Some things are too important

I know I said I wouldn't be back and posting until June, but...

I've just heard that Bro Theron Dunn of the blog 'Beacon of Masonic Light' has been taken very seriously ill.

All of us online have had our disagreements with each other, and with Bro Theron, but those disagreements have been always conducted with the very best intentions, and with the very best humility - no one would wish any kind of illness upon a brother, or anyone else for that matter, and so all I can do is send my very best wishes, thoughts and prayers out to Bro Theron and his family, and publicize my hope for a speedy and complete recovery.

Now, I really am buggering off until June - 3 exams to go, those already taken have gone well.

A short hiatus

As noticed, I've not been around and posting much in the last 3 weeks - mainly because I've been so busy with my up and coming finals.

In the next month, I have to write 20,000 words worth of essays, and prepare for 20 hours of exams. Which means I'm just not gonna have time to be on here.

Aside from one or two meetings of personal friends, I've cut right down on my visits - which means I've got less to write about - and I just need to spend these couple of months thinking about nothing but my law degree.

So, you're probably not gonna see me on here for about 3 months, now, unless something really big happens. But I promise - I'll be back!

To help you get past this trauma, here's a picture of a cat:

Hey, where are the white women at?

I'm discovering a new phenomena - well, not new, but new on masonic forums - Trolls.

Effectively, these people 'troll' through the masonic forums just saying controversial things. They say they do it to start debate, but that just can't be it. It just can't be. These trolls seem to just love the attention, they seem to love promoting discord, they seem to love seeing other people get annoyed. God knows why.

Everyone loves a debate, everyone likes discussing some of the more controversial topics, but trolls seem to have developed a new art form - posting absolutely inaccurate, baseless drivel, that people STILL just HAVE to respond to.

God knows why I'm posting this, it just struck me, 'tis all.

Oh, and if you're wondering what the title refers to, it refers to one of the greatest films of all time (IMHO) Blazing Saddles, and more specifically this scene:



where 'Bart' gets the his target's attention, by being very controversial.

Installation Day

Well, I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Twickenham (having had a choir rehearsal at the Middlesex Centre this morning) about to set off for our Installation.

As many of you know, as of 5pm today I'll be Senior Deacon of Gooch - I'm really crazy excited.

God I'm sad.

Eastcote Lodge 5515 and what it means to be a parent

Last Monday I had the really great pleasure of visiting a very special lodge - Eastcote Lodge, which meets at the Masonic Centre at Harrow.

Why is Eastcote so special? Because Eastcote is my lodge's daughter lodge. Gooch is a mummy!

Now, I never knew this - I assumed that Gooch was a little bit too obscure to have a daughter lodge, but now I've discovered something really crazy - we've got four - FOUR - daughter lodges.

What is a daughter lodge you may ask?

Well, as we know to form a lodge you need at least 7 Master Masons - one of which must have served, at the very least, in a Warden's chair. You also need another lodge to sponsor your petition. The name of the lodge that sponsored you goes on the new lodge's warrant, and is recognised for ever as your mother lodge.

Now, many lodges keep close contact with their mother/daughter lodge, forming close links between the brethren, constant visits vetween the two, supporting each other's events. Gooch did none of this. Gooch sponsored the petition, and then disappeared. Well, we don't know how quickly we disappeared, but no one in Gooch can remember visiting from Eastcote, or having a member of Eastcote visit us. Basically, we've been rubbish.

And the same goes for our three other daughter lodges: Woodcock Hill Lodge (5576), Elizabethan Lodge (7324) and Lodge of Felicity (7509). Gooch has four kids - all of them abandoned!

That is until recently. The Secretary of Eastcote was doing some research about his lodge, and decided to get in touch with Gooch. So, a month or so ago, Gooch's secretary got an e-mail inviting us all across to Eastcote for their Installation. Unfortunately most of Gooch was busy with various other meetings/family commitments, etc - especially as it was a Monday - but I, along with Gooch's Secretary, went along to support our daughter lodge.

