Steeley determination! A donation of £25,000 was recently presented to John Clugston, chairman of the South Bank Committee Humber lifeboat appeal by Stuart Pettifor, managing director of British Steel (Sections, Plates and Commercial Steels) on board the Humber lifeboat Kenneth Thelwall.

Mr Pettifor said British Steel's decision to support the appeal is because of its connection with the Humber. Almost 10 million tonnes of raw materials and finished products are shipped annually to and from British Steel's nearby Scunthorpe works.Berkshire barges in Despite its distance from the sea Wargrave, a Thames-side village in Berkshire, gives excellent support to the Institution with a record sum of £9,000 forwarded to HQ in the last financial year.

In addition to the more conventional methods of fundraising the local branch recently hosted a buffet supper and drinks party aboard the magnificently restored University College barge The Univ whilst it was moored on the Henley Royal Regatta course. The barge was made available to the branch during Regatta week through the generosity of David Sherriff, managing director of Thames and Kennett Marina who own the barge.

The Reading Blue Coat School swing band provided musical entertainment and over £700 was raised.

90 years young Lola Cooper, who has been fundraising for the RNLI for more than 25 years, recently celebrated her 90th birthday at a lunch party organized by her fundraising friends.

Lola, a member of one of Ramsgate's oldest lifeboat families, is still an active fundraiser. She has been helping at the RNLI kiosk in Ramsgate harbour during the summer months and at the Christmas Shop in Ramsgate in the autumn and winter.

Lola's brother Tom, was a coxswain of one of the Ramsgate lifeboats, and her grandfather and uncle both served on the lifeboat that went to the rescue of the Indian Chief, a service that resulted in the lifeboat coxswain receiving the RNLI Gold Medal.

Branching out together The British Waterways Board held open days on 16 and 17 July at their workshop near Tring in Hertfordshire. Several surrounding RNLI branches were asked if they would provide and sell refreshments to the visiting public.

The branches taking part were Luton, Dunstable, Berkhampsted, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City, Hemel Hempstead and Knebworth, and between them they raised some £800.

In addition, Berkhampsted branch ran a souvenir stall, raising £478, and the Luton branch with the Luton model boat club, raised a further £161. The whole event realised a total of £1,479.In Brief THE Steyning branch has been in existence for two years, and during that time its house-to-house collections have increased and together with the results from a musical evening, film shows, an antiques roadshow, plus other events, £3,261 has been sent to HQ.

THANKS to the generosity of local residents Barmouth ladies' guild realised over£l,500 from its annual cheese and wine party in July. Apart from cake and bric-a-brac stalls, tombola, name the doll, and a raffle, the main money-spinner was the auction, which raised £546 from donated gifts. The Harlech Medieval Men entertained supporters with their sword fights and over the past ten years this event has raised £15,000 for the guild.

THE CHAIRMAN of Duns and district branch and a vice-convener of the Scottish Lifeboat Council, Mrs Henry Douglas-Home, again masterminded the triennial carnival at Mellerstain (by kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Haddington) which resulted in over £5,000 for lifeboat funds.

The Band of HM Royal Marines was present and among the many other attractions were a sheep dog display, an Army assault course, archery, a kite display and, last but not least, the famous racehorse, Desert Orchid, who drew admiring crowds.

LONG time supporters of the RNLI, the Civil Service Motoring Association (CSMA) and the Frizzell Group, recently presented Anthony Oliver, deputy head of fundraising and marketing, with a cheque for £10,000 towards the new lifeboat house at Lyme Regis. The presentation, which took place at the Pilot Boat Inn, Lyme Regis, was made by Peter Jones, chairman of CSMA and Colin Frizzell, chairman of Frizzell Financial Services.

The money had been raised through a series of competitions in the CSMA's own magazine Motoring and Leisure. Since 1983, when the two organisations began joint fundraising, over £190,000 has been donated to the Institution.

Presenting a supporter with his lifeboat sticker during a recent Bassett branch house-to-house collection, Mr Thompson, branch vice chairman, stuck it on upside down. 'Don't worry', replied the recipient, counteringtheapology,' Ithought these were all supposed to be selfrighting now'!£ £ £ THE Intents Fundraising! When Rosemary Hemsley, the secretary of Billingshurst branch, hired a marquee for the reception of her daughter's wedding, she ensured it would not be collected until at least the following Monday, so that it could be used on the day after the wedding for a Do-It-Yourself barn dance in aid of the RNLI! People were invited to attend, supplying their own food and drink in the form of a picnic and to invent a theme for their own particular group to follow.

