Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter - … · Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter ... of Ceremonies Mark Barton, together with Bernard Snape, Paul Fuery, Ian Thompson,

Page 16 The Group Gazette September 2016

CHAPTER NEWS CHAPTER NEWS CHAPTER NEWS

Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter

IN A DELIGHTFUL ceremony Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals Chris Butter-field was proclaimed as first principal of Vale Chapter of Installed Principals 5256 at Rowley Court Lancaster. The occasion was enriched by the presence of the Second Provincial Grand Principal Paul Renton as the guest of honour. Supporting Paul on this auspicious occasion were two Assistants to the Provincial Grand Principals Ian Cuerden and David Randerson together with a plethora of other grand officers. As Vale Chapter spans two groups the Chairman of the Lancaster and District Group Jim Wilson to-gether with Chairman of the Furness and South Lakes Group Peter Schofield were also present. Acting Provincial grand officers in attendance were Neil McGill Provincial Grand Sword Bearer, Phil Preston Provincial Grand Charity Steward, Jim Richards Provincial Grand Standard Bearer, Stephen Jennings and David Ozanne both Provincial Grand Stewards. Also present was Barrie Crossley Provincial Depu-ty Grand Director of Ceremonies who orchestrated events both in the temple and at the festive board superbly.

FAULTLESS FASHION

The chapter was opened in a faultless fashion by the retiring and installing first principal Rowley Saun-ders and as soon as the normal business was concluded, including a ballot for five joining members, Barrie Crossley entered the chapter and announced Paul Renton’s demand for admission. Following the proclamation the distinguished group of grand and Provincial grand officers made their entrance into the Chapter. Rowley Saunders greeted Paul Renton warmly commenting that he was happy to re-ceive him and ‘hoped he had a happy and enjoyable sojourn amongst us’. Following the formal welcome Rowley offered Paul the sceptre of the chapter which he gratefully re-ceived, but instead of promptly returning the sceptre Paul retained it, commenting ‘fear not I do not want to hang on to it for too long’. Taking the chair of the chapter Paul announced he had been instructed by the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent Tony Harrison to invest Phil Preston as the Provincial Grand Charity Steward. Following this most pleasant duty Paul brought Tony’s very best wishes with the sincere hope Phil would have and enjoy a very productive year. Following the return of the sceptre by Paul Renton to the first principal Rowley Saunders, the installa-tion ceremony commenced. All three principals were exemplary whilst installing their successors; Ber-nard Snape installed Bob Durkin into the third principal’s chair, Mike Walling in turn installing Bill Ed-monds as the second principal and Rowley Saunders installing Chris Butterfield as the first principal.

Continued on Page 17

Pictured from left to right are: Paul Renton, Peter Schofield, Bill Edmonds, Chris Butterfield, Bob Durkin and Jim Wilson.


Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter

Continued from Page 16 The officers of the chapter were then appointed and invested, the roles being equally divided between companions of the Lancaster and District and Furness and South Lakes Groups, which is traditional in this chapter as it spans the two Masonic groups. Paul, at the completion of the appointments was delighted to communicate the best wishes and con-gratulations of Tony Harrison to all that had taken office, together with a sincere wish to all the compan-ions to enjoy their Royal Arch Masonry. Paul then moved to congratulate Rowley Saunders on his efforts as the retiring first principal, with fur-ther thanks afforded to the chapter director and assistant director of ceremonies Jim Richards and Rog-er Nevinson respectively and all the acting Provincial officers in attendance. Chris Butterfield responded as first principal and thanked Paul most effusively for his attendance at Va-le Chapter and wished him to pass on the greetings of the chapter to Tony Harrison. Paul was delighted to announce that the chapter had raised a grand total of £823.62, inclusive of gift aid, with £300 being donated to the Freemasons’ Grand Charity and £523. 62p to the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity. Following the first rising, the grand and acting Provincial grand officers retired in processional form. The remaining business of the day was duly completed before the chapter was closed and the members and guests adjourned to the dining room were over 70 companions attended an excellent festive board in the Rowley Court dining suite.

