The Tone Vale Lodge, based at the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOBJ club at Taunton, raises cash for a different charity each year. Members normally aim to raise £200 in the course of a year but in 2000 managed to break all their previous records by raising £800 for the RNLI.

The money is usually raised by weekly donations from the members but last year the project was boosted by extra activities including a country and western evening and sales of poetry booklets published by Brother Alan Potter.

Members of the lodge, together with their wives and partners, visited Minehead lifeboat station in January to present a cheque for the final sum.

Following a talk by St Albans and district branch chairman, the juniors of St Albans high school for girls nominated the RNLI as their chanty for 2000 ~ raising a impressive £6,500.

Throughout the year pupils, staff and parents fundraised through a variety of imaginative activities, including a lifeboat themed Harvest Festival.

Raphael Independent school in Essex also raised cash for the lifeboats as the result of a presentation by RNLI fundraising organisers.

The school visited the lifeboat collection at Chatham and held a non-uniform day combined with a concert. Pupils and staff also organised a bazaar and several other activities which included teacher Phil Shipman (above) bravely agreeing to have his head shaved - bringing the total to £1,090.

In December musician Paul Downes and his friends entertained a packed house at The Redwing Inn in Lympstone, Devon for their annual Christmas carols concert to raise funds for Exmouth & Budleigh Salterton Guild. A collection was made by the landlady and her staff throughout the evening which raised £430.

However, a few days later organisers were surprised to receive a donation of £20 from someone in Cumbria who they later discovered was a friend of one of the regulars and had enjoyed listening to the concert over her mobile phone.

The Fairey Owners' Club (FOC) is one of the UK's most active owners' clubs and holds various well-attended events and rallies throughout the year in aid of charity. Club members, who are owners and enthusiasts of Fairey Marine racing and classic cruising powerboats (pictured), nominated the RNLI as their charity for 2001 and have already raised £800 in just one weekend from various activities.Al supports the lifeboats Winslow branch members were given a double treat one evening last November when they were special guests during the recording of an episode of the popular series 'Time Gentlemen Please' starring Al Murray as the pub landlord.

At the end of the shoot the audience cheered as the star of the show handed his father Ingram Murray (and also Winslow branch secretary) a £5,000 cheque for the RNLI.

In thanking Al, branch chairman David Spencer gave the comedian a lifeboat collecting box to put on the bar of the set.

Fans of the offbeat sitcom, which is based in a London pub and also stars Phil Daniels and Julia Sawalha, should be able to spot the lifeboat in the later episodes.Fastnet challenge Pirates invade Aberdeen lifeboat In October Raymond Hirst, secretary of Morecarnbe and Heysham branch, completed the Fastnet Challenge aboard Team Spirit, one of Sir Chay Blyth's 67' classic challenge round-the-world ocean racing yachts.

As a result of completing the Challenge, which involves racing from Plymouth to the Fastnet rock and back, Raymond (pictured at the helm) was able to present £600 to Morecambe lifeboat station thanks to the generosity of his sponsors.

The Old Puiteney pirates showed off their sea legs at Aberdeen lifeboat station in August to promote Old Puiteney whisky which has joined forces with the RNLI and is donating £1 for every bottle sold.

The stunning females pirates (pictured aboard Aberdeen's Severn class lifeboat) were inspired by tales of pirates who ravaged the shores of Wick in the 17th century, home of the distillery which produces Old Puiteney 12-year-old single malt whisky.

Margaret Mary Timpson, Old Puiteney brand manager said. 'We are delighted to be able to give our support to the RNLI. With Old Puiteney's maritime roots, the RNLI seemed like the perfect partner and we are looking forward to taking water with them.' Headers of The Lifeboat have a chance to win a bottle of Old Puiteney - see Your Letters on page 29 for further details.Bude model boat festival 2001Bude's highly successful model boat festival is returning for it's third year running during this coming May bank holiday weekend.

The two-day event, in aid of the RNLI, is situated in the grounds of Bude Castle and brings together model boats and enthusiasts from all over the country. There will plenty to see and do for all the family so come along, make new friends, bring your models for display, watch the demonstrations, or just relax in pleasant company.

There will be an indoor area for glass-cased or waterline models, grassed area for club displays and gazebos - and a freshwater canal and the River Meet for floating exhibits.

The festival takes place on Sunday 6 May (10am-6pm) and Monday 7 May (10am-4pm). For information or to book your exhibit call 01288 355100 or visit www.modelboatfestival.org.uk.

Above rou- KB oir/oua OWN Sounds appealing Singer songwriter and Portrush lifeboat crew member Michael Hassan has released a CD single in aid of Portrush lifeboat appeal. The title track 'You're never on your own' boasts a considerable pedigree of artists including Clive Culbertson of Van Morrison fame and Liam Bradley of the Ronan Keating band.

The CD was kindly sponsored by Portrush nightclub and entertainment complex Trax! and copies are available for £4.00 (inc. P&P) from Michael Hassan, 4 Craigvara Terrace, Portrush, Co.

