Lucky Lifeboat Lottery winners Mr and Mrs Fisher of Chester so enjoyed their prize holiday that they wrote to tell the Lifeboat magazine all about it The spring 2004 Lifeboat Lottery prize was a trip on the world's most celebrated train, the Orient-Express, and included a three-night stay in Venice, all care of Thomson Cities and Short Breaks. Here are some snippets from the Fishers' holiday diary.Sunday A delightful champagne lunch aboard the British Pullman en route to Folkestone. Then the Channel Tunnel shuttle across to the continental Orient-Express. Onboard, a sumptuous cabin with a perfect view, snaking through Paris, Basel, Zurich and Buchs, to arrive at Innsbruck Monday lunchtime.

Cuisine was excellent, with the choice of three restaurant cars, a piano bar, and breakfast and afternoon tea served in our cabin. Once over the Brenner Pass, it was downhill all the way through Padua and Verona, to reach Venice early evening.

Monday Venice! A short water taxi cruise along the smaller canals and up to the Hotel Splendid Suisse. A luxurious fifth-floor room with rooftop views of the magnificent city.

Tuesday Dry, sunny and warm. The streets were awash with tourists. We took full advantage on foot of Venice's narrow shopping streets, historic canals and bridges and hidden squares. St Mark's Square, the Basilica, Rialto Bridge, Ca'd'Oro, the colourful markets - just some of the attractions we explored.

We took to the water to visit Murano and one of the famous glass factories. Next stop San Giorgio Maggiore to climb the church's Campanile. A crew was filming Casanova and we joined the crowd to catch a glimpse.

Thursday The water taxi took us on an exhilarating high-speed ride to the airport jetty for us to catch the plane back to home. We had had a most enjoyable and interesting holiday, full of new experiences. A heartfelt Thank You' for such a wonderful prize! for your chance to win an equally memorable prize in the summer 2005 Lifeboat Lottery, see opposite.

Thomson Cities and Short Breaks. The total amount of money raised for the RNLI during 2004 through Lottery ticket sales and associated donations was more than C1.6M. A big 'thank you' to everyone who supported it!The winter 2004/05 Lifeboat Lottery was the RNLI's highest earning Lottery ever, raising the equivalent of an Atlantic lifeboat and launching trolley, two hovercraft and four D class inshore lifeboats - that's more than £546,000.

Congratulations to Mrs Maggie Simons from Somerset who won the grand prize of a fabulous 12-day St Petersburg and Baltic capitals cruise for two on board MVVan Gogh. Special thanks are due to sponsors Travelscope, whose Director Richard Ford said: 'We are delighted to be working with the RNLI and look forward to having Maggie on the cruise.' The winner is pictured during her tour of Burnham-on-Sea lifeboat station. 'I regularly enter the RNLI Lottery,' she said, 'but I never look to see what the prize is, so when I received a call confirming I'd won a cruise I thought it might be a joke! I have enjoyed holidays in Cornwall for many years and have seen lifeboats and their crews going out to sea to save lives. Watching a lifeboat launch for an emergency is quite an experience and as a result I became an RNLI supporter.' Congratulations also to the cash prize winners: Mr and Mrs Bishop, West Midlands - second prize £1,000; Mr DR Morris, Shropshire - third prize £500; Mr PR Owen, Surrey - fourth prize £250; and Mr RJP Anderson, Lincolnshire; Mrs O Griffin, Surrey; Mr JS Marsh, Hampshire; Mrs B Clarke, Wiltshire and Miss JMW Ritchie, Argyll, who all won £100 each.

TICKET No. •Sfe. 1 you r» bwyfctf •• yoM taunttrtoft. pa cometm tht tarn on your ktt tr If you *• not buyfev • yw Kiwi n M«M onio 18 Days Mediterranean Discoveries Cruise TICKET PRICE £1 «tj» rttun yaw term, ptymn*. any touni«rto.b jnd uwoW tt by 1C ftm 200S to »*l. M*« Owy NoML Mdt. lfi . yfinc MIH1S1HI «Ar= MHKl.ni . Mu _r, ~T*? !L"? U SJStTa ."' ,«.w(nl««* iWntoB. 4 My 2005 totwy No. 110 LOtTiryNo- 110 Your chance to win Support the summer 2005 Lifeboat Lottery and have your chance to win the grand prize of an 18-day Mediterranean Discoveries Cruise for two on board the Black Prince, kindly sponsored by Page & Moy.

Summer Lottery tickets are available from 18 April 2005.

If you currently do not receive tickets and would like to, please contact Pauline Teivas-White on 01202 663219 or email [email protected].

(Unfortunately, Lifeboat Lottery tickets are not available in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.) TR VELSCOPE Supporting the RNLI.