SINCERE MANNER

At the festive board Paul Renton in his response to the toast to the grand officers once more expressed his admiration for the ‘sincere manner’ in which the ceremony had been conducted. It had been a ‘thoroughly enjoyable occasion’. Paul also took time to thank both Barrie Crossley for keeping him on ‘the straight and narrow’ and Vale Chapter for their very generous donations to charity. In conclusion Paul expanded upon the wish of Tony Harrison to ‘enjoy our Masonry’ by musing upon how lucky we are in this country to practise our Freemasonry freely, whilst in other areas of the world Freemasons are severely restricted. Paul finished by saying’ enjoy your season ahead’. Rising to propose the toast to the three principals Rowley Saunders commented that he appreciated the commitment that was required to be a principal and wished the three new principals good health for the coming year. In response, Chris Butterfield thanked on behalf of himself and his co principals all who had contributed to the success of the day with a special thank you to Paul Renton for his support. Chris conclude the evening by sharing with all the companions present a very personal reflection relat-ing to his Royal Arch career – he had been coming to Vale Chapter from an early stage in his Royal Arch membership ‘little thinking I would one day become first principal’.

The three principals, together with Grand and acting Provincial grand officers.


A ‘real boost’ for local causes from Garstang Masons

PILLING LODGE No 7879 held a ‘Giving Evening’ at Wyrebank, Garstang, when a num-ber of charities and local good causes re-ceived donations as part of the lodge’s annual distribution of charity funds.

Introducing the evening Peter Pemberton said that although Freemasons in this country donated many millions of pounds to good causes including hospices, air ambulance charities, medical research and inter-national disaster relief, donations of a few hundred pounds to a local good cause can make the difference between survival and going under. He then handed proceedings over to the immediate past master of the lodge Andrew Jones during whose year in office the charitable funds were raised. Receiving a cheque for £500 Gillian Benn of the Garstang Friends of St John’s Hospice said that the donation represented a ‘real boost’ in ensuring the continuation of their essential work. Other donations were made to Trinity Hospice and Brian House, Hornby Village Institute, Garstang Chil-dren’s Festival, Churchtown Children’s Festival and Heartbeat. The Rev Andrew Wilkinson was delighted to receive a cheque in the sum of £500 towards the St Michaels Church Roof Appeal and explained how thieves who stripped the lead from the roof had left the church with a bill of some £80,000 to make the building weather-tight again. All the recipients were extremely grateful for the con-tinuing support offered by local Freemasons in helping them to fulfil their work in the community.

Andrew Jones (far left) and lodge charity steward Rob Bradshaw (second left) with representatives of the charities and good causes who received donations.

Rev Andrew Wilkinson receives a cheque from

Andrew Jones

Alison Jones receives a cheque on behalf of

Hornby Village Institute

David Lewis (right) rep-resenting Garstang Children’s Festival.

Gillian Benn is delighted to receive a cheque on behalf of the Garstang Friends of St John’s

Hospice.

Peter Hilton receives a cheque on behalf of Trinity Hospice and

Brian House.

Gordon Chapman rep-resenting Churchtown

Children’s Festival

Mark Cassidy of Heart-beat is delighted to

receive a cheque from Andrew Jones


As we were seen:

The Press and Freemasonry

Plantagenet Lodge of Installed Masters is proud to announce a visit by

Paul Richard Calderwood who will present this fascinating

and thought-provoking lecture at their meeting on

Monday 24 October 7.00 pm

Wyrebank, Garstang

This 2013 Prestonian Lecture sets out to examine the way in which Freemasonry was portrayed in the national press in England and

Wales during the twentieth-century. It considers how and why the public image (as distinct from the

internal image) of Freemasonry changed from that of a highly-respected élite organisation, at the centre of public life in 1900,

to a position on the fringes in the 1990s, regarded by many people with suspicion and disapproval.

