Surf And Turf A fundraising evening organised by the Campbeltown ladies lifeboat guild was a great success thanks to a fashion show of Douglas Gill's sailing and outdoor clothes and a fascinating talk from Tony Lambert, horticulturist extraordinary. Not a mixture that immediately springs to mind, but after guests were shown the sort of clothes to wear while sailing round the world or visiting the tropics, Tony explained how to grow avocado, pineapple, banana and palm trees. On a cold winter's night the audience were willingly 'transported' to warmer climates! Douglas Gill boosted the evening's raffle prize list by donating two jumbo sized holdalls and a selection of garden tools, together with a framed picture by Richard Ansdell from Tony Lambert.

Refreshments were provided by guild members who were delighted with the £365 raised from the evening.

Quizzed! Following the success of last year's event, Falmouth lifeboat guild held a second quiz night at the Falmouth Watersports Centre on 20 February 1997.

Questionmaster Rod Allday had prepared rounds on subjects as diverse as mythology and pop song lyrics and once again, there was a friendly rivalry between the 30 teams who entered, many of whom are based at the Centre. The winners were The Trelly Four - Frosties came second and third were Woddentops Anonymous.

A total of £273 was raised for the RNLI during the evening and the quiz was enjoyed by all who took part.

Not all submissions received for the Summer 1997 issue are featured and may appear in a future issue.

Guilded ladies Walton and Frinton ladies lifeboat guild entered two boats in the Thames Great River Race in September 1996 - rowing 22 miles of the Thames from Richmond, Ham House to The Isle of Dogs.

The branch ladies own and maintain their own boat Gilded Lady, which is entered in local regattas, raising much cash from sponsorship. The crew of Gilded Lady, Sue Barrow, Sue Berry, Wendy Wright, Lynn Brunt, Sue Mann and Karen Hunn came first in the veteran ladies category winning them the Paul Satow trophy, they also came third in the ladies class on handicap. The Walton ladies crossed the line in 26th place overall out of 213 crews of men and women in 3hrs 33mins 49secs.

Their second boat Eadwulfof Walton, crewed by Miranda Rayner, Irene Wren, Karen Rouse, Lynnette Sparks, Anne Hockeridge and Alison Taggart completed the course in 3hrs 29mins 38secs, finishing 107th overall.

The two crews raised £1,636 for Institution funds through sponsorship.

Branch knees-up Cwmbran branch and Parsley Hay country dance band recently organised a ceilidh at Cwmbran Rugby Club in aid of the RNLI. You can see from the above photograph that the band fully entered into the spirit of the occasion - but this comes as no surprise as two of the band are members of the Cwmbran branch - and one is vice chairman! The event sold out, raising nearly £300, and there are plans for another in the future.

Top box? A collection box filled by patrons and staff of The Masons Arms pub in Cilgerran, Wales has been dubbed 'top box' by Cardigan branch - every three to four weeks the box secretary is on standby for a call to the Masons.

Between July 1996 to March 1997 a total of £619 was raised, the most profitable out of 56 collection boxes in the Cardigan area for the year ending March 1997. Can anyone better this total over the same period? Shark bites Thurso branch received £1,000 in 1996 from the sale of Porbeagle sharks caught by anglers fishing in the Pentland Firth. The anglers fished from local angling boat, Karen, owned and skippered by Clair Calder, a committee member of Thurso branch - his mate Eddie Fisher is the branch vice chairman.

The anglers were Jim Slater, Joe Connelly, Joe Edwards, Martin Mitchell and Jim Ryan. The Sharks were sold by Denholm Fishselling - salesman Dougie Munro is also a crew member of the Thurso lifeboat and all the money was handed to the branch.

This year a further four sharks were caught raising £653.Three were caught on Karen, the fourth by committee member, Alexander MacDonald from a local 20ft boat which is owned and skippered by Carl Ferrier, the son a committee member.

The anglers were Gordon MacKenzie, Marcus Blackwell, Colin Parsons, Alexander MacDonald.

In brief WOOD Group Offshore of Great Yarmouth recently supplied 5,500 litres of fuel free of charge for the Gorleston's Trent class lifeboat - a most generous donation.

ROY AND Ann Wood of Carters boat yard, Buckden are ardent supporters of RNLI through St Ives branch. A few years ago Roy shaved off half his beard and kept it that way for two weeks helping him to raise some £600. They also have a collecting box at the boat yard which has raised over £2,000 over the last six years.

A SEA-ANGLING club at the Spread Eagle public house in Reading, started a '50 club' in aid of the RNLI about 18 months ago. All the regulars in the pub were involved in the weekly draw but sadly organiser, Stan Curtis, was recently killed in a road accident so the final amount raised, £819, was very much in his memory. The angling club often went out from Hayling Island and a link has been set up between the pub and the lifeboat station.

A VERY successful Christmas coffee morning was held by the West Wight guild at the George Hotel in Yarmouth which, including the sale of souvenirs, raised £706.

