Drinkers go over the limit! Publicans and pub customers throughout south east England contributed to a £15,000 donation presented to the RNLI at Margate lifeboat station. Jonathan Neame, director of Kent brewers Shepherd Neame, handed the jumbo cheque to Peter Barker, coxswain of Margate lifeboat. The money will be used to help fund a crewroom extension to the lifeboat station.

The brewers set out to raise £10,000 to mark British Pub Week last June but enthusiastic support from licensees in the brewery's 370 pubs, selling lottery tickets and organising fundraising events, meant the grand total was £5,000 above target.

Pictured are (from left to right) Shepherd Neame director Euan Johnstone, Coxswain Peter Barker, Jonathan Neame and Chris Sandwell, helmsman of Margate's inshore lifeboat.Central Campaigns In addition to the fundraising efforts of RNLI branches and guilds campaigns are also organised through Central Fundraising at Headquarters, usually in conjuction with national companies.

The recent London International Boat Show saw the results of a number of these initiatives: the Working Together campaign with Volvo reached a triumphant conclusion with a further £lm over the last two years for the new Trent class for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston. This campaign is to be replaced by a new promotion on the theme 'Saving Lives'. The RNLI was also represented on the E. P. Barrus stand - importers of the Mariner range of outboards used on many inshore lifeboats - and the Kimberly-Clark/Lledo models of the Tyne class, of which over 70,000 have now been sold, were available from the RNLI's stand near the pool, as were the Membership and Insurance services of the RAC.

Two major new promotions were launched at the Show. The first was with International Paint (part of the Courtauld Group), which is offering to pay 50% of the first year Governor's fee to purchasers of more than £100-worth of their marine products. The second was with Cetrek, manufacturers of a range of marine electronic products, which launched a joint promotion to fund a D class lifeboat.

Much of the graphics on the stand were funded by the computer company Unisys, which will also be using RNLI material in a campaign of their own on the theme of 'Rescue' which will culminate at the Birmingham Boat Show in June.

Also at the London Show the Institution received a cheque for £66,000 from the Royal Bank of Scotland for money raised through its Affinity credit card, bringing the total sum raised to date to £650,000. The Tesco Charity Trust was presented with a scroll of thanks to mark the raising of more than £250,000 in collections at its stores in 1992 and 1994.

An insert in the Winter 1994/5 issue of The Lifeboat announced details of an ambitious new programme called the RNLI/My Garden Challenge 1995. My Garden is a small, high-quality subscription-only magazine, and the promotion will take the form of a national quiz. Organised rapidly to catch the winter trade, the challenge has had some teething problems, but the initial response has been high.

Plans are also in hand for joint promotions with Knorr Soups in the Republic of Ireland and Seven Seas, the vitamin product supplier, through 6,000 UK chemists.

Office Angels have selected the RNLI as their Charity of the Year for 1995. Their business is the supply of temporary secretaries to industry and they have 30,000 temps on their books, working from 50 branches throughout England and Scotland.

There will also be collections in all Safeway stores on 8 July to mark the 10th anniversary of their highly successful employee fundraising campaign, which led to the funding of the Brede class lifeboat at Calshot.

Two administrative points.

• The RNLI has been concerned for some time about its inability to do more for Give As You Earn donors. However, they have now been recorded on a new database and an initial letter of thanks, together with a Newsletter will be sent to them shortly. This is a very tax-efficient method of giving, and the Institution is keen to promote the scheme as much as possible.

• Part 2 of the Charities Act came into force at the beginning of March. To protect donors the Act requires much more formal agreements between commercial partners and charities. The penalties for the commercial concerns can be heavy, so please enquire if you are contemplating any joint promotions.In Brief ONE hundred and fifty years service to the Padstow ladies' guild was celebrated at its 50th AGM in January, when three founder members of the guild, Mrs Marjorie Grubb, Mrs Agnes Hawkins and Mrs Kit England, were awarded life membership and special badges in recognition of their long service to the RNLI.

AT A reception for the Provincial Grand Master of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, Heart of England district, held at the Royal Spa Centre, a cheque for £1,000 was presented to the Leamington branch from the Edmonscote Lodge.

REGULARS at the Dulwich Woodhouse public house recently turned out in force to see Radio Jazz FM's disc jockey Mark Sebastian smash a bottle full of coins on behalf of the Lewisham branch. Greater London organiser Alan Ashby was on hand to oversee the counting and organise a raffle, and the total amount raised came to £531.

Two fundraising events held at Newbiggin lifeboat station over Christmas were well attended. The annual bonfire and firework display raised over £500 and, despite terrible weather, the Christmas fair realised £300.

MRS BRENDA Harris, host of The Lord Kitchener public house in Welling, has adopted the RNLI as her chosen charity for 1995. With the help of Welling branch committee the aim is to raise £11,000 for a D class lifeboat.

