Starting them young! J o s e p h Stravrinidis, aged six, of Southport has been doing sterling work for the RNLI. During the September meeting of the S o u t h p o r t branch, he presented the treasurer with money raised by selling drawings and cards, which he had made himself.

At the November meeting of the branch Joseph made another presentation, bringing his total amount raised to £37.10. Joseph had gone out and about with mum as minder, selling goods from a catalogue from which the 25% commission went to the RNLI.

Chequeing in Past Mayor of Christchurch, Mr Edward Coope visited Mudeford lifeboat station on 14 August, 1995 to present a cheque and bravery awards to three crew members.

The cheque, for £4,500, is the result of the Mayoral Appeal which ran while Mr.

Coope was Mayor of Christchurch in 1994 and is the result of many fundraising events held during his year of office.

Mr. Coope also presented the Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum to Mudeford lifeboat's Helmsman Ian Parker and ere w members Stuart Ward and Toby Abbott for a service on 30 October 1994, when the lifeboat rescued a boy who was clinging to a pole on a rock groyne off Barton cliff.

The boy was being constantly washed by large waves in a Force 6 wind with very rough seas and driving rain.In Brief SALCOMBE Lifeboat crew and fundraising supporters held a series of barbecues during August, raising over £3,000 with thanks for support from friends and local businesses.

THE Beckenham branch made £1,127 in just one-and-a-half-hours at a coffee party held on 14 September.

SAMUAL Lucas School held its harvest festival on 26 September, raising £134 for lifeboat coffers. Hitchin and District branch represented the RNLI and received the cheque - the proceeds of a 'mile of pennies'. The staff and pupils had worked hard to decorate the school hall with pictures and cut-outs depicting various activities of the RNLI.

LEE WALKER from Swindon in Wiltshire, raised money for the Institution by completing a sponsored walk in Germany.

Margate coxswain mechanic Peter Walker, accepted the cheque for £202 on behalf of the Margate branch from 14-year-old Lee.

THE ANNUAL Luncheon of Norwich ladies' lifeboat guild was held at the home of Lady Mackintosh, the guild's long-standing president of some 28 years. The summer lunch was held in July and raised over £1,400 for Institution funds.

A FAMILY Fair and Garden Party was held by the Jersey lifeboat guild on Saturday 2 September at the home of the chairman and her husband, Jurat and Mrs John Orchard.

The event featured many stalls including souvenirs, sale of handicrafts, cakes, plants and produce, raffle, tombola as well as several funfair games such as splat the rat, guess the name of the doll, treasure map and guess the number of sweets in the jar, many run by children and friends of committee members. The day raised over £1,000 for lifeboat funds.

OVER 100 tickets were sold for the Sixth Annual Luncheon of the Rutland ladies lifeboat guild. The event, held on 4 October 1995 at Barnsdale Lodge Hotel, was a great success and raised over £800 for the RNLI.Over the hills and...

Five years ago a one-off event took place in Orkney which now seems destined to remain an annual occurrence. The Wards Hill Challenge was started by five enthusiastic colleagues who combined their favourite sports to raise money for charity.

The RNLI has a strong presence in Orkney and it was only a matter of time before the challenge was held in aid of the RNLI - and the last three events have raised more than £10,000 for Institution funds.

The aim of the challenge, which takes place in July, is for participants to reach the summit of the four highest hills in Orkney, each of which bears the name Ward Hill. The catch is that each Ward Hill is situated on a different island, and in order to complete the challenge, it is necessary to visit a total of seven islands, three by boat and the remainder by crossing the Churchill Barriers (wartime causeways to the smaller islands - Ed). In all, the event consists of 73 miles cycling, 8 miles walking and ascending a total of about 3,000ft.

The strenuous fundraising event, usually finished within 13 hours, needs to be completed as scheduled in order for the participants to catch specially commissioned boats to the other islands. The number of challengers is limited to about 30 who must be 18 years or over and possess a reasonable degree of fitness and stamina.

The challenge starts from Shore Street in Kirkwall at 7am and ends at lifeboatbuilding on Kirkwall pier, and back-up is provided by members of the local RNLI who follow in the 'broom wagon' carrying food, fluids, extra clothing and bicycle spares. Members of the ladies lifeboat guilds distribute sandwiches and drinks.

This year, in recognition of the effort to raise money for the RNLI, a personal tribute in the form of a medal, designed by organiser and founder member, David Lowe, was donated to each challenger by Brigadier Robertson. There are sufficient medals to last for three more years, a commitment to devoting the challenge to the RNLI for at least that length of time?Mud in yer eye! Emsworth fishermen organised a Mud Patten Race at Emsworth Foreshore, raising £600 for lifeboat funds. They particularly wished for the proceeds to be given to Hayling lifeboat station for the purchase of binoculars on a tripod, a valuable piece of equipment for the station.

