DESPITE the fact that Buxton was under a blanket of snow, the Methodist Church Hall was almost full to capacity for this month's general meeting.
June Noble's patchwork group were hosts and their speaker was Lyn Noble.
The main part of the talk was about the amazing work done by the RNLI.
Lyn has been a member of the Buxton branch for 16 years.
He gave a powerpoint presentation coveri
ng the history and development of the group from the days of Grace Darling to the present day, when the latest type of lifeboat can cost £2.5 million.
There are 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and on average 22 people are rescued every day.
Not all rescues are at sea. They have also rescued people from flooded areas.
The whole operation relies entirely on volunteers. Of these, 4,500 are crew, 2,800 are shore helpers and 350,000 are fundraisers - of these only three per cent are paid staff at headquarters.
Lyn is constantly being asked why Buxton supports the RNLI when it is so far from sea - but then most of us visit the seaside and many people participate in water sports so who knows when we or someone close to us may need help.
Buxton RNLI's next big fundraiser will be a raft race at Carsington Water. Call 01298 71309 if you would like details.
Next month's meeting will be at Buxton Methodist Church on March 9 at 10am.
The hosts will be Mary Townsend's gardening group. The speaker will be Dudley Fowkes with his talk entitled "Derbyshire's Historic Gardens".
All current and prospective members are welcome.
