Appeals

Whitekirk Chernobyl Children's Visit, which takes place from Wednesday 25 August to Friday 10 September, has been arranged by St Mary's Church, Whitekirk, East Lothian. Twenty children, aged from 10 to 14, from the Chernobyl contamination zone will spend a fortnight at a camp site run by the Scripture Union. The organisers have fixed a full programme for the children including trips to York and Aberdeen. The kirk urgently needs to raise about pounds 1,000 to cover transport and other costs.

Whitekirk Chernobyl Children's Visit, Smiddy Cottage, Halflandbarns, East Lothian EH39 5PW, telephone 0620 2776.

The National Trust for Scotland and the Queen's Nursing Institute (for Scotland) will benefit from the opening of the gardens at Douneside, Tarland, Aberdeenshire, tomorrow afternoon, in celebration of the MacRobert Trusts' golden jubilee. Collectively, the trusts, all of which are charitable, make grants to assist those who have served in the forces and to encourage youth organisations, world peace and the study of agriculture. The gardens at Douneside will be open from 2pm to 5pm under Scotland's Gardens Scheme, which raises money for both the NTS's Garden Fund and the Queen's Nursing Institute.

Scotland's Gardens Scheme, 31 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2EL, telephone 031-229 1870; The National Trust for Scotland, 5 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4DU, telephone 031-226 5922.

Jimi Hendrix, photographed by Linda McCartney, playing in Central Park, New York, in 1968. Both a print of this photograph, and another called The Dew Pond, by Don McCullin, have been donated to a fund-raising raffle for the Dark Room Appeal of the Royal Photographic Society, in Bath.

The RPS, which was founded in 1853 for the advancement of photography, has had its dark room closed for the last 12 months because of inadequate ventilation and the need for updated developing equipment. This facility is essential to the RPS's educational remit - to promote the practical enjoyment and understanding of photography - and it has been much used for work with children and young people. The dark room facilities are also open to all of the RPS's 10,500 members. About pounds 5,000 is needed for the plumbing, ventilation, electrics, lenses, water heater and decorating; so far, pounds 500 has been raised.

The RPS organises over 30 exhibitions a year, as well as lectures and courses. It houses one of the largest collections of prints in the world and several thousand pieces of photographic equipment, which can be seen in the museum section.

The print raffle is linked to a sponsored game of softball the staff of the RPS have organised for Sunday 1 August, in Bath. The staff's team have challenged well-known photographers to organise a team for the day. Anyone interested in supporting the appeal can sponsor the RPS team. Pledges of pounds 25 or more guarantee automatic entry to the raffle, which will be drawn at the RPS on Saturday 25 September after a lecture given by George Rodger, the veteran photojournalist.

For further information, contact: The Royal Photographic Society, The Octagon, Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DN, telephone 0225 462841.

(Photograph omitted)