The annual RNLI Bangers and Mash event raises £1310 for the Rye Food Bank

For many years, except the last two of course, the RNLI stations along the south coast from Eastbourne to Hastings have got together to have lots of fun and to raise money for a local charity

It was the turn of Rye Harbour to host the event this year and Stuart Clark and a team of volunteers got together to plan it. The most important thing was to raise as much money as possible which meant that donations of food and raffle prizes were essential. The charity chosen was the Rye Food Bank as it is close to many people’s hearts and does such sterling work.

Tim Brown, a member of the crew, is also the owner of The Standard in Rye and contacted his local suppliers and procured the food from Jamie’s Butchers in Winchelsea, J and F Fruiterer’s in Rye Harbour and Maws Fine Foods. Magpie Catering helped with heated boxes to keep the food warm. This was such a bonus and got the fundraising off to an amazing start. Paul Bolton, LOM at Rye Harbour thanked Tim personally.

The team at RNLI Rye Harbour got together and everyone was given tasks and all went smoothly. On the night there were crews from RNLI Hastings, Eastbourne, Dungeness, Littlestone and Rye Harbour. After the food the main aim was to have some competitive fun and see which station could come out on top. Amongst the games was giant garden Jenga, (not that easy after a few pints), darts and pool amongst others. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the evening and big thanks go out to the businesses, shops and individuals of Rye and Rye Harbour for the prizes. Crew members also contributed to the amazing array of prizes. Thank you seems such a little word for such kindness in times that have proved hard for many businesses, shops and individuals.

Everyone had a great time and £1,310 was raised. Littlestone was not able to send a big team because of Covid but two crew members came to Rye Harbour station on Sunday 6 March with a donation of £250 to add to the total.

Linda Revill, from Hastings, summed it up: ’We were made to feel very welcome and it was a privilege to meet so many of our flank stations’ crews. The serving of the Bangers and Mash was a slick operation, indicative of how well the crew at Rye Harbour work together and operate on shouts. Once the games began there was much laughter, shared celebration and light-hearted rivalry, and all for a great cause. We look forward to hosting next year’s event. Thanks again and well done on raising such a whopping amount.’

On Sunday 6 March Chris Emson, joint manager of the Food Bank, and two of her dedicated team, Janet Sherwood and Kathy Redman, came to Rye Harbour station to receive the monies raised.

Chris commented after her visit,’ On behalf of the team at Rye Foodbank I would like to thank all the crews from the five lifeboat stations so very much for this most generous gift presented to us today. I hear it was a really good evening and you had fun whilst raising so much money. Thank you too to everyone who worked so hard to make it such a success.

The Rye Food Bank is open every Wednesday afternoon in the Church Hall of Rye Baptist Church, Cinque Port Street between 1pm –3pm. In these difficult times we are looking after between 25—30 families from Rye and villages each week. Numbers unfortunately are on the increase. Your fantastic fund raiser will go towards purchasing essential food for our clients whilst they adjust to whatever the crisis is in their lives at the time. We also offer one-to-one meetings with HARC, a benefits agency, and Rother District Council for housing queries. No vouchers are needed. Thank you all once again.’

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 142,700 lives.

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