Rolling in money Fiona Kennedy, Eastleigh & District branch chairman, raised £1,200 from a sponsored 10 mile roller blade marathon in August.

This was no mean feat for someone who described herself on her sponsor form as a 'grossly unfit 53 year old widow who last took regular exercise more than 30 years ago' and who had her first experience of roller blading just last April.

So far her fellow committee members have resisted her pleas to join her in continued roller blading as a means to get fit! Titanic team up Gravesend branch teamed up with a local supermarket during the end of its fundraising week - raising £595 for lifeboat coffers.

Branch chairman, Nicolette Jones, together with members of staff from Asda, who were promoting the launch of the Titanic video, dressed up as passengers and crew from the fated ship.

Hover staff cash Staff at Dover-based Hoverspeed raised £2,742 for lifeboats during a prize raffle at the company's New Year's party.

Hoverspeed's Captain Andre Le Goubin and cabin crew member, Claire Oliver, recently presented a cheque for the amount raised to Dover lifeboat coxswain Tony Hawkins and crew.

Cruise with Santa During the four weekends before Christmas Captain Gordon Wilson, owner of the 60 seat cruiser Fantasia, ran 'Cruise with Santa' trips through Liverpool docks in aid of the RNLI.

Fifty pence was donated from every fare raising £221 and the bucket collection on the gate raised £457.

The photograph shows Santa (aka Southport branch souvenir secretary!) with Storm Force member Victoria Whitehill and Captain Wilson.

Kelly's Heroes Pupils from Kelly College Junior School, Tavistock, visited Plymouth lifeboat as part of their general studies course at school following a RNLI presentation at their school about lifeboats.

In recognition of the Institution's 175th anniversary pupils embarked on a series of fund raising activities which raised £175! The cash raised was handed over to Plymouth lifeboat mechanic Derek Studden by head girl Katie Hatcher.

Leo's lifeboat lyrics Newbiggin fundraisers had a busy time last summer - just days after moving back into their refurbished boathouse the Annual Harbour Day was held and, together with proceeds from lifeboat week, over £3,000 was raised.

A week later the guild and branch members provided refreshments to crowds gathered at the town fair - raising £1,400. Entertainment on the day included a set from pop legend Leo Sayer who even included some improvised lifeboat lyrics in one of his songs! Pinafore profit The Aireborough Gilbert and Sullivan Society gave a highly acclaimed performance of HMS Pinafore last September and again made a profit on the production.

Each year members of Yeadon branch serve refreshments at the shows and the society generally make a donation of £100. This time however, due to the seafaring nature of the show, the branch received a cheque for £400.

Net profit Hilti Industries of West Bromwich supported two of their managers, Martin Parker and Jim Coombes (who is also a member of the Stourbridge branch) by sponsoring them in a 24- hour deep sea fish to raise funds for Aberdovey lifeboat.

Hilti agreed to meet Martin and Jim's efforts pound for pound up to £500 and also sought support from suppliers, local businesses and other colleagues. Paul Brown of Hereford and Phil Taroni of Sutton Coldfield also took part in the event and in all, £2,400 was raised for lifeboat funds.

Interested in good investments? Help raise £50,000 for the RNLI! The Harbour Account was launched in 1997 through the Royal Bank of Scotland. Although they are offering competitive rates, initial take-up has been lower than we hoped. But the good news is that The Royal Bank have agreed to extend the two year deadline by a full year to help RNLI supporters open the 2,000 Harbour Accounts required to qualify for a guaranteed £50,000 donation. As we go to press, we still need approximately 1,500 accounts to meet the target. For full details see the adjacent advert.

Business Benefits the RNLI - turn a few odd shares into a valuable donation Do you have a few odd shares floating around? Shares which would possibly not be worth the commission when sold? If the answer is yes, then the RNLI would like to hear from you. Our broker Charles Stanley Ltd specialises in selling small volumes of shares from UK registered companies. Quite simply they collect together small share units until they have enough to sell cost effectively on our behalf. Last year alone, this scheme raised an impressive £8,000 and the figures are already looking encouraging for 1999. If you can help, please contact Tizzy Perkins today on (01202) 663212.

Buoyancy Aid — new Lifeboats MasterCard design for the 175th anniversary The RNLI is launching another card design for all new cardholders. Alongside the existing Arun, the new card depicts a Severn class lifeboat at speed! If you haven't already applied for a MasterCard, now is the time.

With the great new terms from The Royal Bank of Scotland, the MasterCard will be a welcome addition to any wallet or purse. (No annual fee, APR on purchases of 19.9% and up to a £100 cash back. If you already have a credit card, why not replace it? The process is very straightforward and there's no need to be either a Royal Bank customer or even a RNLI member to apply. What's more, the Royal Bank will donate £10 for every new cardholder and then 25p for every £100 of spend. For an application form and full details, simply call (01202) 3213 today.

Please note: If you're an existing cardholder and are tempted by the new card design, please write to The Royal Bank at the address below and the next time your card is renewed, they'll make sure its the Severn class card. Scott Kirkpatrick, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Drummond House, PO Box 1727, 1 Redheughs Avenue, Edinburgh EH12 9JN.

Mine's a pint! Don't forget to stock up with Tolly Cobbold's famous Celebration Ale. 8.5p from every bottle is donated to the RNLI and the beer is winning new friends all over the country. Available from several major retailers and specialist off licenses.

Insurance for sailors Offshore members can now benefit from the launch of the official RNLI Offshore Yacht Insurance Scheme through the marine specialist Bishop Skinner. If you are an Offshore member, you can save up to 10% on some of the most competitive rates on the market. For more information call Bishop Skinner today on (0800) 783 8057.

...In Brief...

