We ask the questions RNLI Lifeboat stations throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland throw open their doors to the public this summer. Visitors will be able to speak to the crews, see the lifeboats and get a taste of the unique atmosphere that surrounds any lifeboat station. The Lifeboat speaks to James Vaughan, RNLI public presentation manager, to find out more about this cial weekend...Many stations allow visitors throughout the year - why have open days? Some do open all year round and this is something we are encouraging more and more. However, open days are a great opportunity to go the extra mile and give the public a chance to see inside a station, get close to the boats and understand the search and rescue process. But perhaps the greatest opportunity is allowing the public to meet the 'ordinary people' that do 'extraordinary things' - all at no cost to the taxpayer! How does all this benefit the lifeboat service? We are totally reliant on volunteers as crew members and fundraisers. The more people who can see for themselves what we do and why, the more chance we will have to encourage their support.

What can we expect to see - will there be any lifeboat displays? Each station open day will be very different simply because each lifeboat station is unique. But you can be certain of a very warm welcome and a fascinating insight into what we do and how we do it - often involving displays and getting close to boats, crews and equipment.

Will there be exciting things for children to see and do? Plenty! All we ask is that children are accompanied by an adult. In fact in 2003 all the stations are pooling their ideas for events and activities to ensure that we put on things that are simple and effective for young people, especially those aged 8-14.

Will all stations be open? Throughout the summer, most stations will have an open day. The actual date will vary to ensure that it is appropriate to the location and the holiday season. A small number won't have an open day, but this is simply because a few stations are quite inaccessible to the public.

What are the opening times? Again, times will vary and will be advertised locally.

How do I find out where my nearest station is? Take a look at www.lifeboats.org.uk and the map will show you the exact location of every station. Alternatively, see page 31 to obtain a copy of the RNU's new lifeboat stations and museums guide.

What happens if there is a shout? Every station will have a contingency plan in case of emergencies and, if the boat does go out, you can be sure of quite a spectacle!Winning fundraising friends An excellent way for branches and guilds to raise money within their community is to encourage groups, clubs, businesses and individuals to do a fundraising event for their branch or guild.

Here is just one example of how this is working Cocktail connectionBaltimore Sailing Club, in West Cork, broke all its previous records in August 2002 when its annual cocktail party raised €17,182 (£10,825) for the lifeboats. Club members are very proud to have their 'own' lifeboat in Baltimore and have a long-standing fundraising friendship with the local station branch.

The party, organised by Margo O'Flynn, Declan Tiernan and a host of helpers, saw over 180 guests enjoying drinks and a plentiful supply of canape's that were supplied by the ladies of the club. The € 10 (£6) entrance fee was, of course, waived for members of Baltimore lifeboat crew.

Club member Cer O'Flynn compered an auction which included generous donations from local artists, Baltimore residents, club members and good friends including Lord Puttnam and actor Jeremy Irons. In total, 28 items were auctioned raising €15,315 (£9,648) - other donations and entry fees made up the rest of the total.

A cheque for the final amount was handed over to Baltimore branch by club commodore Dan Cross during a later ceremony at the sailing club.Brewer for a day St Austell Brewery's Roger Ryman, welcomed a special guest at the end of last year. Robin Snelson won first prize in a raffle at the Pandora Inn in Restronguet to raise funds for the RNLI and was delighted to discover that his prize was to have a personal tour of the family-run brewery and to be a brewer for a day, making his very own ate.

Robin spent a whole day at the brewery, working with Head Brewer Roger, to create a few barrels of his dream beer to be sold at the Pandora Inn to raise more funds for the lifeboats.

'As profits from the sale of the beer will be going to the RNLI, I'll be encouraging all my friends to try it out,' said Robin.'There should be at least three barrels, so there's plenty of opportunity to help raise some funds.'Bargain space MWB BusinessExchange (MWBEX) recently gave its support to the lifeboats by providing substantially discounted office space in London's West End while the RNLI's London office was being renovated. The RNLI approached the company following a recommendation from Chartered Surveyor Paul Danvers, who is also an RNLI branch member and volunteer speaker. Always keen to give something back to the community, and seeing the RNLI as an ideal partner, MWBEX immediately agreed.

