Here's something to drink to!

Two raffles, each offering a bottle of vintage Champagne as a prize, have given a financial boost to the Cowes RNLI lifeboat station appeal.

A grand total of £1,130 was raised for Cowes lifeboat station. The raffles were run at Murray's Seafood Restaurant in Cowes High Street by proprietors, Brian and Fran Bracken, one during Cowes Week and the other during the Little Britain Challenge Cup.

Fran, a long-time committee member of the RNLI's Cowes guild and manager of the charity's local shop, is now planning a ‘Game Keepers Day’ at the restaurant to raise more funds for the station. This will be held on Thursday, 8 November, with lunch and dinner menus comprising fresh fish, meat and game.

Pictured at the restaurant receiving the £1,130 cheque are, left to right: (foreground) lifeboat crew member Stuart Higgs, waitress Rachael Figgins, co-proprietor Fran Bracken, and lifeboat Operations Manager Mark Southwell; (at the rear) lifeboat crew members James Rankin, Peter Cunningham, and Peter Tarrant.