Mrs Hemsley was away for two hours taking a guest home after the wedding - and returned to find tableaux all over the lawn! Mrs Hemsley was invited to judge the best tableau - which included a country and western scene, a shipwreck, and a group of pirates - but resolved the problem by inviting her daughter and new son in law to undertake the task.

The winners were a group depicting the shipwreck scene. A helium balloon race, an auction and raffle all went towards raising a grand total of £735.85.

Roundabout results Southend-on-Sea lifeboat station was a hive of activity on 14 August when the Teacher's Round Britain Challenge sailing race started from Southend Pier.

The RNLI was the official charity for the event so as well as dressing the station overall and manning the souvenir shop and collecting boxes, the station showed off its 3 inshore lifeboats and facilities to competitors, celebrities and organisers so that their corporate sponsors could see at first hand where their donations were being used.

At the end of a hectic day the souvenir shop had sold more than £200 worth of goods and collecting boxes totalled £60, not bad for a Monday afternoon at the end of Southend Pier!'Allo 'Allo, oo ees thees? Actress Vickie Michelle, best known as Yvette of "Allo 'Allo' fame, was persuaded to join a mother-and-daughter collecting team photocall at London's Liverpool Street station during the City of London branch flag day in March.

Vickie was actually at the station on an entirely different (and paid for) public relations mission, but couldn't resist helping out the RNLI! Mrs Rene Fitzgerald (in the wheelchair) raised over £580 and her daughter Christine Butler's box included a cheque for £100 - which didn't bounce! The morning rush hour collections were an uphill struggle, not helped by the trains running late, but with a good team collecting through the day and during the evening rush hour a splendid total of £3,944.88 was raised.Going, going, gone Having painted a superb picture of the Hoylake Mersey class lifeboat Lady ofHilbre in action, marine artist Robert G. Lloyd donated it to the RNLI so that it could be used to raise funds.

At the private viewing before a month-long exhibition of his paintings at the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead, the painting was auctioned, with Bob Gouland of Phillips Auctioneers offering his services and finding a buyer prepared to write a cheque for £400.

Robert Lloyd's generosity to the RNLI also includes a substantial contribution to the cost of producing artist-signed limited edition prints of the painting which may be purchased from the RNLI's north west office at 18 Half Edge Lane, Eccles, Manchester M30 9GJ, telephone 0161 787 8779.

Unframed prints cost £15 plus 60p P&P and framed prints are £35 plus £13.80 P&P (registered post). All proceeds to the RNLI.

Stamp of approval Books of trading stamps, such asGreen Shield or Co-op, can be sold in aid of lifeboat funds. Jennifer Bush at RNLI Headquarters, West Quay Road, I'oole, BH15 1HZ would be very pleased to receive your unwanted trading stamps.

60THE Kensington branch held its annual summer fair in Nevern Square on the 10 June. A highly successful event, it raised over £2,000.

To CELEBRATE 25 years of fundraising Tamworth ladies' guild marked the event with a dinner which raised £700.

WHEELCHAIR-BOUND Jack Leedham, a member of Nuneaton and district branch, has been making models of lifeboats for many years. He attends many of the branch's fundraising events where his meticulously recreated models are much admired.

DESPITE thick fog on 30 July Newbiggin's lifeboat day was well attended and over £3,300 was raised. Local TV weatherman Bob Johnson opened the event but even he was unable to use his connections to clear the fog! The Newbiggin ladies' guild manned a variety of stalls, and there were displays by the lifeboat, local bands, dancing and the art club.

THE pRESiDENTof Ashington Rotary Club, Ron Wilson, recently presented a cheque for £500 to Trixie and Mike Givens of Ashington branch. Trixie and Mike were also made members of the club roll of honour for 1995 in recognition of their outstanding contribution for service to the local community.

MALCOLM Lloyd of Leominster recently undertook a sponsored swim for his local branch. Malcolm, a young man with learning difficulties, is a keen supporter of the RNLI and swam 55 lengths -just over a mile. So far he has collected £325 from his sponsors, with more to come.Central Fundraising snippets Some news of events and campaigns organised by Central Fundraising at HQ: • A new buildings and contents insurance policy from the RAC is announced in this issue of The Lifeboat, with a hospital and health care package due to follow in the Winter issue, and marine insurance at the London Boat Show. All of these insurance policies will provide a benefit for the RNLI.

• Funds will also be raised by a new range of posters from Guernsey Colour Laboratories - the first of the Port St Mary Arun, taken by photographer Rick Tomlinson, with more will follow. There is also a flower service from Flying Flowers, and a new range of lifeboat crew models, some in limited editions, from Peter Hicks, the well-known sculptor of military and sporting figures.

