Ocean exhibition breezes in (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Ocean exhibition breezes in

AN exhibition by top British marine artists opens at The Gallery, Cirencester on March 22 and runs until April 12.

It features the work of Michael Edwards, Patrick Collins, Terry Culpan, Brian Lancaster and Vincent Neave and its title, "Painted Ships upon a Painted Ocean," taken from Coleridge's "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" gives a flavour of its content.

Mention of ships and the sea arouse the emotions of members of this island race and also bring to mind the brave men who risk their lives to rescue several thousand people every year from those ships and that sea.

With this in mind The Gallery's exhibition will open with a reception for all members of the Cirencester Branch of the RNLI.

Anyone else wishing to attend is welcome and an entry fee of £10 will go directly into the funds of the RNLI.

Office Bearers will be present to explain the work of the organisation and a signed Brian Lancaster Lifeboat print will also be available, with profits from the sale going to the charity.

The operation and maintenance of the 224 lifeboat stations around the coast of the UK and Ireland will this year cost the RNLI £100 million - a sum derived entirely from voluntary contributions.

Only three per cent of that total is given over to administration and last year more than 3,000 people were rescued from the sea.

The artists taking part in the exhibition fully support this charity and ask for the public's support too.

Few organisations supply such a vital and comprehensive lifeline to 'those in peril on the sea,' and fewer still are able to do so with not a penny from the taxpayers' pockets.