Some of my best and most exciting memories have been stirred by your feature Then and Now.

Then: I lived in Hastings as a small girl in the 1950s, and remember the sound of the maroon followed by the footsteps of Coxswain Jack Edmunds running down our hilly passage to the shore. If it was a daytime rescue I was allowed to help push the lifeboat across the shingle (no mechanical help then).

Most of the crew were fishermen and everyone appeared to be related to someone else on the boat, and that made it a close community. As a girl guide, I played my recorder for the annual Blessing of the Sea service: Eternal Father Strong to Save is a hymn I have always been in awe of and the words made you respect the power of the sea.

Now: Two years ago, four of us went on a boating holiday tackling the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness. My friend and I both belong to the RNLI and were so excited to follow a lifeboat that was going for an overhaul. I couldn’t believe the size of the vessel [it was the relief Severn class Roger and Joy Freeman pictured above] and the equipment it had onboard, but the crew were just as friendly as I remember as a little girl. I just know that I would have been of little use trying to push this one into the sea!

Regards
Patricia Pilgrim
Bunny, Nottinghamshire

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What stories of Then and Now can you share with us? Perhaps relating to royalty, in this year of our Patron’s Jubilee, or the Titanic, lost 100 years ago – or an event that no one else knows about …

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I am writing to say how very much I enjoyed the Autumn 2011 issue. The new format makes the magazine a lot easier on the eye and I love the improved organisation of items. I also much appreciate the current mix of content – in the past I have written to comment on this and I applaud the recent changes. Thank you for a most entertaining and informative read!

Yours sincerely
Stuart Francis

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I enjoy the magazine but I consider it is not worth using three pages to list lifeboat launches. That information is probably of only very limited interest and details could be put on your website. As an ex-crew member I would like to see more articles about developments in lifeboat construction and the new types of lifeboat.

Best wishes
Christopher Hansen

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What do you think? Should we keep our listings of launches? If not, what would you like to see in their place? Let us know.

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As well as sending us your letters and emails, you can get in touch with the RNLI through our Facebook and Twitter accounts.

If you’ve ever wondered what social media is all about, doubted its relevance to you or assumed that you wouldn’t enjoy the experience anyway, you may be in for a surprise!

Following us online is one of the best ways to hear about rescues as they happen. For example, just before we went to print with this issue of the Lifeboat, five RNLI crews were out searching for survivors from the cargo ship that sank in the Irish Sea. We kept supporters informed online and they were able to leave their comments (see image top right).

Also in November last year, we told our Twitter followers about the collapse of the gangway to HMS Belfast on the River Thames before it was reported in the mainstream media, and followed up with live updates.

Via Facebook, you can watch dramatic video footage as soon as it’s received from our lifeboat stations, and even share your own treasured photos and anecdotes. When you post or tweet a message, thousands of like-minded people are able to read what you’re saying straight away: we have about 40,000 Facebook fans and about 15,000 Twitter followers. You can chat with like-minded folk in the RNLI community about historical events too, coming together to celebrate and commemorate, share thoughts and memories.

Lifeboat crew members are frequent visitors to our Facebook page – they report on rescues from their own stations and answer supporters’ questions. In October, Chief Executive Paul Boissier took over the reins of the RNLI Twitter profile for an hour and received more than 100 questions. And sometimes it’s we who ask the questions of you. It’s a great way for us to find out what supporters think straight away.

If you’re tempted to try out any of this, you don’t need your own computer – most public libraries and modern mobile phones provide access. And as you get more confident, you’ll discover not only the official RNLI sites but also more than 150 lifeboat station pages and those run by individual RNLI-loving people.

There’s a world of lifeboating out there, just waiting to be explored. Enjoy!