It Moosed be a mistake! No-one in the RNLI's membership department had an inkling that Mr A. Moose of the Station Hotel, Hurworth Place near Darlington was anything other than a normal, valued member - and the landlord of the Station Hotel didn't suspect that his moose was anything out of the ordinary until he received letters addressed to him from the RNLI! It seems that owner Keith Archer, himself a member, was also hoodwinked by regulars (who have already contributed to the Landlubbers Appeal to the tune of some £1,200) who had enroled the moose - owned by Hurworth cricket club which has adopted the pub as their headquarters - as a member.

Plans are afoot to upgrade Mr Moose's membership to Governor - which would give him a vote at the AGM!Celebrity Lunch Ladies of the Belfast branch organised a celebrity luncheon in Belfast's City Hall which was hosted by the Lady Mayoress, Mrs Stella Empey.

Television personality Anne Gregg was the chief guest at the event which raised £2,000 for branch funds.

Photo Belfast TelegraphAlways on a Sunday Who said 'never on Sunday'? Certainly not Helen Daniels, a committee member of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston ladies' guild and secretary for the Flegg area.

For the past five years, averaging three hours a stint for some 15-17 weeks throughout the summer, Mrs Daniels and a helper have taken a bucket collection at a Sunday market in the area, collecting a total of £11,277.80 over the five years.

The Flegg area covers a very large number of villages and during the annual flag week Mrs Daniels and her stalwart helpers are out collecting. In 1993, for example, a total of £2,015 was realised, and that was in addition to the £2,408 Sunday market collection for the same year.FOR the last two years Mrs Robinson of Kildale Marine Boat Chandlers at Hull Marina has sold RNLI Christmas cards and calendars on behalf of Hull ladies'guild. Sales for 1992 were £466 and for 1993 over £957.

She hopes to sell even more this year and will also be selling Bevan Bears in aid of the Humber lifeboat appeal.

A SILENT auction organised by the West Wight guild last November raised £840 and a coffee morning later in the month raised a further £347.

THE Fishguard and Goodwick ladies' guild souvenir caravan made its first public appearance last May. Donated by Miss Nesta Perkins of Goodwick and customised by the crew during the winter, it proved very popular and profitable throughout the summer.

SOME 60 guests who attended the punch, pies and carolsevening organised by HHchin branch were treated to most enjoyable singing from the Riseley Singers, excellent punch, and delicious food. The event realised a profit of £324.94, of which over £200 came from the tombola stall.

AN ASSAULT was mounted on the St Nicholas shopping centre in Sutton last December. The Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park branch set up a souvenir stall and collectors with buckets were sent off on a foray round the centre. At the end of the day a total of £1,661 had been collected, a record for a one-day collection by the branch.

December collections at three venues in the area realised over £4,100.A CHRISTMAS coffee morning held at the home of Mrs Tricia Lowsley Williams in Kingsand resulted in a remarkable sum of nearly £400 being raised for Rame Peninsula branch.

ANDREW Young, regional manager for the South West, joined serving Looe branch committee members at the home of newly elected branch chairman John Shearsmith and his wife Shirley, branch secretary, for a luncheon to honour and thank four committee members who had recently retired.

Mrs Margaret Dan, now honorary president, Tim Corkhill, Eddie White and Ian Walker, had between them served a combined total of 52 years and helped the branch raise over £51,000 in the past five years.

THE GUILDFORD Coastal Cruising Club, the musical group Rendezvous and members of Guildford branch joined forces to serenade shoppers in the Friary Centre with Christmas carols last December and raised £307.

THE TENTH annual Bring and Buy sale held by Hampstead Garden Suburb branch produced a record £1,000. The sale of souvenirs, bric-a-brac, good-as-new clothes, cakes and a splendid raffle all went towards the splendid sum.

A TOTAL of £2,000 was raised by Bourne End branch from a raffle which was drawn at its annual general meeting. First prize was a television.

THE CHRISTMAS draw held by West Itchen branch realised a profit of £447 - its best year ever.Off to a tee...

When Harpenden branch made its annual visit to Ladies Day at the mid-Herts Golf Club at Gustard Wood they sold £603 worth of souvenirs and gifts. A raffle and the donation of the green fees increased the total for the day by a further £64. Even before the selling started the club secretary, Richard Jourdan, had handed over £430, the Institution's share of a considerable sum raised by club members Graham King and Robert Daley by a sponsored golf marathon in aid of several charities.

Mrs Betty Leng, new chairman of Hull ladies' guild, received two cheques from Mrs Anne Ashton, lady captain of Hull Golf Club whose lady members raised £800 from various fundraising events last year. The second cheque for £874.94 was the proceeds of the golf club's Am-Am competition, sponsored by Dixon Motor Holdings (Yorkshire). Equal amounts were also presented to the Diabetic Association.

Lakeland appeal To celebrate its centenary Lake district branch has launched a special appeal.

The Rt Hon Viscount Whitelaw launched the appeal at a luncheon in Bowness on Windermere when £2,000 was raised.

