Ramsey Ladies’ Lifeboat Guild raised at least ?550 for the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea, at their Annual Afternoon Tea held at St Paul’s Hall, Ramsey during the afternoon of Thursday 21st June.

Not withstanding the inclement weather, the Ladies had a busy afternoon serving visitors and RNLI supporters with tea and beautifully baked homemade scones accompanied by strawberries and cream. There was also a tombola stall and bric-a-brac stall.

Preparations for the afternoon had begun early that morning with the Guild Ladies setting up the up the hall and decorating tables. They were ably assisted by Kevin Christian, volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager for Ramsey, who helped with putting up tables and bunting.

Mr Christian, still very much jubilant at being honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Birthday Honours list, summed up the event: “Congratulations to the ladies, who put so much effort and time into making the afternoon a success. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who supported the event, even though the weather was atrocious. The RNLI is a charity that depends very much on the efforts of its volunteer fundraisers to sustain its lifeboats, volunteer lifeboat crews and lifesaving work at sea. AND the scones were utterly delicious! Thank you.”

Ramsey Ladies’ Lifeboat Auxiliary was launched in 1913. It became the Ladies’ Guild in 1926. A year later, in 1927, it finally became the Ramsey Ladies’ Lifeboat Guild. The annual afternoon tea in June has been a traditional feature in their events calendar for many years.