The event is open to ALL Masons.

If you wish to book for the festive board (cost £15.50) contact: Bernard Snape

01253 769426 [email protected]


Jim celebrates 60 ‘diamond’ years as a Freemason

DANIEL JAMES WILSON (Jim) achieved a momen-tous milestone and cele-brated his Masonic dia-mond jubilee at Kerneford Hall, Carnforth, in a cere-mony led by Assistant Provincial Grand Master David Grainger and host-ed by Carnforth Lodge No 4951. David was accompanied and supported on this occasion by Lancaster and District Group Chairman Jim Wilson, fellow grand officer Chris Butterfield and group vice chairman Neil McGill. A striking array of act-ing Provincial grand officers were also present led by Pro-vincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies Mark Barton, together with Bernard Snape, Paul Fuery, Ian Thompson, Chris Larder and Chris Grey. The WM of Carnforth Lodge, Jim Catlow, warmly welcomed David Grainger before offering him the gav-el which David gratefully accepted before asking for Daniel James Wilson to be placed before him. He began his address by observing that there must be something in the air in Carnforth that promotes lon-gevity because 10 years ago on 27 September 2006 Jim celebrated 50 years in Masonry and “now we are celebrating his diamond jubilee”. This set the scene for a very interesting and illuminating reflection on Jim’s domestic, professional and Masonic life.

MEMORABLE EVENTS

David began his address by putting in context what other memorable events had occurred in the year of Jim’s birth. He was born in 1922 when George V was King and the British Empire was at its largest ex-tent covering one quarter of the globe and ruling one in every four people on earth. It was a time of great change on the world scene: the Ottoman Empire was abolished, Egypt was given its independ-ence, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics came into being, but most importantly of all ‘Branston Pickle’ first appeared on the shelves. Daniel James Wilson - always just known as ‘Jim Wilson’ but not related in any way (other than through Freemasonry!) to the ‘other’ Jim Wilson the Lancaster Group Chairman - was born in Yanwath, near Penrith, on the Lowther estate, which he will readily tell you was in Cumberland: not Cumberland and Westmorland or, even worse, Cumbria! When he was three years old the family moved the short dis-tance to Penrith where he attended the local junior school before moving on to Queen Elizabeth Gram-mar School in Penrith. After leaving school Jim took up an apprenticeship in the production department of the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. Following the outbreak of war Jim volunteered in 1941 for the Royal Air Force and was trained as a ra-dio mechanic with part of his service spent in Nigeria. In 1942 he married his wife, Mary, whilst on leave from the RAF. Sadly Mary passed away in 2007 but they had one son, Peter who is to married Rosemary, and Jim is now a proud grandfather, great grand-father and great, great grandfather! After leaving the RAF in 1946 Jim was able to complete his apprenticeship (which in those days was of seven years duration) at the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald with the help of what was called the interrupted apprenticeship scheme which meant that the government made up the wages of such ‘adult’ apprentices to the level they would have been had they completed their apprenticeship without interrup-tion.

Continued on page 21

Jim is congratulated by David Grainger, watched by Jim Wilson (left) and Chris Butterfield (right).


Jim celebrates 60 ‘diamond’ years as a Freemason

Continued from page 20

He and Mary moved to Bolton-le-Sands in 1953 when Jim took a job with Morecambe Bay Printers for the next two years before starting work in Preston on the Lancashire Evening Post in 1955 where he stayed until his retirement, rising through the ranks of production management to become Works Man-ager. At this point David asked the lodge secretary to read an extract from the minutes detailing Jim’s initia-tion into Carnforth Lodge in 1956, which at that time was held in the Station Hotel. Jim held various of-fices in the lodge before being installed in the master’s chair in 1969 a position he again held 40 years later in 2009. Provincial appointments followed in due course when in 1983 he was honoured with the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies and promoted to the rank of Past Pro-vincial Junior Grand Deacon in 2011. Exalted into the Holy Royal Arch Lancaster Castle Chapter No 5952 in December 1961 he applied him-self to the work of the Chapter with equal assiduity as he did in the Craft and was installed as First Prin-cipal in 1971 and again in 1974.