During a visit to Dublin, members and friends ot I lamhidnu lifeboat station look part in (he Dublin marathon - raising O.7IM) in the privcss.

Hilary Plant nominated the RNLI as the charity to benefit from her year as captain of the ladies section of Thorpeness cull' club. £520 was raised from her 'drive-in' and a series of 'ball sw eeps' . A cheque lor the amount raised was presented to Framlington and District branch.

In October KriiMte and Ki'dhill branch held its filth annual qui/ night when it broke its ste.uliK rising record and raised £620 during the evening. So far the qui/ nights ha e realised £I. XX .

Forest Row lifeboat ehoir come together e e i Winter to sine carols with donations going to the RNLI. Last year they had a table at an Hast Grinstead colleclable fair, manned by David Walder and Thelma Manning.

The choir is well on its ua to financing its third inshore lifeboat.

Great Yarmouth and Ciorleston ladies lifeboat guild were honoured by the presence ot RN LI Ditccior. Andrew Freemantle. at the Annual Ball held at the Ocean Room. Gorleslon on 1 5 January This was Mr Freem.intle's first official social tunciion and he was 'piped aboard' by members of the Sea Cadet Corps. The hall raised nearly t6.(MK) a refold for this event.

George Relph of Hatfirld Conservative Club completed a 500 mile sponsored walk last Summer to raise money for the lifeboats. Through getting sponsored a penny a mile. George raised hundreds of pounds which was added to the proceeds of .1 Race night held at the club. In total £1,000 was raised.

Hampstead and Yalding cruising club collected £1.260 during I99S as a donation to Sheemess lifeboat station.

In September Beti Gilbert of the Kensington branch held a very successful 'At home' which raised over £ 1 ,7(X). The event was attended by the Mayoress of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. All branch members work extremely hard at this annual event which has become an established part of the branch's calendar of events.

Notice to contributors: We are always pleased to recen e any material intended for publication.

However, due to space restrictions and the huge quantity of submissions receded, it is mi possible to publish every article received.

In order to keep adminisii.i lion costs down.contributionsu ill not usually be acknowledged.

Every contribution is considered and we do try to be as lair as possible. So keep those articles coining in - yours could be featured next time.

Prize old Mummers In December Emsworth branch received a cheque for £500 from the 'Prize Old Mummers' of Emsworth Slipper Sailing Club.

The group of eight go to local pubs and act out a 30 minute historical farce and then pass round the RNLI collection bucket. A collection box in their clubhouse also yields regular income.

Happy Knitters Brierly Hill and Kingwinford branch organised a sponsored knit at the home of branch chairman Mike Rogers and his wife Ann.

There were 25 knitters sponsored by 260 people to knit squares to make blankets for overseas charities. Coffee was drunk, fish and chips were served with wine and £590 was raised for the RNLI.

Morton Wreckers! Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Norton and Port Eynon lifeboat station, the local branch held a Gower Wreckers Ball which raised over £8,500 for lifeboat coffers.

The ball, which was well supported by individuals and local businesses, was attended by many VIPs including recently retired RNLI Director, Brian Miles.

Rick and Wellies raise.

International marine photographer, Rick Tomlinson, together with Wellies Restaurant came up with a great idea for raising money for the charity.

Each month Rick selects a 24in x 16in photograph to be auctioned through the month in the restaurant in Hamble. Patrons are invited to make a bid, anything from £1 upwards and at the end of the month the highest bidder gets the print and a complimentary meal - the money raised goes to charity.

The chosen charities are the RNLI and the John Merricks Sailing trust. So far four photographs have raised £1,000 of which the RNLI receives half.

Endeavour award Robert Charlton, son of Llandudno crew member Keith, recently won the Welsh region under 18s Nationwide Award for Voluntary Endeavour.

Fifteen year old Robert is the junior patron for . ». _ the Llandudno W 1 F I crew training appeal and Kf -4 raised nearly £3,000 for the appeal in 1998.

Robert won £500 for the crew training appeal and was invited to the House of Commons last October where he was presented with the cheque and a trophy of recognition.

Portrush appeal An appeal for a new Portrush lifeboat will be launched early this year. The target for the appeal, which will cover the whole province of Northern Ireland, is £500,000.

Hero helps appeal Yachting hero and author Pete Goss recounted his dramatic story to Newcastle's Tyne Theatre in November raising £1,400 for the Tynemouth Lifeboat Appeal.

The audience were captivated as Pete told them what it was really like to be alone in the freezing Antarctic ocean, barely surviving the cold and storm and turning back hundreds of miles to rescue a fellow sailor in his sinking yacht. The story had a happy ending and Pete's rescue of Frenchman Raphael Dinelli earned him the Legion d'Honneur from France and thrust him into international recognition as an intrepid adventurer as well as a first class yachtsman.

Pete also unveiled his plans for the next 'Pete Goss Challenge' which is to build a 115ft superyacht and take part in the Millennium yacht race which starts on 31 December 2000.

Everyone in the audience enjoyed the presentation, including Pauline Speed, Tynemouth Appeal Director, who was also delighted with the evening's proceeds.

The appeal which was launched last June has so far raised over £200,000 towards the new Tynemouth lifeboat - the aim is to reach the £1,000,000 target by December 1999. For further information contact the Tynemouth Lifeboat Appeal office on: (0191) 272 8400.

Market Day The centuries-old Dunstable market recently moved to a new site and the official opening coincided with the local branch flag day. The RNLI was allocated the charity stall in the market and the photograph shows Sir David Madell, South West Bedfordshire MP, Vera Cook, branch helper, and Mary Chapman, branch vice chairman and box secretary.

Total income from sales at the stall and the flag day came to £940.

Photo: John Shorthouse.

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