MWBEX provides serviced offices and workplace solutions in over 45 locations throughout the UK and mainland Europe - offering immediately available, fully furnished office space, with flexible lease terms.RNLI/Kodapost service closes The RNLI/Kodapost mail order film processing service came to a close at the end of February 2003.

Unfortunately, the service is no longer cost-effective to run. All RNLI/Kodapost mail order envelopes in circulation remain valid and can be used to process films as normal. Kodak will continue to pay a donation to the RNLI on all envelopes in circulation but no new RNLI/Kodak envelopes will be distributed.

Thank you to all our supporters who have used this service.

KODAK Film Processing FROM JUST £2.99Leo's lobster pot cash Lifeboat supporters can, sometimes, dream up weird and wonderful fundraising ideas. Artist Leo Norris from Fife decided to make a magnificent copper lobster and sold it through Frames art gallery in Perth to raise cash. The incredibly lifelike lobster, fondly known as Larry, managed to fetch £300.

Leo also raised money by giving an illustrated talk on arts and craft to the local Townhill church guild. The grateful guild donated over £140 to the lifeboats as a result.

Leo is looking to work on future commissions to benefit the RNLI, if anyone out there would like to help please contact Leo on 01337 831434.

£300 - Enough money to buy a lifejacket and drysuit for an inshore lifeboat crew member.Brrrrrrrr! The sun may have been shining but it didn't stop the shivering when 50 madcap swimmers braved the freezing water at Charmouth beach, Dorset, in December 2002.

The big splash attracted around 800 onlookers and marked the 30th anniversary of the Charmouth Christmas morning swim, raising £1,320 for RNLI Lyme Regis branch.

Fortunately, help was at hand for the cold and bedraggled. Palmers brewery of Bridport always donate a bottle of rum for the annual event and Carol Prosser, landlady of the Royal Oak Inn who organises the event with husband Jeff, served up hot toddies to the grateful swimmers when they came out.

£ 1,320 - Enough to send two all-weather lifeboat crew members on a sea survival training course.Cash peak John Newcombe of Tillingham, Essex, raised over £2,700 for RNLI Burnham branch at the end of 2002 when he turned adventurer and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

John came up with the idea while recovering from an operation. He decided it would be a good way to lose weight, get fit and embark on an adventure of a lifetime before he turned 40. He took part in the trip with his cousin and four friends. It took them five days to reach the summit where the temperature was minus 20°c.

John said: 'It was freezing at night and there was blazing sunshine during the day, it was a wonderful experience. I'm very glad I did it but I would not do it again.' John, a keen yachtsman, has friends on the Burnham on Crouch lifeboat and said the RNLI was the obvious charity to raise sponsorship for.

Tony Glaze, Burnham branch secretary, said: 'What a fantastic achievement for John and his friends. We are thrilled to receive such a large individual donation from a man who has set himself a great challenge and succeeded - fabulous!' £2,700 - Enough to buy a GPS satellite navigator and portable VHF radio.Something fishy Anglers recently did their bit to help replace equipment stolen from Hartlepool lifeboat station when they took part in an annual fishing competition.

The Get Carter open fishing competition is held in an area that formed the backdrop to the 1971 Michael Caine gangland movie where Caine's character, Jack Carter, finally meets his demise. It is run by the Blackball Navy sea angling club who donated all £900 of the proceeds to the Hartlepool station to help replace gear taken by thieves during a break in.Sons and daughters save too Britannia Rescue, the RNLI's official motoring rescue scheme, has now extended its 15% discount to sons and daughters of RNLI members and supporters. The company will also donate 2.5% of all new and renewing members premiums back to the lifeboat service.

This exclusive RNLI service guarantees to recover any size of trailer.

RNLI members and supporters who have children living away from home can be reassured to know their children can benefit from Britannia Rescue's discounted RNLI 'sons and daughters' scheme. Many children who have left home often rely on parents when they break down, which can be extremely inconvenient and expensive. A recovery bill can cost up to triple the price of a year's membership.

Britannia Rescue offers four levels of cover to suit every need and pocket. All of which include free legal advice, assistance with windscreen and tyre replacement and a guarantee to recover caravans and trailers of any length.

For further information please contact Britannia Rescue on 0800 591563 or visit www.britanniarescue.com/RNLI.

