable hours were forgotten, and in unbroken sunshine and decreasing wind, the St Mary's Arun class lifeboat Robert Edgar came out to escort the party to the quay, where they were met by the Isles of Scilly Ladies' guild who had laid on a magnificent spread in the church hall.

At the end of the day Robert Edgar escorted the weary and sun-drenched party out of the harbour for the return passage in virtually flat calm conditions. The newest branch in the region, Perranzabuloe, organised a raffle on board, which was drawn by Paul Rowe, captain of Scillonian III. No sooner was it over than Mabel Alice welcomed the ship back to Mounts Bay and at 1930 she was alongside in Penzance harbour.

The day out was organised to give as many branches and guilds as possible the chance to meet each other and have a thoroughly good day.

As an added bonus, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company donated £6 to the RNLI for every lifeboat person carried, amounting to some £2,000 and with the raffle raising £479, it was a thoroughly worthwhile outing.

It only Hertz when they stop! The RNLI and the NSPCC benefited from £4,000 in sponsorship raised by three Hertz Leasing and Fleet Management personnel in a weekend charity drive.

Adrian Temple, John Ellenger and Carl van Petegem drove 2,639 miles in 68 hours 53 minutes to reach 103 lifeboat stations around the United Kingdom.

Starting out from the Hertz Leasing headquarters in Isleworth, Middlesex, the team drove clockwise around the UK coastline, stopping at each lifeboat station en route.

Travelling through the night they attempted to reach as many lifeboat stations as they could within the three-day time limit. Paging the Mumbles...

Coxswain Alan Jones of The Mumbles lifeboat recently presented a cheque for £6,600 to Captain Roy Griffiths, station honorary secretary.

The money had been raised from the proceeds of the seventh annual Mumbles Lifeboat Crews' Fun Raft Race and will be used to purchase 30 new radio pagers for use at the station.

The race was started to help raise funds for the Tyne class lifeboat Ethel Anne Measures, which is the current station lifeboat, and was such a success that it was decided to run it on an annual basis to help purchase equipment and to offset the running costs of the station.

The race has become a major attraction for locals and holidaymakers alike, and over the years has raised in excess of £30,000 providing the lifeboat with a new daylight radar, Decca navigator and updated VHP radio, as well as the pagers and equally essential items such as diesel fuel.

Lifeboat Gala About 5,000 people enjoyed a sunny afternoon at Anstruther's Gala Day in July.

Local pubs contributed teams in fancy dress for the annual raft race and stalls and extensive static displays, together with North Berwick's inshore lifeboat Blue Peter III, provided a variety of entertainment.

The proceedings culminated in a mock rescue and winching exercise by Anstruther' s Oakley class lifeboat The Doctors and a Wessex helicopter from 22 Squadron.

£4,500 was raised for the Anstruther lifeboat appeal fund. Gala Ball Almost ten years to the day since the reopening of the Penarth lifeboat station in June 1980, the crew celebrated the occasion by organising a Gala Ball in the City Hall, Cardiff.

It was a prestigious occasion, with nearly 350 guests attending in evening dress and dinner jackets. Among the guests were the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Borough and the Town Mayor, Sir Cennydd Traherne, and Mr Raymond Cory, deputy chairman of the RNLI and his wife.

Local businesses were very generous in their donation of prizes for the raffle and one local company donated a prize of a twoweek luxury cruise in the Caribbean for two.

Although the occasion was not intended as a fund raising exercise, a total of £3,842 was raised nevertheless! Coastal walk A sponsored walk organised by Hitchin and District branch on the North Norfolk coast was successfully completed in June and raised more than £1,200 for lifeboat funds.

Ten walkers started from Wells-next-the- Sea lifeboat station, and seven completed the 14.5 miles to Sheringham in 5hrs 20m.

A total of 22 walkers took part, some starting at Cley with the sole object of giving practical and moral support to those who were covering the full distance. The hardest part of the walk was the five miles between Cley and Weybourne on a shingle beach that made walking extremely difficult. Ian and Pat Pearce provided sandwiches, and staff at Sheringham lifeboat station provided welcome cups of tea at the end of the walk. In brief ANOTHER £515 has been raised by Withernsea Ladies' guild by holding a jumble sale and a grand draw.

AN AMERICAN Independence Day barbecue was organised by the Abersoch branch of the South Caernarvonshire Ladies' guild at B wlch Farm. The food and drink was donated by sponsors and members of the guild with Barrie McGill, Paul Jenkins and Emyr Jones elected cooks for the evening. Raffles and a treasure hunt added to the final amount of £582 raised by the successful evening.

A MINI Fete organised by Jodi Baker and her classmates in Year 6 at Hardingstone County Primary School raised £ 150 for lifeboat funds.

A TOTAL of more than £300 was raised for Cheadle and Galley branch from entrance fees, raffle and a souvenir stall at a charity competition held at Heaton Moor Golf Club.

DES Newton, honorary organiser of the Bootle-Liverpool area, sold five of his model boats to enthusiasts and raised £620 for the RNLI. Mr Newton, who is organiser of the National Model Boat Rally, also makes boats in bottles and the sales of these raise a tremendous amount for lifeboat funds.