Like Gooch, Eastcote Lodge is one of the smaller lodges, and like Gooch, Eastcote occasionally relies on its visitors to get it through illness/absenteeism - but also like Gooch: IT WORKS! It's a really great lodge, a great atmosphere and with some incredibly friendly members.

The meeting itself was great, both the Installing Master and Master Elect did very well. What was especially nice was that the new Master was also the longest serving member of the lodge - he was WM in 1973! It was absolutely incredible seeing a man who was Master 35 years ago go back into the chair.

As I said, Eastcote interacts with its visitors a lot - and has worked up a very close relationship with William Preston Lodge. Two current members of William Preston, and one former member, participated in the Installation as Senior and Junior Warden and Inner Guard. And, it was the acting Senior Warden who performed one of the most impressive things I've ever seen in a masonic Lodge. In Installations in England, after the new Master has taken the chair, and once the new officers have been invested, there are three addresses - one to the Master, one to the Wardens and one to the Brethren - three really quite sizable addresses. The visiting brother did all three - a great feat. And he did them all word perfectly - not a breath out of place - a truly remarkable feat.

Lodge matters aside, we headed to the Festive Board - and the two Goochies (as I've decided to call us) were truly spoiled - toast after toast seemed to come our way, and we were mentioned lots of times - Eastcote seems truly committed to getting a relationship going with its Mother Lodge - and I'll certainly be going back to Gooch and doing the same.

It was a really great night - I know some of the brethren from Gooch read this - and I can only encourage them all to get up to Eastcote as soon as possible. I'll certainly be saying something about visiting it again tomorrow at our Installation in my capacity as Lodge Events Co-ordinator.

With thanks to the Secretary of Eastcote, I've discovered a great little site: Lodge Family Tree Charts. On the site you can put in the Lodge Number of any UGLE lodge and see its full family tree and how it relates to every other lodge - Grandmother lodges, Granddaughter lodges, nieces, aunts all sorts. From that same site I've discovered Gooch's Mother Lodge - Villiers Lodge (1194) - I'm gonna have a chat with the Gooch chaps at the rehearsal tonight, see what they think about a few of us visiting out mother lodge. Anyhow, if you're in a UGLE lodge, check out the site above - it's good fun seeing how everything fits together.

FAO Wayfaring Man, Aude Vide Tace

I've sadly lost your e-mail address, please do get in touch via my e-mail address:

contact@[REMOVESPAM]middlesex-fire.co.uk

My visit to Berkshire Provincial Grand Stewards

In my last post I referenced Red Aprons and Stewards and exciting things like that. What are these strange things of which I speak?

In the ordinary Craft Lodge, the Steward is the lowliest officer position - it's where I am at the moment - your job is to attend to guests of the lodge, prepare the festive board (dinner), sell raffle tickets, pour wine, and assist other officers as necessary - what is more fun is the fact that you're meant to be constantly studying the ritual, ready to step in at the last minute if someone's taken ill, or called away. Most stewards don't take this seriously, as there are lots of Past Masters arround to fill in normally - an attitude I almost pursued to my horror! But what are these Provincial Stewards I mentioned? Is it just their job to pour the wine for the Provincial Grand Master (PGM)? Well, yes and no, if truth be told! (my step-dad's gonna kill me)

I stated a couple of posts ago that once you've come out of the chair, you wait a little while and then may get Provincial Honours. In Berkshire and Middlesex you have to wait 6 years bef
ore your first promotion - the basic idea is that you've then had 6 years of watching the lodge, visiting and becoming experienced enough to hold some kind of office.

But, some of the best Past Masters get considered for a very special promotion - that of Provincial Grand Steward. Every province can appoint these differently - but in every province it means the same thing - the mason that gets it is AWESOME. Well, maybe not awesome, but they've been very good in their year in the chair, have worked hard for the Craft in general, have visited around the province, that sort of thing - basically something sets them apart. In Middlesex you can be appointed at any time up to the 6 year mark - once you reach 6 years out of the chair you are then eligible for ordinary provincial honours, and you never again can get Steward. In Berkshire it is much the same, save that in Middlesex you can get the promotion straight out of the chair, whereas in Berkshire you have to wait a minimum of two years. In Hampshire you are appointed straight out of the chair - those deemed the '14 best' Past Masters each year are appointed Steward (at least I think it's 14). Sadly I don't know how things work in other provinces.

