Flixton Shepherd Eastwood Lodge of Mark Master Masons. No.1173.
 
Urmston Masonic 1881 Hall, Westbourne Road, Urmston, Manchester
 
A Special Ceremony of Advancement   Monday 26th March 2018
 
A short report on a very special Advancement this evening, a Father bringing in his Son to join us in Mark Masonry.
Father & Son Before the Meeting
No need for the old Opel tonight and anyway it was raining and as you know it doesn’t like bad weather, my good friend who joined this Lodge at the last meeting has come over from the dark side after me wearing him down for many years to join the Premier Province took us both to the Hall a long journey of five minutes.
Some of the Lodge Members
The WM W.Bro.Brian Hayes PAGDC opened this extra meeting on time and under the regulations no business can be entered into apart from the actual Advancement, therefore in no time at all the knocks came on the door and we were off.  The I.G. Bro. Alan Brocking after due enquiry admitted the Candidate, none other than his son Giles Alexander Brocking.
Giles and his Dad Alan after the Advancement
We had a great meeting with lots of smiles all around, in a superb atmosphere as always in this the Friendly and Happy Degree.  On conclusion of the ceremony the WM was the first to congratulate the Candidate and wished him many years to look forward to with his father by his side and all the members of the lodge. How can we explain why this Degree is going from strength to strength, well I have my own ideas about that but one thing I do know is if I am going to a Mark meeting, be it my own Lodge, one on the other side of Lancashire or beyond I look forward to it,  the leadership our PGM, his Dep PGM, Asst PGM’s all the executive which includes the Prov Sec, the DC, his asst’s, Mike Beesley the Web Master and of course the Prov Tyler are all in a class of their own now that could be something to do with why this is probably (like the Carlsburg advert used to say) “Probably the Best Mark Province in the country”.
Alan Jack of all trades
Following the meeting we had a quick photo shoot then made our way to the Dining Room for the Festive Board, glasses charged we sat and enjoyed an excellent meal served up by very efficient and friendly staff,  not as many Toasts due to this being a special meeting but we all enjoyed the Toast to the new Mark Mason Giles given by his Father Alan and of course his response in which he said it was by far one of the best nights he’d had since joining Freemasonry and he doesn’t know how the Ceremony for him could have been bettered, you could just see from the expression on his face how delighted he was to a Mark Mason. Following his response I heard his Father ask “Son have you got any money on you” which of course I immediately pointed out to the WM, all in good fun of course.
A Heartfelt Speech to His Son
All too soon it was over but we all left with happy hearts looking forward to our next meeting, another Candidate to Advance, can’t wait.
Well done and here’s your Ritual Book
Mark Well
Words and pictures by Austin N Fletcher.
Flixton Shepherd Eastwood. No.1173