The aim of the appeal is to fund a new Atlantic 75 lifeboat to be stationed at Silloth on the Cumbrian coast. Functions to date have brought in a total of £10,000.Local heroes Pupils of Shawbost School on the Isle of Lewis decided to help the Stornoway lifeboat crew by donating some of their charity sponsor money to provide a video recorder for training films.

Headmaster Donald Macleod said that the school helped various charities every year but whereas money collected for the Institution went to headquarters, it was decided to donate a gift to the local lifeboat for use by crew members.

Kaye Macleod, Joanne Macdonald and Lena Macdonald were chosen to present the gift to Coxswain Calum Macdonald.

Caribbean Mermaids Last December saw the ballroom at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane transformed into an island 'somewhere in the Caribbean'.

The occasion was the annual Lifeboat and Mermaid Ball which is organised by the Central London Committee.

Amongst the palm trees guests could dance to a steel band, try their luck at limbo or win prizes in the local market.

Over 700 guests attended and by the end of the evening £100,000 had been raised for the lifeboat service.

Roll out the barrel Landlord Andy Swann and eleven of his regulars from the Famous George pub in Seaton relayed a full barrel of beer more than nine miles between Seaton and Lyme Regis to collect money for the small Seaton, Beer and District branch.

It took five hours for the team to carry the 18 gallons to Lyme Regis where they were rewarded with the knowledge that £600 had been collected. 'It has always been one of my ambitions to organise an event which combines a personal challenge with raising funds for a worthwhile cause, and this one certainly fitted the bill' said Andy. The money was presented to Mrs Barbara Harding, honorary secretary of the branch.

On target! During a recent recording of the television quiz 'Bullseye', Flamborough ladies' guild was nominated by the two finalists, Martin Noakes of Pinxton and John Mullins of Flamborough, to benefit from the amount won by celebrity dart player, David Richard-Page, who scored 260 using nine darts.

As a result Central Productions forwarded a cheque for £260 to the guild and a gentleman from Pinxton also matched this amount, making a grand total of £520.Keys to success Sally Bishop and Anne-Marie Hastings, a talented two-piano duo, are British entrants in an international competition to be held in Japan this year and on hearing this Mrs Ann Stubbs, chairman of Lymm ladies' guild, asked if they would be prepared to play their programme under concert conditions at her home.

The result was an evening of dazzling piano playing which delighted all who attended and raised almost £450.

In Brief THE Croyde, Braunton and District branch celebrated 21years with a dinner held at Croyde Bay House Hotel. Mr and Mrs Penny laid on a superb meal and a most enjoyable and entertaining evening evolved. John Eveleigh, a founder member was present, and time was spent reminiscing on events from the past- like when a sand castle competition was held and the tide arrived too soon and washed all the castles away! MRS EDITH Griffiths, treasurer of Whitby ladies' guild, was recently awarded a Silver badge. She has been a committee member for over 20 years and treasurer for the last 13 years, helping the guild raise between £10,000 and £12,000 annually.

IN ITS eleven days of trading, Ramsey ladies' guild Christmas shop raised £4,800. A fully equipped and carpeted shop in Ramsey's main street provided a most attractive venue and the ladies' cheerful service and behind the scenes labour all helped to achieve the splendid result.

ANOTHER Christmas shop achieved a similar result, manned by Havant branch.

With the help of Hayling Island crew member Graham Raines, a vacant shop unit was provided in the Meridian Shopping Centre where local branches provided a stock of good used clothing, brica- brac and books, a large stock of Christmas cards and souvenirs. In just a week £4,383 was raised for the new lifeboat station on Hayling Island.

IN JANUARY Plympton branch celebrated its first meeting of 1994 on a high note by being presented with two cheques, the first for £1,000 raised from a fashion show organised by the branch in November and the second for £200. This was presented by Doctor Savage and members of the Sir Joshua Reynolds Choir, being the proceeds of a carol service held last December.

AT A recent coffee morning Pat Moore, chairman of Bishopston branch was thrilled to present a cheque for £3,000 to Peter Williams, area organiser for Wales andMercia. Most of the money had been raised by Ida Treseder, souvenir secretary, in running a new shop at the Horton and Port Eynon lifeboat station.Riding out the storm A Falmouth man who set up a taxi company last year and weathered the recession with an expanded fleet has attributed his success to his experience as a lifeboatman! And, to celebrate one year in business, he has donated £300 to the RNLI.

John Palmer, a crew member at Falmouth, started with a secondhand car and received 19 calls in his first week.

Now he has three smart vehicles and takes over 600 calls a week. Each time the phone rings Ip is donated to the RNLI.

'I think being a lifeboatman has in many ways prepared me for this business.

You've got to be able to work hard and cope with the long hours in all weathers.

At the same time you have got to get on with people'.

With such a heavy schedule Mr Palmer said that sometimes his emergency bleeper goes off while driving. 'A few times I've been in the middle of a fare and my bleeper has gone off. I just have to apologise to the customer and race down to the quay. On the way I radio for another taxi and they get a free ride home!' Biggest box? Since June 1992 the permanent collecting box at the Burlington Hotel in Eastbourne has produced £7,500.