Artistic licence to print money! The llth annual exhibition of paintings and crafts organised by Appledore guild was held at the North Devon Yacht Club, Instow from 20 to 25 October 1995. As usual, the high standard of work by the 32 artists and crafts people attracted a good attendance resulting in the sum of £2,706 being raised.

The exhibition came about as the result of a conversation in 1985 between the guild secretary, Eileen Harlow and Ian Hudson, a local artist. Since that time it has become the guild's major fundraising event, having raised more than £20,000.Vintage occasion The Belton and O'Neill families from Oxted, Surrey have entered the Beaulieu and Weymouth vintage car rally for the last six years. This is put on by the Wimborne branch of the RNLI and organised by the National Westminster Bank Motoring Club.

The proceeds have been divided between the RNLI and Safety Net for Children.

The picture shows Paul Belton (left) with his 1937Talbot and Hugh O'Neill. Jo Belton is the Secretary of the Oxted/ Limpsfield branch and was presented with the RNLI silver badge this year.In Brief THE SCAPA Flow Experience, an organised sail through the well-known and often rugged stretch of water around the Orkneys, raised over £3,000 for Institution funds. The Norwegian sail training ship Statstraad Lehnikuhl left Stromness with over 300 people aboard for the trip on 17 July 1995.

SINCE its formation 2 years ago, the Camelford and district branch is proud to announce that more than £4,000 has been raised. Fundraising efforts this year included a summer feast, a jazz night, various jumble sales and coffee mornings. Wheelchairbound Jonathan Doridgecollected over £400 and recently received an inscribed shield to mark his efforts.

As A RESULT of the Annual Luncheon held at St. Donats Castle, Mid Glamorgan on 25 June 1995, the Cardiff ladies lifeboat guild sent the sum of £2,625 to the RNLI. A cookery demonstration by Mrs Betty Dobson on 26 September 1995, also organised by the Cardiff ladies lifeboat guild, raised £1,500 in aid of the Penarth Lifeboat Appeal.

IT WAS A bumper summer for Cromer boathouse collecting boxes during 1995. Thanks to the local branch and ladies' guild, it has been possible for the boathouse to remain open to visitors from Spring Bank Holiday to September and as a result £9,745 has been collected from the boxes in the boathouse alone, an increase of £3,965 on 1994.A manx tale...

This year's Castletown Regatta on the Isle of Man was a great success, thanks to fine weather on the day and hard work in organising it by the regatta committee of the Castletown and Derbyhaven Motorboat and Yacht club.

The regatta was also a great financial success, thanks to the generosity of two local companies, Royal Life International Insurance and Beauman and Beauman whose sponsorship underwrote the major costs of running the regatta.

A number of the yacht club members also serve on the RN LI Castletown branch committee, which perhaps influenced the regatta committee in deciding to make another generous donation the RNLI from the regatta proceeds. Over the five years that the yacht club has been running the Castletown Regatta, over £5,000 has been donated to lifeboat funds.

Not afraid of the dark! Despite the arrival of the darker evenings, the ladies at Newbiggin have continued raising money, with receipts during October and early November mounting to over £1,000. Apart from regular 'Beetle Drives', a film show and a fireworks display attracted around 3,500 people and sold out of hot dogs! Further events for 1995 included a raffle for a replica Grace Darling medal, raising £400 and an Annual Christmas Fayre for which the boathouse is magically transformed into a Christmas wonderland complete with Santa's grotto!Early in 1995 Geoff and Val Winship brought their medieval knights jousting display to Christchurch. Since Easter at The Arena, 2 Riversmeet in Christchurch, the Knights have been displaying their horses and costumes to the accompaniment of thundering hooves and clashing steel in the joust.

Geoff and Val were determined that, as well as providing a major tourist attraction they would also raise funds for the RNLI.

With support from the Christchurch branch and especially the branch honorary collecting box secretary Mr George Davis, arrangements were made for special RNLI displays and collecting boxes to be installed at the Medieval Pavilion.

In the spirit of the joust, at the end of each performance, the knights require the serfs (the audience) to pay dues in the form of a donation to the RNLI.

Before one of the last performances, the chairman of Christchurch branch, Eric Freeman, who is also a member of the committee of management, presented a lifeboat shield to Geoff and Val Winship.

He was accompanied by members of the Christchurch branch committee and expressed the gratitude of the RNLI for the splendid initiative of the Winships and their jousting knights.Central Fundraising Several companies are introducing offers to RNLI suporters and readers of The Lifeboat which also provide financial benefits for the Institution. This issue of THE LIFEBOAT sees a new offer on private health insurance from the Hospital and Medical Care Association, which specialises in 'affinity packages'. The scheme has been running with the Royal Yachting Association for some time.

A new marine insurance programme will be launched at the London Boat Show in January in conjunction with Haven Knox-Johnston (who certainly know their way round the boating world), and application details are featured in their advertisement inside the back cover of this journal.