Dozens of events are planned for the year and a superb race night in January started the ball rolling to the tune of £1,560.Right up your street A plaque commemorating the refurbishment of the 300-year-old Jermyn Street was unveiled last November by Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent, patron of the Jermyn Street Association, which decided to raise money for the RNLI during a day of activities.

An Atlantic 75 and three crew members from West Mersea formed a central feature outside St James' Church and they were joined early in the day by William Fox Pitt, winner of the Burghley horse trials with his horse Chaka.

Barbara Brooks, chairman of the Central London ladies' committee manned an RNLI gift counter in Simpsons and the Bowden Show choir sang sea shanties up and down the street for two hours which had passers-by tapping their feet and digging into their pockets to donate. Special raffle tickets were sold all day and to date £6,000 has been raised.

Bottled benefits Members of the Labologists Society (the international society for label collectors and brewery research) gathered at the long-established brewery of Shepherd Neame in Faversham for their 1994 Label of the Year meeting.

After a tour of the brewery fully laden buffet tables awaited the members' attention before the formal business of awarding the best new labels of the year. All that remained was the raffle and the auction, conducted at a furious pace by master auctioneer Graham Tubb. Labels, bottles, glasses, posters all fell to his hammer - raising £2,758.12 for the RNLI, the society's nominated charity for 1994.

Sassanach Confusion All Scots readers will have noticed the error in the caption to the Volvo draw picture in the Winter issue. Mrs Ann Irons is Lady Provost of Edinburgh, not Glasgow!The Bear Necessities for Number Appeal The RNLI's Humber Appeal to raise £1.35m for a new Severn class lifeboat recently received a large injection of funds from Associated British Ports, who donated £7,500. The donation was the initiative of ABP's Humber ports of Hull, Grimsby and Immingham, and Goole and will sponsor the provision of radar equipment for the new lifeboat.

radiocontrolled Mersey class lifeboat and on its completion offered the model as a prize draw. The resulting £1,353 it raised has gone into the appeal funds and John Stainsby, the lucky winner, has loaned the model to the Grace Darling Museum at Bamburgh.Members of Leeds Shoreline branch and other local branches and guilds in the area visited Spurn Point recently to present Brian Bevan, coxswain of the Humber lifeboat, with a cheque for £2,450 for the appeal. The Leeds Shoreline branch had raised the money last year at a gala held at Temple Newsam Park in Leeds.

Brian was also the recipient of further cheques amounting to £1,130 presented by Dave Moss, committee member of Spalding branch and Geoff Cromack, secretary of the Spalding model boat club.

The branch and club combine every May to raise funds at the town's flower festival - the branch set up stalls to sell souvenirs and the club puts on a show of working model boats - and last year it was decided to support the Humber appeal.

Dave, who is also a member of the club, thought it a nice gesture to present the cheques at Spurn Point and also took the opportunity to show Brian and the crew his radio-controlled model of the stations's present lifeboat,C/fy of Bradford IV.

Another generous donation to the Humber lifeboat appeal was made by Geoffrey Barker from Drif field, East Yorkshire.

He had built a 1 /10th scale radiocontrolledIn Brief A WELL supported coffee morning in October raised some £137 for Rame Peninsula branch which was also pleased to receive a cheque in November for £155 from the Raleigh and Camelford Sea Angling Club, the result of a sponsored 'fish-in'.

A VARIETY concert organised by the Sanday ladies' guild included a hilarious sketch about the fate of 'the sandwiches at the dance'! Eight members of the guild dressed up as sandwiches and brought the house down.

Another highlight was the appearance of the band Hullion from Orkney mainland. The concert was followed by a dance and raised over £500.

THREE extremely successful days of collecting in December resulted in just over £3,480 being added to the coffers of Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park branch. A two-day bucket collection at the Safeways branch in Sutton, realised £1,850.95 and a one-day collection at the St Nicholas shopping centre raised a further £1,277, plus the sale of £352.34 worth of souvenirs.

THE Romf ord branch held its first quiz night last November and raised £262.

It was limited to nine tables (all the local hall would hold) and the participants were mainly friends and colleagues of the committee. The teams brought their own food and drink but tea and coffee were provided. Thanks to the 'professional' quizmaster and committee the event was judged a great success with a request that another quiz be held soon.In deep! Four deep sea marine scientists on board the research ship Discovery in the Arabian Sea off Oman had a sponsored haircut.

The event, which took place on the foredeck, was conceived the night before in the ship's bar by John Murray from Glasgow University. A sponsor sheet was hurriedly prepared and the officers, crew and other scientists contributed.

After having his head trimmed to a No. 4 ere w cut John had his beard trimmed too - but only after everyone had agreed to double their sponsorship! The three other willing victims were Dr Andrew Patience, Dr George Wolff and Jeff Crooks.