CONSCIENTIOUS WORK

His respect and conscientious work as a Royal Arch Mason was rewarded with an appointment to Past Provincial Grand Standard Bearer in 1979 and promotions to Past Provincial Grand Sojourner, and Past Provincial Grand Scribe Nehemiah in 1984 and 1992 respectively. In conclusion David expressed his pleasure with being in the company of Jim and considered it a privi-lege to have been part of the celebration of his 60th anniversary. David then asked the group chairman Jim Wilson to read the commemorative certificate that had been issued by the Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison in recognition of the occasion. After the presenta-tion of the certificate David conveyed the best wishes of the PrGM on this outstanding milestone in Jim’s Masonic journey, together with his own personal congratulations before commenting that he had “enjoyed every minute of it”. Before retiring, David on behalf of Carnforth Lodge, presented Jim with a wrist watch to mark this wonderful event. The toast to Jim’s health at the festive board was proposed by Ian Allison who paid a very personal trib-ute to him by expressing his wish to be at Jim’s 70th anniversary. Ian moved on to inform the brethren of Jim’s continued involvement in the lodge, commenting that he was still the chaplain. Ian also read out a very special greeting from Martin Baxendale who wished Jim ‘many happy returns on this special event’. In response Jim thanked Carnforth Lodge members for their beautiful gift and their continued support over the years.

Jim (front, third from left), is pictured with David Grainger, grand and acting Provincial grand officers.


The ‘Cinders’ revisited - who cares who wins?

THERE’S something so quintessen-tially British about a game of cricket. The gentle sound of the slap of leath-er on willow, the muted and discreet applause that greets the achieve-ment of a run scored or wicket taken. The smell of freshly mown grass, warmed by the lazy heat of a sum-mer’s afternoon and the beckoning promise of homemade lemonade and cakes at the tea interval. However, such gentility does not usually pervade at the annual cricket match held between Heysham Lodge No 4108 and Morecambe Lodge No 1516. The priorities of both teams in this contest, which has been christened ‘The Cinders’, as ‘Ashes’ would suggest a misleading level of skill, is to get the match over with as quickly as possible (hopefully winning, but that’s not essential) in order to retire to the buf-fet and bar as soon as can be respectably contrived! Organisers Bob Malcolm and Stewart Aimson have shared priorities when it comes to eating and drinking! The venue was once again Heysham Cricket Club, where a substantial number of friends and family had turned up to witness breathtaking performances with bat and ball from both teams. One or two spectators were heard muttering early in the proceedings that they hadn’t expected to witness such un-derwhelming displays of sporting prowess (obviously they hadn’t attended previous matches) Morecambe batted first and managed to set a challenging total of 90 from their allotted 20 overs. Hey-sham team spokesman Bob Malcolm was overheard observing that there were “more ‘ringers’ in the Morecambe team than you could find in the average belfry”. It was a suspicion that gained some credi-bility when it transpired that Morecambe’s leading wicket taker was nine years of age! Other comments included the suggestion that next year’s match should start an hour earlier in order to allow the More-cambe team ‘members’ sufficient time to sign the ‘Visitors book’. The target of 90 runs proved too great for the Heysham team despite a sterling performance from WM Barry Robinson in displaying sartorial elegance and a text book exhibition in ‘golden duck management’ by Peter Roberts. They clocked up a highly respectable total of 74 all out from 18 overs. Morecambe team spokesman Stewart Aimson attributed his team’s victory to their usual complete disregard for the match rules and Bob Malcolm blamed the proximity of the bar and economic uncertainty over pork pie prices for his team’s defeat. On a serious note, it was in a fitting tribute to two much respected members of Morecambe Lodge who had recently passed to the ‘Grand Lodge above’, that a new trophy was presented to the winning team. The Duckworth-Uttley Shield has been provided by two anonymous donors to honour the memory of Frank Duckworth and Wilson Uttley who were stalwart members of Morecambe Lodge. Mrs Pauline Uttley was delighted to make the first presentation of the trophy. A raffle conducted during the after match buffet raised £180 for needy causes and the very successful evening concluded with the threat of a further match next year!

