Curious about The Lifeboats

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Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 7:25 pm

Are there still lifeboats in the UK? When we used to visit, many checkout registers had small donation boxes for The Lifeboats. I believe they were an entirely volunteer force.

We used to drop in the odd shilling (first visit) and shoveled our leftover money into them at Gatwick or Heathrow. I believe the money changed to a less-charming system by our second vist.

On our last visit in November 2007, I didn't see any such boxes. However, it was only a 1-1/2 day stopover on the way back from Ireland (both of 'em), so we didn't do any shopping. I didn't find any boxes at Heathrow this trip, either.

Just curious, as we watched an old movie last night wherein non-governmental lifeboat crews were featured.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

IIRC yes there still are, yes they're still voluntary and most of the donation tins are now stopped due to theft by chav's and the like...

http://www.rnli.org.uk/

Chav

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 7:41 pm

Come down to the South West where I live and you'll find loads of places collecting for the RNLI. Along with the Air Ambulance it's probably one of the biggest charities. Every shop and pub has a collection tin.

Last fundraiser I was involved in less than a month back was for the RNLI.

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 7:42 pm

The lifeboats are going strong. also the UK's air ambulances are also completely funded by voluntary contributions.

From what I read in the news, the UK government's too busy building domes, buying second homes on taxes and putting on the 2012 Olympics.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

I was standing on a street corner shaking a tin for RNLI not that long ago.
On a visit to North Berwick we noticed the RNLI shop and it had one of the collecting containers outside, the ones where the coins roll round and round and round before spinning into the hole.
My daughter kept pestering me for coins to put in it
( you thinkshe'd have grown out of that now she's in her 20s )

Can anyone else remember when they used to use old sea mines to collect. They scared the bejesus out of me.

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 10:05 pm

Wow. Let me see if I have a grasp of this concept. Government can't do a thing that needs to be done, so people do it themselves? That can't be right; it's sheer madness. It's far too simple to be credible.

I had no idea that air ambulance had been added to the volunteer roster.

We (US) had a lot of helicopters left over after Vietnam, but they were scrapped or pushed into the sea rather than reworked for police and air ambulance service. Of course, many of them had rather formidable machine guns mounted - not exactly in the spirit of air ambulance.

Yes, the boxes were in greatest abundance in the Penzance/Land's End greater metropolitan areas. Torquay, too, as I recall. I don't remember anything like it in Scotland or Ireland, but there are a great many things I don't remember.

There were also "save the bat" boxes scattered around Penzance. A little old lady (the original meaning of LOL) wandered the town with a tiny bat in her shirt pocket. Anything that eats mosquitos is OK with me, so we contributed a bit to that as well.

I guess you British folk should keep mum about these voluntary services for fear of a barrage of fake lifeboat solicitations originating from Mugutania.

Please don't tell me that stupid Americans are constantly swindled because everybody knows there are no mosquitos in England (barring the occasional museum display of a surprisingly fearsome plywood WWII fighter/bomber).

Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 10:14 pm

Yup, the lifeboats are going strong thanks to the generosity of the public.

For any Americans reading, try to imagine that your coastguard rescue services were not funded from the government. That's where we are.

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 1:21 am

Nanny Ogg wrote:

Can anyone else remember when they used to use old sea mines to collect. They scared the bejesus out of me.

Now you mention it, yes I do!!! Perhaps they should bring them back - I'd like to see a chav hoodie trying to knick one of those. I also remember those great collection boxes in the pub where you put a coin in the lifeboat shed roof and the little lifeboat whizzes down the ramp.

As a native of Cornwall the RNLI has a special place in my heart and I'm sure it runs as efficiently and effectively as it does precisely because there is no Government involvement/interference.

Oh and there are mozzies in the UK.

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 7:16 am

Nanny Ogg wrote:

Can anyone else remember when they used to use old sea mines to collect. They scared the bejesus out of me.

There is still one on the sea front in Weymouth, Dorset last time I was there a couple of years ago. Although I'm not sure whether or not it was used to collect money for the RNLI, who have my utmost admiration.

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 7:22 am

Jellyroll wrote:

I had no idea that air ambulance had been added to the volunteer roster.

Not added - never been on. You need an air ambulance? Go rattle a tin until you can afford one.

Crews are professionals and I think the medics are provided by the NHS (not sure if the NHS charges for them), but all the costs of keeping those life-saving whirlybirds in the air is met by public subscription (including putting them there in the first place).

"Ask not what your country can do for you......."

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

We do have Coast Guards in the UK, government funded, ( but cutting back ) they occasionally patrol along the sea front. As far as i can see they co ordinate any rescues but its down to the RNLI ( lifeboats )or Navy air sea rescue to put out to sea.

RNLI

Another volunteer service thats funded by charity is Mountain Rescue see MRC

It seems silly that vital life saving services are run by volunteers

We do have mosquitos but much worse is the midge, tiny, quiet and very nippy . I'm one of the folk that react badly to their bites and go very lumpy.
I now use Avon Skin so Soft which seems to discourage mossies as well as midges

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade is one of few of its kind in the United Kingdom. Nowadays it effectively functions as a retained fire station except that its members provide their services unpaid. The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade operate and respond to calls as directed by the Cambridgeshire Fire Service

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