Kinghorn RNLI Hosts Afternoon Tea

This was the third afternoon tea event held and this year the 1920’s was the theme. The Church Hall was decorated to reflect the era with tables styled in black and gold and wonderful feather centre pieces, Ladies arrived suitably attired in stylish dresses, a few in chic hats and some could not resist dressing up as 1920’s flappers.

Sheona Smith, Chair of Fundraising welcomed everyone and introduced Alan McIlravie, Lifeboat Operations Manager, who highlighted the difference between what lifeboat crew wore to go to sea in the early 1900’s and the highly technical kit that crew wear now, demonstrated by Scott McIlravie, a helm on Kinghorn Lifeboat.

The audience were interested to see how the RNLI equipment of today protects the crew and Alan explained that it costs around £2,000 for each crew, which is why fundraising events are so essential

The ladies and gentlemen were served savouries, dainty sandwiches and home baked cakes accompanied by tea and coffee in fine china, by suitably attired waitresses reminiscent of the ‘Nippies’ of the London’s Lyons Corner House.

Entertainment was provided by the Joy Aitken School of Dancing, who delighted the audience with three Hornpipe dances with a nautical theme. Later in the afternoon, the vocal group OneHeart thrilled the audience with a selection of well-known songs from the 1920’s and encouraged audience participation.

No lifeboat event would be complete without prizes and the award for ‘Best Dressed Flapper’ went to Jennifer Kinnear and beautiful arrangements of flowers went to lucky seat winners, Kate Smith and Hilary Payne.

The afternoon was rounded off with Alan McIlravie conducting a light-hearted art auction of several framed prints by famous artists. These had been kindly donated by RNLI supporters.

Our thanks go to everyone who contributed to making this Afternoon Tea so much fun, while raising essential funds for the RNLI.

Notes to editors

• Kinghorn lifeboat station has been operating since 1965. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to www.rnli.org.uk/kinghorn

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For more information please telephone Neil Chalmers, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07767 380274 or [email protected] or Henry Weaver on 07771 943026 or at [email protected] or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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