RINGWOOD musical and dramatic society nominated the RNLI as one of their charities to benefit from their highly successful 1996 summer show. Chairman Tom Glasson presented Peggy Ingleton, chairman of the Ringwood branch, with a cheque for £750 at a recent rehearsal.

TEN year old Damien Rhodes from Scarborough took part in the 13th Leeds swim marathon - completing the course in just over 2hrs and receiving a gold medal! As Damien's gran is a Shoreline member, he collected sponsorship for his swim, splitting the £128 raised equally between Scarborough lifeboat and his school.

A VERY busy and profitable year was had by Epping and Theydon Bois branch during 1996, raising a total of £8,095. The branch's main event, held in November, was a 'Nautical Olde Tyme Music Hall', staged by local drama group, the Wanstead Players.

Ladies of the committee provided supper and the occasion was well supported raising over £1,115. Other events included a sherry morning at the home of the branch president, souvenir sales at many fundraising events and house to house and street collections.

DUE to two very profitable events, an auction of gifts and promises raising £1,725 and the annual fork luncheon raising over £1,600, together with profits from other events, the Lichfield ladies lifeboat guild were delighted to have raised £10,000 for lifeboat funds during the last financial year.

A COFFEE morning at the Royal Solent Yacht Club in Yarmouth, gave Isle of Wight guild a great start to the year by raising £488 for the RNLI. In April, 80 members and guests also enjoyed a spring supper at the club, at which John Owen, RNLI senior area organiser, presented Dick Callaway, branch treasurer, with the RNLI silver badge.

Bed month success During national bed month, David Phipp house furnisher of Ferndown in Dorset, chose to support the RNLI by donating £10 for every bed purchased in March.

At the end of the promotion Ronny Spurr, treasurer of Ferndown branch and his wife Betty were presented with a cheque for £1,100 by David Phipp, managing director of the company.

David Phipp commented 'During bed month we like to support a charity. Mr and Mrs Spurr are very enthusiastic fund raisers for the RNLI and it has been a pleasure to work with them and I am delighted to present them with this cheque. We would also like to thank our customers who have supported us during this promotion.' Anniversary supper Blue Peter I crew past and present: (left to right) Peter Cheney, station branch chairman and original station honorary secretary; with original crew members, John Pe/ham, Roy Cole and George Moore: Gerry Prest (centre), fundraising branch chairman: /right to left) Paul Naish, station honorary secretary: with present crew members Ivan Greet, Jack Pidcock and Peter Knight.

Littlehampton branch celebrated the 30th anniversary of the town's inshore lifeboat, Blue Peter I, on 17 March 1997 at the Littlehampton sailing and motor club. The event, attended by some 80 people including past and present members of the lifeboat crew, raised £440 for Institution coffers.

A stall, manned by Kathleen Woollven and Vera Barnes, sold lifeboat souvenirs including limited edition china and earthenware mugs, glasses and tankards. The tankards were sponsored by lifeboat builders William Osborne. Vera also ran a raffle, the first prize of which was appropriately won by Barbara Moore, wife of George who was coxswain of the first Blue Peter I and former deputy launching authority.

Peter Cheney, branch honorary secretary and former station honorary secretary, gave a talk tracing the history of the station from the original Blue Peter I, funded by an appeal from the popular children's television programme, to the present Atlantic 21 lifeboat.

After the talk guests tucked into fish and chips provided by Fred's Fish and Chips and watched the RNLI film 'Beside the Seaside'.

Lymrn ladies The ladies of Lymm and district branch (pictured right with RNLI area organiser for the North West, Jim Crowther) held an antiques evening on 8 November 1996 which raised over £1,200 for Institution funds.

The event was held at the Lymm Hotel and started with a short talk by representatives of Capes Dunn & Co, a firm of auctioneers and valuers from Manchester, followed by cheese and wine. There was an large tombola and raffle, making the evening a great success.

Sixties revival Lynne Crockford, vice chairman of Tenby ladies lifeboat guild and wife of Charles, Tenby lifeboat's station mechanic, had an idea to organise a sixties night dance to raise lifeboat funds. The dance took place at the De Valence Pavilion in Tenby on 8 November 1996 with music played by old Tenby band, The Frantic Five and Friends, who were making a special comeback for the evening.

Mike Day, the band's drummer, is a management committee member and his father Les managed the group in it's early days and was a former mechanic of Tenby lifeboat.

With the help of the guild and the station branch committee all the 700 tickets were sold before the event - the first time for an event at De Valence, raising the magnificent sum of £4,150. The band gave their time for nothing and the event was sponsored by Texaco, National Power and local business people making a very successful and enjoyable evening.

Raising the dough Six year old Alexandra Avern presented a coffee jar containing £6.50 to Leamington Spa branch treasurer Tony Avern (the second name is not a coincidence, Tony is her uncle!). Alexandra is a keen lifeboat supporter and member of Storm Force, the RNLI's club for young people, and raised the cash for the RNLI by baking and selling cakes and also selling some of her toys.