Anyhow, promotion to the rank of Steward is highly prestigious, and many consider it the best, and most important, promotion they will ever receive in masonry (mainly for sentimental reasons) - and it is decided purely by the PGM (obviously at the advice of others), and once appointed you are then invited to join the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge. No one ever refuses. The Stewards lodge is made up by, and only by, Acting and Past Stewards - although others may visit. And a visit is brilliant - quite literally brilliant.

I visited the annual installation of the Berkshire stewards lodge a week or so ago, and it was one of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences I've ever had in masonry. In the stewards lodge, if you were ever appointed a steward, ever, regardless of your rank you wear your Red Stewards Apron. Also, at the Installation of each Stewards lodge representatives of every other Stewards lodge in the country will come along, decked in red, which means there are normally approaching 200 attending the meeting. It's, quite literally, a sea of red in front of you, and it's intimidating, and brilliant, and frightening all at the same time. Why firghtening? Because the people in attendance are some of the very best ritualists in the country - you don't get to be a Steward in the first place without being absolutely damn fantastic at floor work, work from any of the chairs, anything. The stewards lodge also has 10 or s0 stewards, who all process in with their WM with massive white wands, all in perfect step, stopping together, turning together, placing the wands in their holders together. It's seen to be believed, it's so impressive.

Although I, obviously, didn't see the Inner Workings, the rest of the meeting was equally impressive, I think there was one prompt all evening. I'm actually running out of superlatives now.

Anyhow, I've also beein invited along to a couple of Stewards lodges, and, failing some kind of illness or emergency, you can bet a shedload of cash I'll be there to see how things are done in other provinces.

Now, I said earlier that my step-dad would kill me - this is for two reasons - firstly, he, along with 3 or 4 of his very closest masonic friends are all Stewards in Berkshire, and secondly, because they do a lot, lot more than just pour wine.

If the PGM, and Provincial Grand Secretary, along with their deputies and assistants, are the 'brain' of the province, the executive, the Stewards are, in my experience, the life-blood, the heartbeat - if you visit any masonic event you'll see the Stewards helping out, doing anything from sweeping up a hall to managing car parking, from showing people around to serving those same people tea. They also get their WAGs (English tabloid term for Wives and Girlfriends) to help out as and when they can - and for the Active Stewars the WAGs are normally very happy to help as it's the only time they get to see their husbands! In fact, many of the WAGs are also called 'Masonic Widows' (in the very best of humour, though).

These, of course, are not to be confused with actual proper 'Masonic Widows', and I will be making a post about those, and the Lodge role of the Almoner later on today after I get back from the library with an afternoon spent writing my dissertation!

And I would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for you pesky kids!

Well, seems that I made a simple, but glaring error, that I should have actually realised as I wrote the last post about organisation.

Having dealt with provincial promotions, I then stated that someone might get a promotion 'such as Grand Steward or something like that'. (now edited)

Basically I'm an idiot, as Daniel pointed out in the comments:

There are 19 lodges (all in London) which have the right to nominate a Grand Steward for the year. Between them, they pay for about 40% of the main Grand Lodge meeting of the year. They are Grand Officers only for the year, and after their year, they become former (and not Past) Grand Officers! They also get to wear a special red apron (and the 19 lodges are often called "Red Apron Lodges").

I'm sorry to admit that I just chose the first officer position that came into my head and posted it - fully knowing exactly what Daniel has pointed out. So I apologise!

Daniel then went on and referenced the special Red Aprons that the Grand Stewards get to wear. What is really cool is that Provincial Grand Stewards get to wear slightly different Red Aprons as well - but more of that in my next post. Hurrah!