ALMOST £2,000 was raised by Bexleyheath branch at the Bexley Show, the Bexley Water Festival and the Bexley Round Table Fayre.

At two of the shows a big attraction was the sale of tickets for a new Volvo car and £700 of tickets were sold. Whitehouse Volvo of Bexleyheath kindly loaned the branch a Volvo car for display at the functions.

THE ORDINARY Boaters' Club Charity Duck Race on the River Thames between Hurley Weir and Temple raised £956.25 for Henley branch. All the ducks were sponsored and there were prizes for the first 50 ducks over the line.

A SUMMER Fair was organised by Kensington branch in Nevern Square, by kind permission of the gardens committee who waived their fee as a contribution to the RNLI. In addition to the usual stalls, the Metropolitan Police advised local residents on home security, and the Girl Guides Association took a stall to promote their work and to sell home-made cakes in aid of branch funds. Almost £2,000 was raised from this very successful event.

AUGUST 11th was the start of a busy week in Inverness, when the Inverness Ladies' guild held its annual collections and a generously sponsored Viennese concert evening in the Eden Court Theatre. This strenuous but successful period realised in excess of £5,100.

BY THE end of May Worthing branch funds had exceeded £10,000, an increase of 25 per cent on last year's figures. May proved a cracker for fund raising activities with nearly £4,000 being achieved, of which £1,776 came from a sponsored walk along the seafront and £947 from events attributed to individuals.

A TUPPERWARE party, a coffee morning and the sale of ex catalogue goods realised nearly £187 for Staithes Ladies' guild. / is. / Rosey future More than 100 guests were welcomed by Sir Alec Rose and Lady Rose to a wine and cheese party held in their delightful garden.

Delicious delicacies were prepared by Lady Rose and her band of volunteers from the Havant branch committee, and among those attending were the Mayor of Havant and her consort as well as crew members of the Hayling Island and Portsmouth lifeboats.

Generous prizes for a raffle were donated by local businessmen and an impressive £ 1,000 was raised for the RNLI. Quite a gig The 1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scouts recently celebrated their 81 st year by rowing a naval gig 81 miles down the Thames from Abingdon to Molesey.

The sponsored journey was completed against an easterly wind, with no helping stream, in 21 hours. The Scouts generously split the proceeds between their own funds and the RNLI, and Molesey branch was presented with a cheque for £550.

Long distance hiker Box secretary of Ilkeston and District branch, fifty-five-year-old Peter Toplis, undertook a marathon 278-mile walk from Hartlepool to Skegness and raised £1,200 through sponsorship and collections along the way for the Spirit of Derbyshire appeal.

Taking j ust over a week and calling at each lifeboat station along the route, Peter walked along the beach where possible but the stretch between Staithes and Scarborough included roads with 11 one-in-four hills.

A party of fellow branch members travelled to Skegness to greet Peter on his arrival and two of them, Mavis Skelston and Mike Osborne, walked the last 17 miles from Mablethorpe with him.

Roadshow luncheon A very successful Roadshow Luncheon was organised by Guernsey Ladies' guild and raised £1,000. The committee prepared a cold salad lunch and members of the guild and the public who attended were able to bring an antique for valuation, at £ 1 per item.

These were valued by a small team of experts who agreed to give up their time for a free lunch and the usual raffle was also included.

Services rendered A plaque modelled on a station service board was presented to Mrs Paula Milligan, landlady of the Rose and Crown public house in St Albans who, together with her collector Michael Tutt, raised £1,926 in 1989.

The plaque, headed Services Rendered, was presented by Mrs Alison Saunders, a member of the committee of management and deputy chairman of the fund raising committee, who was delighted to hear that the public house has already raised over £2,000 so far this year. Cunning plot...

Plymouth Gin has raised enough money through Guernsey hotels and clubs to present the St Peter Port lifeboat with an electronic chart plotter.

Peter Bisson, coxswain of the lifeboat, says that the unit will be of great benefit to lifeboat navigators, particularly at night - although the crew will still back-up the plotter with normal navigational procedures. One of the useful features of the unit is its ability to zoom in and out, to give more detail or cover a wider area.

The experiences of the Guernsey crew with the chart plotter will be monitored by the RNLI and if it proves useful other craft may be fitted with the equipment.

Raindrops and roses...

Not a drop fell on the day Keepers Cottage in Lindfield, Sussex, opened its gates for the ninth time in aid of the RNLI.

A lovely summer's day in July proved to be the perfect setting for raising funds when Percy and Elizabeth Blunden welcomed 693 people to their small garden, described by one visitor as 'an absolute gem'.

A magnificent £900.48 was realised from donations, plant sales and teas - an estimated 1,000 'cuppas' being supplied by the hardworking helpers - with £ 137 worth of souvenirs being sold by the committee of Haywards Heath branch. All the money is going towards the Shoreham lifeboat appeal.

Marvellous Mandy Mandy Parsons has been collecting for the RNLI for nearly 20 years. Physically handicapped all her life, she arranges her summer holidays from Reading to coincide with flag day at Instow, North Devon.