Keel haul ball! The 5th Keel haul ball, held at Elmers Court Country Club, Lymington on the 27 December 1996, raised just over £1,500 for the Lymington lifeboat station.

The ball is held every two years mainly for Lymington and Hamble yachtsmen - many of who have called upon the services of the lifeboat at some stage of their yachting lives! Organisers, Mr and Mrs C W McKeon and Mr M McKeon who are already looking forward to organising the next ball in 1998, presented a cheque to Lymington lifeboat officials.

Fine time During the pre-election fever of April, drinkers at The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham, were warned to keep quiet about their political opinions or pay a fine to the RNLI! Pub owner Charles Coker told local newspaper, Lynn News, 'People started talking about politics in the bar and we realised very quickly that it is probably the most boring subject in the world and that is not what people come out to a pub for. The RNLI is the charity we are supporting because as far as we are concerned, all the parties are all at sea and they are going to need help to rescue them.' Fines included 20p for mentioning the unmentionable subject, 50p for announcing favour to any party, £5 for being, looking or sounding like a candidate, and £100 for being a party leader.

Storming Norman Norman Whereat, Cirencester branch Chairman is pictured above manning the RNLI stall at a Christmas sale where the total value of goods sold topped £2,500.

Norman is celebrating his 40th year as a member of the branch which he helped to form when he moved to the area from Wiltshire. At 74 years of age he still enjoys showing films and giving talks on the RNLI but is always on the look out for new helpers to take over his work.

Central fundraising update BT Global Challenge Round the World Race - Toshiba Wave Warrior, under skipper Simon Walker, continues to do well, coming third on the fourth leg to Cape Town and lying second overall.

There were three RNLI crew members on the last leg - Angela Morris from Fishguard, Chris Gasken from West Kirby and Haydon Scott Edwards from Craster. Unfortunately, Haydon sustained a nasty fracture to his leg and is now home. Angela has continued on the current leg to Boston.

The race finishes in the Solent in July.

Thank you to all those who have returned sponsorship forms, the event is well on the road to funding an Atlantic 75.

Skandia Life Cowes Week - The RNLI is the official charity for Skandia Life Cowes Week at the beginning of August. Besides the local branch activities, the Institution will also be promoting Offshore on the International Paint stand. Promotion of new membership is being spearheaded in the Times supplement for the week, where an Avon rigid inflatable boat is being offered as a prize.

The Harbour Account - This is a new product from Royal Bank of Scotland. It is a 30 day postal savings account, offering excellent interest rates to RNLI members. The minimum balance required is only £500, and full details are shown in their advertisement on page 16. Given 2,000 new accounts the bank has guaranteed £50,000 towards a new lifeboat. Other products are also available - from credit cards to health care, photographic services to travel, together with most forms of insurance.

Each provides the RNLI with a return so please ask for a quote.

Other new promotions - Single Service Sugar (a subsidiary of Heinz) is running a promotion throughout cafes and restaurants, on sugar packs, offering a die cast double-decker bus in RNLI livery for only £2.75. Williamson and Magor, the suppliers of Lifeboat Tea, are also offering lifeboat models with their packs.

Busy Brighton Brighton branch had a busy few weeks between late February and the end of March when they put on major displays at a local model exhibition (with model lifeboats on an adjacent stand, of course), a one day collection at a local Asda supermarket and then manning a stand at the Brighton Boat Show over the Easter break.

Neither of the show stands cost the branch a penny, the space being donated by the organisers in both cases.

The model exhibition brought in more than £700 in souvenir sales, donations and draw tickets; the supermarket collection raised another £579; and the Brighton Boat Show stand topped it all with total receipts of just over £1,800! From auction to action When Ronald and Christine Zeghibe started bidding for lot 7 at the RNLI London region Christmas ball, they did not expect to find themselves at sea in the sort of rough weather that is experienced by lifeboatmen. As winners of 'A day at sea with the Royal Navy during the Thursday War', they joined the ship's company of Portsmouth-based destroyer HMS York under the watchful eye of Flag Officer Sea Training in the sea areas off Plymouth during the middle of February.

Having joined the night before and dined with the commanding officer, Commander Andy Moll, it was down to overalls, life-jackets and anti-flash protection the following day as HMS York battled through gale force 8 conditions to provide air defence cover for the rest of the task group ships on exercise. Although unable to fly in the ship's Lynx helicopter due to the high sea state, Ronald and Christine packed in a full day of activity as they toured the ship's operations room, Seadart missile magazine, machinery spaces and galley, often finding themselves confronted by thick smoke as the damage control teams went through their drills. There was even the chance to sample the culinary delights of action messing as the whole ship's company of 280 were put through lunch in less than 45 minutes! Both enjoyed their day. Ronald said, 'the other auction lots on offer could have been arranged through a travel agent but this was a unique experience'..