Altogether, the sum of £417.30 was raised from the hair shearing event!Pulling together A sponsored row from Jersey to Guernsey by the St Helier and St Peter Port lifeboat crews raised £7,000 for the Guernsey Severn Lifeboat Appeal. The row was Jersey coxswain Bob Vezier's idea to support their Guernsey colleagues and the local appeal to raise £1 m towards the cost of the new boat. The 26-mile row took the crews just over five hours from St _ " m, Helier lifeboat station to the old lifeboat slip in St Peter Port harbour.

The Jersey and Guernsey crews came together again to present the cheque to Jurat Dave Lowe who was standing in for the appeal chairman Jurat Len Moss.

Photo Brian GreenThe Demo that wasn't...

The Lizard's flag day turned out to be warm, dry and sunny, ideal for the planned demonstrations at Kilcobben Cove. BBC Radio Cornwall was broadcasting its entire afternoon show live from the cove and, combined with press coverage and a mention on the TV weather map the previous evening, a large crowd of spectators gathered.

The afternoon started well, with the BBC relaying live interviews and commentary and a PA system on the surrounding cliffs keeping everyone informed.

The lifeboat went to the rescue of a 'casualty' in the cove (a fishing boat making smoke), dowsed the flames, took her in tow and went to deal with two men in the water (volunteers) in conjunction with a Sea King helicopter from RNAS Culdrose.

Then the fickle finger of fate took over, for as the helicopter was approaching it received a genuine 'shout' - and made off, never to be seen again that afternoon! There was a ripple of disappointment when the spectators were given the news, but undaunted the lifeboat set out to recover the two in the water. With the 'survivors' safely landed, the doctor went on board for a staged rescue of a casualty at the foot of the cliffs. The coxswain had gently eased in close to the cliff and the doctor despatched in an inflatable, when fate took over again! This time the lifeboat received a 'shout', to a fishing vessel 12 miles away taking water fast and in danger of sinking.

The doctor and 'casualty' were left to their own devices, and it took some time to persuade a worried visitor that the aid of her paramedic husband was not required, as it was only a demonstration! So now the demonstration was left without a lifeboat or a helicopter - and words like 'disaster' were coming to mind.

But not so! When the PA relayed the news to the spectators, and the lifeboat made off across the bay at full throttle against the spectacular backdrop, excitement seemed to grab the crowds. Suddenly they were no longer watching a demonstration - they were seeing a lifeboat in action, going out to save lives, and giving a real understanding of what the RNLI is all about. Meanwhile, Nina Davey of the BBC found herself in the almost unique position of commentating live on a real 'shout'.

The atmosphere was electric and questions and cash started to flow, resulting in more than £3,100 being taken.

So the demonstration that wasn't, turned into a success, but - how do you top that the next time?FOLLOWING the article in the Autumn 1994 issue regarding his Battle of Atlantic plaques, Hubert James has forwarded a further £31 to the Birmingham office.

OVER the last 25 years David King from Bridlington has been collecting stamps from around the world and has raised £5,000 for the RNLI.

A BARN dance organised by Hitchin and District branch raised £265, a collection at the local branch of Sainsburys raised £172 and the annual punch, pies and carols concert realised £600.

MEMBERS of Street branch undertook a sponsored cycle ride to Exmouth lifeboat station last August and raised £1,000.

A RECEPTION was held in Paisley Town Hall to celebrate Renfrew ladies' guild diamond jubilee (1934-1994).

Throughout its jubilee year the guild held many fundraising events in honour of the occasion.

LOCAL branches manned a vacant shop unit provided by the Meridian Centre, Havant in November and in just over a week, selling Christmas cards, souvenirs plus almost anything under the sun, they raised £3,200 for the Hayling Island lifeboat station appeal fund.

DURING last August bank holiday weekend, two members of Birmingham branch joined the Jonathan Clarke memorial coach marathon, travelling from John O'Groats to Land's End and back to Birmingham.

Proceeds were divided equally between the RNLI and the Birmingham children's hospital renal unit. En route, visits were made to Weston super Mare, Exmouth and St Ives lifeboat stations and £2,003 was raised for the lifeboat service.

Model methods Sales of a limited edition Lledo model of the Douglas, Isle of Man lifeboat Sir William Hillary have so far realised £400 for Douglas branch.

Produced locally, the replicas are complete down to the operational number 47- 032 on the side, Douglas lifeboat on the stern and the name Sir William Hillary on the wheelhouse.

A number of models are still available from Mr Peter Cain, c/o 2 Taubman Terrace, Douglas, Isle of Man at £8 each (plus 50p P&P) of which £2.50 is donated to the RNLI. Each model is accompanied by a certificate..