And talking of parrots...

What does the word 'polylope' mean to you, apart from two love-struck parrots setting out on a new life together? In fact it represents an opportunity for significant cost savings to the RNLI. You may already have noticed that this copy of The Lifeboat arrived in a smart new plastic envelope, and the word is derived from the words po/i/propelene (plastic)/'/ and envelope. ' f There are several reasons for changing from the traditional brown manilla envelopes to the new material - polylopes are up to 50% cheaper than paper, they offer greater flexibility and the presentation looks brighter and smarter (pretty poly, you might say).

Testing Although there are significant benefits to the RNLI in using polylopes, we sought the views of readers first, so this may not be the first time that you have received your copy of THE LIFEBOAT in a polylope.

Some 20,000 copies of the Autumn issue were mailed in plastic to test the new material and the readers asked for their views on the change.

A smaller sample were also asked to complete a questionnaire . Some 650 of these questionnaires were returned and showed a staggering majority in favour. The first question asked in what condition the copy of THE LIFEBOAT arrived.

Only one reader reported 'Poor', against 633 'Good' and 40 'Satisfactory'.

Polyloping - a new adventure for the RNLI! 140 readers thought the condition was better than usual, 511 felt it was the same and only 23 thought the condition worse than usual.

The presentation was felt to be better by 345 readers, the same by 326 and worse than usual by just three. An overwhelming 669 people were happy to receive future copies in the more cost-effective plastic envelope with just five against.

One area of concern was whether the plastic was environmentally friendly. The test plastic was photo-degradable - it will decompose due to the effects of light - but is not truly biodegradable. Biodegradable plastic is available for envelopes, although as this issue went to press we had not located a cost-effective supply.

We are, however, making every effort to locate biodegradable polylopes in time for the distribution of this issue.

Wet or dry Some find the polylopes a little difficult to open, and we are investigating perforations in the plastic - in the meantime, a sharp knife or scissors will help! Despite their light weight polylopes are very strong in normal post and handling conditions, stronger and more secure than manilla envelopes which can be quite brittle and become frayed or worn.

Readers remarked that paper envelopes can get wet, ruining the contents, while plastic keeps the contents dry.

We hope you will understand the reasons for the change and are confident that the use of polylopes will help you and help the RNLI. Please let us know if you have any thoughts on this subject you would like to tell us about.

Strength in numbers The number of RNLI supporters grows constantly and membership, in particular, is growing rapidly. The figures alone show just how large an operation is required to look after this membership: in 1992 there were 113,035 Shoreline members, 50,600 Joint members, 23,676 Governors, and 11,377 Life Governors - a grand total of 198,688, compared with a total of 81,140 in 1982. In ten years membership has increased by almost 145 %! At your, service We have been making a number of changes at HQ to continue to provide a good service to members and other supporters, in spite of the increase in numbers. We are delighted to have you 'on board' as one of our growing army of supporters and endeavour to help wherever we can, so please do not hesitate to write or contact the Membership Office on (0202) 671133.

Branching out Have you thought about joining the activities of your local RNLI branch? As well as the satisfaction of helping with local fundraising activities, you will find that branch meetings are fun, social events where you will meet other RNLI supporters with similar interests.

You will probably also learn a lot more about RNLI people, places and events! If you are interested in finding out more about your local RNLI branch contact your Regional Office which will be pleased to give you the name of your local branch and provide a contact name and phone number. Regional Office telephone numbers are listed on the reverse of your membership card.Boxing clever In order to expand and broaden its support the RNLI is to try television advertising for the first time. There is a common misconception that television advertising is expensive, but the Institution's test adverts will be on an extremely low budget.

Advertisements and inserts in the national press recruit many thousands of new supporters each year and are an extremely cost-effective way of introducing new supporters. The target for the television advertisements is to achieve results at least as good, £-for-£, as the existing press advertisements and inserts.

The adverts will not be shown during expensive, peak viewing periods, but will be carefully targeted in off-peak slots where we know that the response will be cost-effective.

For comparison, one advertisement in the Daily Telegraph may be more than ten times the cost of broadcasting our advertisement in an appropriate time slot on television. By careful targeting of audiences television advertising should provide a cost-effective means of recruiting new supporters and raising funds.

The RNLI is highly dependent on its advertising to generate new support, and this new venture will enable us to expand and broaden this work, providing more strings to our bow to secure support for lifeboat crews in the future..