Over the last few days I have visited five RNLI stations and they have all afforded me the warmest welcome, none more so than RNLI Port Talbot which organised a great welcome but not the best weather.
During the pandemic, RNLI Rye Harbour teamed up with RNLI Hastings and Littlestone for online training when restrictions were in place. Port Talbot had been following RNLI Rye Harbour and saw how much we were doing and our press coverage and got in touch. This relationship has blossomed, and while on a road trip to the West Country, I made the trip to Port Talbot to meet the crew for the first time. It is so good to share ideas and see how other stations cope with the difficulties that saving lives at sea can cause. Kirstee and Ceri are joint press officers and are relatively new to the role, so we had a meaningful chat about how we go about it at Rye Harbour and ways to move forward.
I also went to Porthcawl and met the Visitor Officers and the LOM. The Visitors Officers give up their weekends to open up the station to get donations and to welcome those who want to know more about the charity. They said that the crew go out in all weathers and they too will turn out even in a storm to open up the station. The next stop was Portishead where I learnt that they have a shanty group called the 85er’s and got them interested in a concert of shanties to celebrate the 200 years of the RNLI in 2024.
At RNLI Poole I met the LOM Matt and Alex one of the eleven helms and they both hailed from Porthcawl. The world is very small and the message that I want to share is, no matter what gender, or race or background, we in the RNLI are one big family who look out for each other. All the people I come across are volunteers who dedicate their lives to help Save Lives at Sea, 24/7 no matter what the weather.
Image Credits: Kt bruce , RNLI Porthcawl crew , Clive Morrris LOM Port Talbot , Ceri Jeffreys .