Inserts are also enclosed advertising the Travel Club, which is operated by a subsidiary of Teacher's Assurance, and offers discounts on holidays and ferry crossings of up to 10%.

In addition a new poster service offered by Guernsey Colour Laboratories, has been a great success and is repeated in this issue, while other recent offers, such as Flying Flowers, lifeboat crew models, and motoring and buildings and contents insurance are still going strong.

In each case the Institution tries to ensure that the service is the best available, and in each case it also receives a financial return.

Legacies, the RNLI's most important source of income, are currently in decline and it is important that new sources of income are generated. Unfortunately, these are not always successful, and one of the failures was the My Garden project, where receivers were called in to the company in October.

On a more positive note Kimberly Clark, together with the Tendring District Council and the Colchester Co-operative Society, organised an enormously successful third Tour de Tendring cycle run, in which 11,000 riders took part, raising a splendid £15,000.

Readers who have visited their local chemists recently may have seen the campaign currently running with Seven Seas in some 6,000 chemists throughout the country.

Finally, the competition to name the new Barclaycard - funded lifeboat for Eyemouth produced well over 5,000 entries, the winning name being Barclaycard Crusader.

The closing date for Fundraising items for the Spring 1996 issue of THE LIFEBOAT is 16 February 1995 but earlier if possibleForward Birmingham Lifeboat Campaign update The Birmingham Lifeboat Campaign Fund has now reached in excess of £700,000 but there is still a long way to go. Flag month in April produced another record breaking total, this time £25,000. Campaigners planned some smashing events which took place in Autumn, with fundraisers such as Casino Evening on 19 September, Forward Fish Supper on 2 October and Lifeline Day Road Show Spectacular on 7 October. This last event was the culmination of a one-millionenvelope- drop to homes in the Birmingham area asking for general donations to the campaign fund to help 'finish the job'. Birmingham continues to show its tremendous support for the Lifeboat Service.

Birmingham Branch held a 'Do as you like' evening earlier last year to raise funds for the RNLI. This was a function for which you did not have to attend, just do whatever you like, put your feet up, watch television or read a good book so long as you donate the money you have saved by not going out! The non-event raised a total of £1,200 for the Forward Birmingham Lifeboat Campaign.

On a much more active note Helen Clifford, a trainee outdoor pursuit instructor and daughter of the Erdington branch Chairman, joined nine others for the Three Peaks Project on 27 May 1995, to raise funds for the Forward Birmingham campaign.

They left for Snowdon in wet and windy weather, collecting £93 in a bucket on the way. By Scafell the weather had worsened but the team finally arrived safely only to hear that two people were missing from an earlier team. They later found them, tired and wet but safe, and brought them down before resuming their climb to the second peak.

The last climb, Ben Nevis, was withdrawn due to bad weather, but the group decided the climb Helvellyn, the next highest to Scafell.

During the climb, the weather deteriorated and Helen started to show signs of hypothermia.

The team pulled together and reached the top, where an RNLI flag was used as a windbreak. When they finally caught sight of the bottom, the wind and rain eased, the sun appeared and the base crew met them with a magnum of champagne.The Paignton branch Paignton branch has had a 1995 Summer season of mixed fortunes - some good times and some very sad. Peter Tully, one of the Branch's major friends and supporters and a Shoreline member, passed away early in August and will be sadly missed.

Peter was known as Paignton's 'Mr.Regatta', and the RNLI benefited by over £11,500 between 1989 and 1995 as a result of his considerable efforts on the Institution's behalf.

More happily, Ken Lane, the skipper/ owner of the pleasure cruise boat Dart Princess continued his good support and provided two cruises during the Summer, all proceeds being donated to the RNLI. John Hopkins of the Harbour Rise Rest Home, Paignton, ran his Annual coffee morning in August. The RNLI has benefited by several hundreds of pounds annually from kind the hard work of these two gentlemen and their helpers.

The branch has also found new friends in Nortel, the large electronics firm who are and major employers at their extensive Paignton plant. On Friday 11 August, Nick Watt, Derek Piper and Alan Martin, combined their efforts and organised a golf competition at Churston Golf Club, Paignton. As results of their efforts in one hectic day, the managing director of Nortel, Peter Allen and the managing director of Radio Infrastructure, Nortel, Bob Gow, presented a cheque for £1,556 to Paignton branch chairman, Stella Ricks.Paws for a kiss...

Albert the Irish Wolfhound will finally have the chance of a rest when he retires from his charity collecting duties next year. Albert, who is a PAT Dog (Pets As Therapy) and a doggy blood donor, won a 'Round of Appaws' award in August this year - and a portion of his prize money went to the RNLI.

The dogged efforts of the collecting canine and his owner Mary Knights have raised over £10,000 for various charities including the RNLI. The birth of Albert's grandson is eagerly awaited so that he can take over future charity events!.