Early morning sees Mandy at her collecting point on the seafront at Instow where she sits in her wheelchair selling flags until the last people have gone home in the evening.

Over the years Mandy has collected hundreds of pounds for Appledore Ladies' guild and has made as many friends.

This year, Tony Bellamy, area organiser for the south west, presented Mandy with a plaque in recognition of her services to the Institution. To her delight the inshore lifeboat came over from Appledore so that crew members could thank her in person.

Mandy bettered her last year's total of £140, setting up a new record of £170. A Marquee Luncheon The Framlingham branch held a marquee luncheon in June. The marquee and decorations were the gift of a member whose daughter had been married the day before, and the catering was done by the same people who had catered for the wedding.

Two hundred guests enjoyed a splendid luncheon and a total of £794.89 was raised for lifeboat funds, including £150 from the sale and auction of the wedding flowers and £250 from a raffle.

Midsummer madness On midsummer night the RNLI flag was seen proudly flying from the hill overlooking Canterbury.

The Canterbury branch, just into its second year after being re-formed, decided to hold a grand summer ball. The venue chosen was the Rutherford Hall of Residence at the University of Kent and the Great Hall, which was decorated with RNLI banners and flags, has a magnificent floor to ceiling window overlooking the city of Canterbury. The cathedral was specially floodlit for the occasion.

A dinner in true 'hall of residence' style was enjoyed by 175 guests who then danced into the early hours to raise £3,327.

Primary marathon Seven-year-old Kathryn Jones of Hampton Dene had always wanted to run in a marathon, so she persuaded her classmates in Classes 2E and 2C at St Paul's VA Primary School to participate in a fun run at the school.

About 30 children took part and the event was supported by parents and members of the Hereford branch committee. The children had decided that the recipient of their fun run sponsorship money should be the RNLI as it fitted in with their project on the sea. £70.20 was presented to the branch - an excellent result.

Caring butchers Carings the Butchers of Canvey Island live up to their name for the lifeboat service.

Instead of charging for 'doggie bones' and carrier bags they invited their customers to put a small donation in their charity bottle - an empty gallon whisky bottle.

At a recent presentation in the shop the contents of the latest bottle were tipped into an RNLI flag for counting by Canvey Island branch and the gallon of money amounted to £178.73.

A certificate of thanks was presented by Bernard Griffith, branch honorary secretary.

Promises, promises Billinghurst and District branch held an auction of 'Lively promises and objects of potential interest' in aid of the Shoreham Harbour appeal.

There were some 124 lots ranging from a ride in a hot air balloon, a trial flying lesson or one day's sailing on Creightons Naturally, an entrant in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

The auction was a huge success and raised more than £9,000. Software into hardcash! Cornish-based computer software company LuxSof t has been donating almost half of the selling price of its 'Basic Needs' programs for the Amstrad PCW computer to charity.

The company began its support for the RNLI at the beginning of 1990 and 100 copies of the £9.95 program have now been sold. £5 of the selling price goes to the RNLI, but as some customers supply their own discs, or round up the price, and 'updates ' to the latest version are supplied' free', provided at least £2 is donated to the Institution, the actual amount raised is often higher.

The two cavaliers Two Elloughton schoolboys in North Humberside recently undertook a sponsored round of golf dressed as Cavaliers in aid of the RNLI and raised a magnificent £600, with promises of further donations from local businesses.

The idea came to Kristian Bean and Lee Harah after watching a video of The Cruel Sea and having seen men risk their lives to save others in all types of weather, they thought the RNLI must be the charity to support.

Young farmers and the tractor Withernsea inshore lifeboat station found itself in need of a replacement tractor to help launch its D class lifeboat and sought to fund this locally.

The local Young Farmers came to the rescue and raised £2,019.73 for the vehicle, to be supplied by a local agricultural machinery specialist. Cuddly toys Jean Jones, souvenir secretary of New Quay Ladies' guild, makes knitted dolls for sale at the boathouse and over £100 is raised each year from their sale.

In brief FOR MANY years Mr John Lever and his staff at the Lytham branch of Halifax Property Services have helped Lytham Ladies' guild by selling RNLI Christmas cards and calendars, and so far have sold £10,000- worth. They also take in the collecting boxes and provide a room for counting money during the guild's house-to-house collections and flag days. To thank them for the invaluable help given to the Institution David Jones, regional organiser for the north west, presented Mr Lever with a shield.

LIFEBOAT Saturday in Hayle proved a rewarding day for Hayle branch. The St Ives lifeboats took part in an air/sea rescue demonstration and seven lucky children were given a trip across the bay to St Ives in Mary Joicey. Many more were given trips around the harbour in the inshore lifeboat and demonstrations by the Hayle Surf Lifesaving Club and the Hayle Canoe Club all contributed to a rewarding day for onlookers and organisers alike. £340 was raised for lifeboat funds.

EVERY year, founder and secretary of Cannock branch, Mrs Iris Brookes, makes up to 800 jars of marmalade for sale at fetes and sales to raise money for the branch - which last year raised over £7,000. As well as her marmalade, Mrs Brookes sells Lifeboat Tea, knits and sells Postman Pats and baby cardigans, all in aid of the RNLI..