(Further details of all of these services can be found in the respective advertisements in this issue.) • More than 6,000 chemists throughout the UK will see a new campaign this month, in which the RNLI is involved with Seven Seas, the suppliers of vitamin pills and health products.

• Events held during the summer included the Teacher's Round Britain Challenge, when the regions had the opportunity to raise funds at each of the stop-off points, and the self-righting trials of the new Volvo-funded lifeboat, a Trent for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston. This was preceded by a competition to choose a name, won by 13-year-old Jonathon Griffiths with the name Samarbeta - which means'working together', for those of us without a strong grasp of Swedish,.

• Finally the grand final of the 'My Garden' quiz will be held in the Victoria and Albert Museum on 26 October 1995, with Magnus Magnusson as quiz master.

Lifeboat lessons Enthusiastic children from Bedfordshire proved that fundraising for the RNLI can also be fun raising. Each year, pupils from St. Mary's Lower School in Clophill choose a different cause to benefit from their endeavours, and this year they raised an impressive £525 for lifeboat coffers.

Following a presentation by Laura Fagg, RNLI Eastern Region area organiser, the children enjoyed dressing up in lifeboatman's outfits. Each class took responsibility for a week's fundraising which included creating games and a Spring fair, to which children contributed games, toys and bric-a-brac. The week's activities finished with a children's disco.

On their bikes! A civic appeal started by Cllr George Parkinson, chairman of Wokingham district council in 1993 and pictured right, culminated in a sponsored cycle ride in April and brought the final total to £11,700 for his two-year term of office.

The cycle ride itself raised over £3,500 and a water festival staged at Din ton Pastures Country Park last year raised over£6,000and wasaimed at funding the new lifeboat house at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Other events included a barber shop evening and a children's carol concert.

Saddling up The F J Owners Club is for the owners of Yamaha FJ 1200 and FJ1100 motorcycles and organises regular runs and outings as well as technical advice to members.

Each year events are arranged for raising funds for charity, and this year members decided to raise money for the Humber lifeboat appeal.

The FJ owners club charity rally was held on 11 June and started from the visitors' centre at the Humber bridge.

Approximately 100 Yamaha FJs embarked on a run over the bridge into the Lincolnshire Wolds and back. They were joined on this occasion by the chairman of the appeal, Colonel lain Bryce, who is a keen motorcyclist.

He was delighted to accept the club's generous contribution of £1,591, the amount raised from the charity rally and also a sponsored charity run from Land's End to John O'Groats which was undertaken in April by eight club members.

They set off from Land's End at 6am and six of them completed the course within 24 hours - without breaking any speed limits! In the dock Sue Hennessy, regional manager for the north west, recently visited the Albert Dock in Liverpool to present a shield to thedockcruiseboatOurFantosia to thank Gordon Wilson, the owner, and Garry Meacher, the skipper, for their Stirling work in collecting money for the RNLI.

The Aughton branch started collecting the donations given by the passengers on the boat some 18 months ago and to date over £1,200 has been collected.

Following the presentation Sue and Sybil Font, honorary secretary of the branch, joined the first passengers of the day for the half-hour cruise round the docks - entertained by Gordon's amusing and informative commentary on the public address system.

In Brief LADiESof the Central London Committee and theirguestsenjoyed champagne prior to a performance by the Recreation Theatre Company of Persuasion which took place in the beautiful grand conservatory at Syon Park. In the interval guests enjoyed a picnic supper and over £8,000 was raised for lifeboat funds.

VHK'I cold and windy weather did not deter the many bra vesouls who took part in a clay pigeon shoot at Preston Hills.

The resulting £500 was presented to Hitchin and district branch whose appreciation was extended both to the participantsand regularsot'The Plough who also contributed.

A FUN Dog Show organised by Taunton branch in North Curry realised a profit of £f 17. Held by the kind invitation of Cdr and Mrs Ryan, the event included a barbecue, raffle, pets' corner and a souvenir stall.

BOYS from Cherry Trees School in Wombourne, near Wolverhampton undertook the selling of cakes and biscuits and raised £67.60 for the lifeboat service.

C i i I K M A N of Usk and Raglan group, I Men I lenderson. persuaded her young grand-daughter to join Storm Force. So Chloe Jepps and six of her classmates at The Grange School in Cheshire had a go at fundraising. They stirred and baked and cooked and tilled their school tuck shop with cakes and cookies, which they sold to their starving classmates! They made £56 for the Institution.

