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Local musicians donate their fee to Whitstable RNLI

Lifeboats News Release

Local man Mike Peters, long time local gig and event organiser and known for “making things happen” was asked to provide some live music for a pubs end of month Sunday bash at The Royal in Tankerton.

Mike Peters (far right) and some of his fellow musicians with members of Whitstable RNLI on Sunday morning.

Ollie Myhill/RNLI Whitstable.

Mike Peters (far right) and some of his fellow musicians with members of Whitstable RNLI on Sunday morning.
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So positive thinker, Muzikman Mike, decided that maybe “with a little help from his musician friends” he could stage The Royal Variety Music Show, a first time venture for the newly appointed landlord Tom Smoker.

So to complete the plot Mike approached some local musicians to play last Sunday (26th October) in various unrehearsed formats, providing a lively variety show that lurched from blazing retro soft rock standards to some more gentle ballads from formidable vocalists Claire Snoad and Jim Bryden. Mike said,“we even managed to persuade professional musician Hannah Parry to emerge from the safety of the harbour boathouse to join us and become part of the show”.

There were many impromptu musical incursions that produced loud appreciation and dancing throughout the afternoon, but then Mike announced that the fee, £250 would go directly to helmsman Dave Parry and the crew at Whitstable Lifeboat station to fund some equipment needed on the lifeboat.

Both Mike and Dave Parry thank all those taking part in a fun and very worthy event.


Notes to editors

  • Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

  • The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

  • She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

  • RNLI media contacts

  • Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
    07741 012004/     [email protected]

  • Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

  • Jess Curtis-Regional Communications Manager : [email protected], 07483 488243

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789




Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

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