January 2003 legacy mailing Some supporters were concerned that a recent RNLI legacy mailing was sent out using first class postage. Please note that, unless urgent, all our mail is sent second class to save on costs. On this occasion we actually ordered second class delivery but the post office used first class by mistake. Please be assured that we only paid the second class rate and will do all we can to stop this happening again.Three feathery tales Our feathered friends can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes. For many years lifeboats and RNLI buildings have suffered from seagulls. Gull guano damages property and can cause serious health and safety problems.

There are many ways to deal with this but the RNLI found the perfect solution when it called in Scarecrow Bio-acoustic systems to install bird dispersal equipment. It's simple but kind and effective - loudhailers randomly broadcast distress calls (which are unnoticed by humans) and scare the birds away. The system is working well at Eastbourne lifeboat station and at headquarters in Poole.The result is that the RNLI saves money because less damage is done to property and less time is spent cleaning up! Birds aren't all bad though, sometimes they create fundraising opportunities. In February, Selsey lifeboat coxswain Martin Rudwick received £500 from Keith Wilkins, president of the Royal Racing Pigeon Association (southern region), as a thank you for bringing three racing pigeons safely back to shore. The lifeboat was returning to station after going to the aid of a fishing vessel last May, when 17 pigeons landed on deck. Almost 5,500 pigeons had been released that morning but the wind had blown many off course.

Most of the stray 17 managed to get airborne again but three were too tired and hitched a lift back with the lifeboat.

Back at the station the birds hopped onto the boathouse where they relaxed for a while before flying home.

Even plastic cockerels have something to crow about. Saltash sailing club celebrates every Boxing Day with an auction of 'your least wanted Christmas present' to raise money for the lifeboats.

Some amusing presents have been and gone but an a rather hideous cockerel alarm clock seems to return every year. It has become an object of revenge and its terrible alarm is used to scare unsuspecting victims. The bidding for the clock gets higher every year, even to the point where consortiums get together to bid for it. Over the years the noisy bird has raised hundreds of pounds for the RNLI and is certainly the highlight of the auction.Lifeboat related reading The history of the Falmouth lifeboats The history of the New Brighton Lifeboats Rhyl lifeboats 1852-2002 - 150 years of gallantry By Jeff Morris All priced at £3.50 each including p&p Jeff continues his detailed research into local lifeboat history with these three new books.

Available from the author at 14 Medina Road, Coventry CVS 5JB. Please make cheques payable to Jeff Morris.

Into the Maelstrom - the wreck of HMHSRohllla By Colin Brittain Price: £12.99 plus £1.50 p&p The story of Whitby's most famous shipwreck and the outstanding achievement of the Yorkshire and Durham lifeboat crews. Available from Tempus Publishing, The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2QG.

Tel: 01453 883300 or email: [email protected].

Eric Ward's St Ives By Eric Ward Price: £24.95 including p&p The former lifeboat coxswain portrays his home town in over 100 wonderful paintings, complete with artist's commentary. Available from Halsgrove Direct, Haisgrove House, Lower Moor Way, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6SS.

Tel: 01884 243242 or email: [email protected].

Encompassing Britain - painting at the points of the compass By Peter Collyer Price: £27.50 Painter and writer Peter Collyer follows up the success of Rain Later, Good with another series of brilliant watercolours that capture the essence of Britain's coastlands.

Available from Adlard Coles Nautical, PO Box 19, Huntingdon, Cambs PE198SF.

Tel: 01480 212666 or email: [email protected].

Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society handbook 2003 By Tony Denton Price £5 including p&p (or free to society members) This second edition of the handbook contains fully updated listings of RNLI lifeboats, including the current fleet, ex-fleet and those on display or sold out of service.

Copies are available from Tony Denton, Dawn, Upper Battlefield, Shrewsbury SY4 4AA - cheques payable to RNLI/Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society.

Oakley lifeboats - an illustrated history of the RNLI's Oakley and Rother lifeboats By Nicholas Leach Price: £17.99 plus £1.50 p&p Nicholas follows the development of the Oakley lifeboat. Includes a summary of the 26 Oakleys and 14 Rothers built and operated by the RNLI.

Available from Tempus Publishing.

Tel: 01453883300.