Tin Kelsall branch arranged a musical evening in the country house surroundings of Cheshire's Willington Hall teaturinga recital by the duo Perfect Choice followed by a buffet supper. An inshore lifeboat displayed outside the Hall underlined the purpose behind the highly successful event, which raised £226.Folly funds Multipurpose collectors! For the last 12 years visitors to The Folly Inn on the banks of the River Medina on the Isle of Wight have been accosted by a charming lady rattling her lifeboat collecting box! Twice a day, during flag week, Anne Burdett makes the ten minute walk to the pub cheerfully collecting from table to table. This year she collected a staggering £600 for East Cowes branch.

Photo Julian Rolliston, Alton branch Friday 30 June brought glorious weather for Scarborough's lifeboat day and resulted in supporters collecting over £4,000.

The following two days of fundraising activities, which included a barbecue, a raft race and a sea cadets assault course saw a further £5,000 being raised.

The Tetley dray horses were in attendance and are pictured demonstrating the versatility of RNLI collecting buckets!LIVERPOOL Marina was the ideal venue for the inaugural meeting of the South Liverpool branch in June. The new branch has been formed by amalgamating Woolton ladies guild and Aigburth and district branch, both of whom have been active for over 30 years.

More than 60 interested supporters attended to hear the Lord Mayor speak about the ties between the lifeboats and the Mersey. An excellent buffet was provided by the Marina staff and the evening resulted in 26 new members joining the branch.

SINCE 1979 Mrs Jean Mclvor of Staines has been collecting pennies, both pre-decimal and decimal, and periodically sends a cheque for the relevant amount to Littlehampton lifeboat station. This year has seen a cheque for £36 arrive on the treasurer's desk and brings the total collected by Mrs Mclvor to £1,000 - all in pennies. Needless to say the treasurer is delighted he receives a cheque rather than the actual coins! THE Attleborough and district branch borrowed the model lifeboat Barham from Gorleston Model Club as a centrepiece for three summer events, raising a total of £928.50.

ONCE again the annual gymkhana and horse show organised by Knaresborough ladies' guild was held at Gibbet Farm, Farnham in May. The glorious weather attracted a good number of entrants and supporters from all over the north of England and the proceeds of £2,900 were donated to the Humber lifeboat appeal.

LITTLEHAMPTON'S lifeboat week resulted in a total of £1,840 being collected for the branch, helped both in Littlehampton and Arundel by the stentorian announcements of Arundel's town crier, Bill Beere.

THE Kelsall branch organised an evening with RAF Search and Rescue at which a helicopter winchman from RAF Valley described his unit's work, followed by demonstrations of items of survival equipment. A lady volunteer from the audience was kitted out in an immersion suit, flying helmet and lifejacket, with an air crew dinghy pack added. Persuaded to pull the appropriate toggles she brought the evening to a spectacular close by inflating both lifejacket and dinghy. The audience of over 80 thoroughly enjoyed the event which raised over £200.

MEMBERS of the West Yorkshire Police subaqua club recently donated £400 to the Humber lifeboat appeal. This splendid sum was the proceeds of the club's first ever black tie gala ball held in Wakefield and divers from throughout the region and even as far away as Scotland and London attended.Record Breaker June 1995 saw the unveiling of the Humber lifeboat appeal's attempt to hold the country's largest tombola. The event, which took place at the Princes Quay in Hull, broke the record with 2,077 prizes, every one donated free of charge, and approximately £4,000 raised.

The Humber lifeboat appeal bus also went on service in Hull this summer, resplendent in RNLI livery, and raised £2,000 from the advertising placed on it.

It will be in service for the next 12 months - a great publicity vehicle for the appeal.

In the swim Even though Eileen Whittingham had both legs amputated through illness she climbed the 199 steps of Whitby Abbey in 1986 to raise £1,331 for the RNLI and her local swimming club the Solihull Seals. In 1988 she walked La Corbiere causeway on Jersey, raising £3,000 for the St Helier branch through sponsorship.

Not content with that, this year Eileen decided to set herself the daunting target of swimming 600m in 30 minutes at the Tudor Grange swimming centre in Solihull.

This time the beneficiaries of her sponsored swim were to be the Solihull branch and, once again, the Solihull Seals swimming club for the disabled.

There was little doubt that she would achieve her target but she passed the 600m mark in just 24 minutes, a remarkable achievement.

Eileen's efforts realised a superb £1,271.80.

The closing date for Fundraising items for the Winter 1995/6 issue of THE LIFEBOAT is 3 November 1995.