Fred Murcutt, box secretary for Eastbourne branch, wonders if this is a record.

Can other branches beat this figure? Wine and teds The 1993 sponsored Beaujolais run organised by Helston branch was assisted by Tyne Ted, the branch mascot. Made by Delia Parish, Tyne Ted wears a lifejacket specially made for him at AP Valves who specialise in diving equipment and will be present at most of the fundraising events organised by the branch.

Four people made the trip to France and the Peugeot car supplied by Carrs of Helston completed 1,420 miles in 27 hours.

Two cases of Beaujolais were donated by Alaine Nesme, a French wine producer and were auctioned at a disco evening in Carrs showrooms. The first bottle was sold for £47 with the remainder being sold for bids between £10 and £15.

Way over the top! Nearly 200 stars of stage and screen bopped the night away at a glitzy fancy dress party organised by Chorleywood and Rickmansworth branch.

The theme was 'Over the Top' and a glittering Gary, pouting Madonna and a gyrating Michael Jackson were among the mountaineers and mad medics dancing to music supplied by the Legend band. The team prize winner was the Chorleywood Society for the Protection of Lemmings! A great time was had by all and the Institution benefited to the tune of £2,800.Eight in a row Last year 33 members of Wallingford Rowing Club sculled their way down the Thames from Oxford to Wallingf ord to raise money, both for new equipment and for the RNLI. Later, as the picture shows, an 'eight' from the club arrived at Days Lock where the club's chairman Roger Brown presented £400 to Lyn David (in the boat), chairman of Days Lock Island branch (and local lockkeeper).

The money will go towards the Yarmouth, Isle of Wight's £50,000 boathouse renovation appeal.

Days Lock is also the venue for the annual Poohsticks championships, traditionally held on the first Sunday of the new year.

The event, the tenth of its kind, is likely to end this year on the retirement of Lyn David. He and his wife Pat have been avid lifeboat supporters for many years and have raised £170,000 since 1978.In Brief MRS PEARL Hammond celebrated her 70th birthday by inviting friends to give money to the RNLI instead of presents, resulting in a £70 donation to Didcot branch.

TO MARK 40 years of fundraising Thurrock branch held a wine and cheese evening. A third-scale model of a Brede class lifeboat built by members is proving a great attraction at fundraising events.

A CHRISTMAS lottery organised by Marlow and District branch raised in excess of £1600.

THE CANAL Taverners Boat Club in Bradford on Avon recently presented a cheque for £650 to Frank Smith, coxswain of Salcombe lifeboat. The money was the result of a charity auction and other events held by the club which raises money for Salcombe lifeboat, the link having been forged through ex-crew member Andrew Burner, landlord of The Canal Tavern, home of the club.

EACH year a troop of Chase Terrace Scouts ask several organisations to give a talk.

Last year the topic was saving life and Mrs Iris Brookes, honorary secretary of Cannock branch was asked to talk to the boys. After showing the video'A Good Job, Well Done' the boys voted to which charity they would donate the money raised from their carol service. The RNLI won, and £85 was presented to Mrs Brookes.After 26 years as landlord of the Captain Cook pub in Teesmouth, Ronnie Rees (left) is retiring and to commemorate his fundraising efforts Teesmouth lifeboat station presented Ronnie with a plaque.

Harry Aspland, shore helper at the station, has collected money from the pub's collecting box for 20 years and he was delighted to present Ronnie with the plaque, commenting: 'The pub has one of the best boxes we know because Ronnie always cajoles his customers to contribute'.

photo Evening Gazette, Teesside Top Box Michael Ashley, south east regional manager, presented the Roderick cup to Phil Barry, the proprietor of the Beachcomber Cafe, Barton-on-Sea, the winner of the annual competition for the top collecting box The ladies in the photograph are Mrs Elva Curtis, souvenir secretary, and her daughter Gillian who sold souvenirs to the value of £11,000 during 1993, mostly in the garden of the Beachcomber Cafe where they set up their stall on every possible fine day during the summer.

The branch sent over £22,000 to headquarters last year.

Pictured from left to right: Michael Ashley, Miss Gillian Curtis, Phil Barry and Mrs Elva Curtis.Swim for the lifeboat! And that is just what Basingstoke Sub- Aqua club did! Their sponsored swim and collection raised a grand total of £338.55 plus £24 on the evening when they presented Basingstoke and District branch with the money on an inscribed 'fin'.

Also in Basingstoke was Pippa Welch, who crewed in the last Whitbread roundthe- world race aboard Hofbrau Lager. She has been giving talks about her experiences in the race and has raised £114.70 for the branch.

Last but by no means least, Charles King sacrificed his beard for the RNLI and collected £162 from colleagues The Fundraisers We endeavour to include all fundraising items submitted by branches, guilds and other contributors which are received in time for publication.

The Summer issue of The Lifeboat appears in early July 1994, and all items for inclusion in this section should be received by Monday 23 May 1994. Photographs (colour or black and white prints) are welcomed butwecannotguarantee publication..