Antrim, Northern Ireland BT56 8AJ.ianks to the Chelsea Pensioners The Chelsea Pensioners have been collecting money for the RNLI at major events for many years. The Pensioners are usually seen out and about wearing their distinctive scarlet uniforms and since 1995, they have collected over £95,000 at the London Boat show alone - with this year's total topping £20,000! As a token of thanks the RNLI recently made the Pensioners fife governors. Pictured above are Regimental CSM RH Moy, Inpensioner S Weekes, In-pensioner M McClean and Sgt WT Martin in their 'Blues' receiving their awards from Joy Baker, senior area organiser for Greater London, and Shelley Til ley, exhibitions and events manager.Record raft race Hythe and Marchwood branch held its annual great raft race in Hythe last August, raising a record of over £3,750 in sponsorship and £330 in collections. The event, sponsored by Courage Breweries and local businesses, provided a fun filled day for all and saw Calshot lifeboat in attendance.There were many trophies presented throughout the day for the various races with Hobbits winning the Hythe Herald trophy for the most individual sponsorship - raising £666.

The trophy for the most pathetic raft went to the Giblet, which not only had to be helped back to shore but also lost its mascot. 'Roy the Rooster'. The team have agreed to sponsor the lifeboat for £10 a shout, providing Roy goes too! John Hoad, former chairman of Marlow raft race, and Sarah Gardener, race secretary, recently received certificates of thanks and RNLI plaques from south east area organiser David Griffiths, celebrating their many years of involvement with the Marlow race and the thousands of pounds they have raised for the RNLI.

Starting young Dedicated fundraiser Robert Charlton, son of Llandudno lifeboat crew member Keith Charlton, started his Llandudno appeal in 1988 when he was only 15 years old.

Robert has raised almost £6,500 from writing to local businesses and organisations for donations and his latest effort, a grand draw which recently took place at the local sailing club, raised a further £1,000! Robert (pictured centre) has now moved forward from his fundraising activities to fulfil his true ambition and is now a fully fledged member of Beaumaris lifeboat crew, following in the footsteps of his father and his late brother Darren.Can you spare 24 hours? Over the years, three sailing clubs have raised a great deal of funds holding sponsored 24 hour sailing races - the clubs are now looking for teams to participate in the events this year.

The races involve a number of vessels sailing round a set course, changing crews at hourly or two hourly stints, day and night. The races are great fun and all in aid of the lifeboats. If you have a vessel available and can muster a team of between 8 and 10 members contact the clubs below for further details.

• Himley Hall Sailing Club (West Midlands)- 12 & 13 May 2001.

M Harris, Tel 01902 341754 or email [email protected] • Peterborough Lakeside Sailing Club - 16 & 17 June 2001.

J Tierney, Tel 01733 236674 or email [email protected] • Paxton Lakes Sailing Club (Cambridgeshire) - 30 June & 1 July 2001.

J Stanness, Tel 01480 219636 or email [email protected] cheques Kennet Valley sailing club ran a ten hour marathon sailing relay in aid of the RNLI and a local hospice last summer. Friends and relatives of the crews were persuaded to sponsor them for the number of laps of the 'gravel pit' they could get round in the specified time.

The club raised a total of £780 which was divided equally between the two charities. The picture shows Peter Tilbury, Tilehurst, Purley and West Reading branch minute secretary (right) receiving the RNLI Cheque, Picture & Reading Chronicle Could Stan and Eric give your local paper an RNLI flavour? Many readers will have seen the great Stormy Stan cartoons (below) written for us by Piers Baker. These are normally produced for our junior membership magazine, Storm Force News, but they do have an ageless appeal and Piers is looking to encourage local papers to take an interest in a regular strip. This would help raise awareness and Piers has generously offered to donate half of any profits to the lifeboats. So rf you know the editor of your local papef. please call Piers today on 020 8871 4323 or email [email protected] announcement Broughty Ferry's new Trent class lifeboat is to be named Elizabeth of Glamis in honour of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, it was agreed at a meeting of the RNLI's Executive Committee in November. The proposal has been approved by Her Majesty.

The £1m lifeboat is being funded by a successful local appeal and the substantial legacies of former Dundee station branch president Dr Ian Campbell Low, who had also made donations in his lifetime, and Dr Ronald Bonar, former chairman of the station branch and the Broughty Ferry lifeboat appeal.

Members of both families had also made donations and agreed unanimously that they would be proud to have a lifeboat named in honour of The Queen Mother.

Cowes week The RNLI has been offered the prestigious opportunity of becoming the official charity for the 2001 Skandia Life Cowes week. This will be a fantastic chance for us not only to fundraise, but also to promote the RNLI, recruit Offshore members, and promote sea safety to a maritime audience.

New corporate recruit Jane Matthews has recently joined the RNLI as corporate relations officer. She will be working with the small corporate team to explore some partnerships for the RNLI with the business world.JMlSniUtt IMMINENT..

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