Flixton Shepherd Eastwood Lodge of Mark Master Masons. No.1173. Monday 26th Feb 2018 |
To Celebrate the 50th Anniversary in Mark Masonry of W.Bro.Eustace Anthony Johnson PGJD |
| Another great evening to look forward to, not a long drive today so what on earth can I tell you about my journey, well nothing really five minutes and I was there, but, yes there is a but, yesterday, Sunday I parked my old Opel on the road outside the Hall instead of opening the gates, (too tired) and it was pouring down, away only 10 minutes and some kind person must have backed into it, now have a broken near side rear light and deep scratches in the paintwork, lovely. !! (best guess £600) |
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The Masonic Hall |
| Spent a lot of time preparing the hall for this very special meeting for what is a very special Mark Mason, Tony has reached the marvellous age of 97, he may be a little slower getting about but I can assure he is still as fit as ever when it comes to his mental capacity, he still creates the summons for both his Craft Lodge and Chapter on his computer, he is a joy to listen to when recalling his years gone by both with regards to Freemasonry and his life in general. His one failing is his support for that team who play in red whilst my team play in light blue and every Christmas day morning I visit him with some chocolates for his wife and a book about that very team, the joke is I have to wear gloves when I hand it to him. |
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| SW Wicket |
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Lodge Awaits
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| Always Smiling |
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Lodge from WM’s Chair |
| As always for a Team Visit the first to arrive was the Provinces and probably the countries number one DC W.Bro. Dave Emmerson PSGD, before he even had a coffee he was off checking out the Temple to make sure everything was ok for the PGM’s visit. Once he was happy, eventually he settled down to await the arrival of the Acting Provincial officers, next to arrive was the very hard working Prov G. Tyler W. Bro.Ernie Gavan, he arrived as usual with all the provincial equipment, Banners, DC and Stewards wands, stands and of course the Ceremonial Sword which he transports around the Province and helps to make these events so special. |
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| Practise in full swing |
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Attention |
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Prov Standard Bearers |
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DC’s |
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DC’s Very Smart |
| Before too long it was practise time for the Prov Team, I counted four times in four times out before the DC was satisfied, everybody then gathered around the bar in the dining room, lots of friendly chat and stories from all over the Province. The clock ticked on and before too long it was time to take up the available seats for the Lodge opening which was on time at 6pm. The WM W.Bro. Brian Hayes PAGDC dealt with all the usual housekeeping which included on this occasion a welcome for a newly joined member, W.Bro. Phillip Rampling PPrGMO, my long standing friend and a genuine Mason. |
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| A collection of DC’s |
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PGM, Tony & Certs |
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PGM Tony & Dep PGM |
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All Chains SW JW |
| Knocks on the door and it was time for the PGM RW Bro. Keith Alan Beardmore to enter accompanied by Acting Provincial and Grand Lodge officers, as is usual he was greeted by the WM and offered the gavel which he said he would be happy on this special occasion to accept for a short time, so long as there wasn’t a surprise advancement in the offing. Some of the Team members were introduced to all present before the PGM asked for the Celebrant to be placed in the Chair of Adoniram, he was then escorted by the DC to the West and it was from this position he gave a wonderful resume of W.Bro. Tony’s life in general and his long, very long Masonic career. Following on from this the Prov Grand Secretary W.Bro.John Bicknel PGSD read out the details on not one but two Illuminated Certificates, one from Grand Lodge, the second from our very own PGM on behalf of the Province of West Lancs. |
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| Tony & WM |
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Tony WM & PGM
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Three merry Mark Masons
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| The Celebrant was highly delighted and with a slight tear in his eye had much pleasure in presenting Keith with a personal cheque for the West Lancs Mark Charities to mark the occasion, everyone then settled back with that warm glow inside thinking over how pleasant the whole presentation had been. In what seemed like no time at all it was time for the PGM, Grand and Prov Grand officers to retire from the Lodge and on this occasion in a really nice gesture W.Bro.Tony Johnson was accompanied at the head of the procession by the PGM, excellent. |
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| Mark Masons Always Happy to Chat |
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Dep, PGM & Mike Tonge
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Always Ready to Chat
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| Once every ones glasses were charged seats were taken up at the social board, an excellent meal in very pleasant surroundings was served up by a team of very efficient staff, I looked around and I must say everyone seemed to be very happy with the proceedings. |
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| Still smiling |
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PGM & Special Rep W.Bro.Graham Bailey
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ProvTyler & Prov IG Chilling Out
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| Following on from the meal the usual Toasts and responses were given, of note was one from the Dep PGM VW.Bro. Geoffrey Lee PGJO, the usual excellent response we always delight in hearing from the PGM and look forward to his joke of the week being delivered, (this was definitely a new one.... I think) The WM gave an interesting toast to the man of the evening, then it was Tony’s turn who started by saying his memory was going but to be quite honest he was first class and at times very funny, one tip he gave to us all was that if you come up with a good idea how to improve Masonry “keep it to yourself” he then said that he came up with some good ones in his early years and finished up doing twice as many jobs, a real character. |
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| Tony & PGM share a joke |
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The Celebrants Great Speech
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| A Raffle followed in aid of the “Street 2 Street Bike Trek” being undertaken by W.Bro. Stephen Walls PAGDC,PPrADC who over time has raised thousands in aid of many charities, this event goes from Liverpool Masonic Hall to Mark Masons Hall in London along the toe paths of the Canal system, this time in aid of the West Lancs Mark Charity Fund. The lodge on this evening were very pleased to donate £322 to this worthy cause. |
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| Are these for me? |
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WM no they are for Myra!
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| WM with flowers for PGM |
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PGM Toasts Tony |
| As always good things must come to an end, W.Bro.Ernest Gavan Prov Grand Tyler brought the evening to a close, out into the cold night air and off to all parts of the Province, however not for me on this occasion turn out the lights lock the front door and gates then a quick five minutes and I was home to reflect on the splendid evening which I had just witnessed spent in superb company as always, the Friendly Happy Degree. |
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Tylers Toast
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| Here’s to the next one to meet with friends I know and those I have yet to meet. |
 Not in the Royal Ark Mariners, if you’re a Mark Mason why not join us in this Colourful Degree. |
| Words and pictures by Austin N Fletcher. |
| Flixton Shepherd Eastwood. No.1173 |