Pictured from left to right are; Stewart Aimson, Nick Baxter, Mrs Pauline Uttley, Barry Robinson and Bob Malcolm.

The teams and their supporters at the end of the match.


Arthur has our group golf down to a ‘tee’

A COMBINATION of glorious weather and the organisational skills of the Lancaster and District Masonic Group Golf Representative Arthur Laycock, helped to ensure a wonder-ful day when golfers from the Lancaster and District Group took part in in the local round of the West Lancashire Provincial Golfing Tournament at Bentham Golf Club. Principal guest at the event was group vice chairman Neil McGill who attended the awards dinner held in the clubhouse dining room and later presented the prizes. Neil praised the high standards exempli-fied by Bentham Golf Club and was very pleased to see how much enjoyment the participants received from playing on such a wonderful golf course. The day’s raffle raised £140 which was donated to the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity. Wyreside Lodge No 2605, represented by John Flack, David Ainsworth and Matthew Crossley, won the Group Trophy even though they only en-tered a three-man team for the first time. Heysham Lodge No 4108 reclaimed the Morecambe and Heysham Trophy from Poulton Le Sands Lodge No 1051 who had won it for the last two years. The best ‘individual score’ shield was won by John Flack from Wyreside Lodge, with Les Newlands of Great Eccleston Lodge No 8895 in second place and David Ains-worth of Wyreside Lodge in third. Mike Brown of Heysham Lodge was the win-ner of the ‘nearest the pin’ prize whilst David Ainsworth won the ‘longest drive’ competition. Arthur Laycock thanked Neil and all those who had entered the competition for attending and encouraged more local golfing Masons to take part in future competitions. Arthur has been the group golf representative for the last 12 years and says he has “enjoyed every minute of it”.

Lancaster golfers pictured at the end of their ‘perfect day’.

Neil McGill (left) presents the Morecambe and Heysham Trophy to Mike Brown of Heysham Lodge seen with fellow team

members Barry Robinson and Peter Roberts.


Shining a light on North West Blood Bikes

EVERY YEAR Lodge Amounderness No 7105 votes on an amount of money to be donat-ed to a charity of the incoming Master’s choice, thereby helping to focus his attention on charitable concerns. The choice of George Askins, the present WM, was North West Blood Bikes which is run and administered by some 300 volunteers who can frequently be seen on our roads delivering blood and other emergency medical items between hospitals. At a presentation held at the Tickled Trout Hotel, Pres-ton, Paul Brooks JP, Founder, Chairman & Trustee of NWBB Lancs & Lakes, said that although much of their work was largely hidden from view it is always rewarding when someone such as Lodge Amounder-ness helps to shine a light on their activities and raise public awareness as voluntary contributions are a real-ly important part of their funding. This voluntary service has already saved the NHS well in excess of £1,000,000 and has answered over 25,000 emergency calls. It is particularly proud of re-cently having received the Queen’s Award for Volun-tary Service. In a typical 12-hour shift a ‘blood biker’ could make up to eight runs involving transporting urgent blood sam-ples to pathology labs, urgent drugs that may be re-quired at a hospital or home address, or critical patient records that may be required for example in a materni-ty unit. Most of the volunteers share a passion both for motor cycles and for helping the community. They are usual-ly fully qualified to use the ‘blues and twos’ on the blood bikes, are advanced motorcyclists and receive training in conjunction with Lancashire Constabulary.

Pictured, from left to right, are: Dr Vasudev and Ian Cuerden (members of Lodge Amounderness), Paul Brooks and George Askins.

Above: Volunteer Blood Biker Simon Hanson with one the fully liveried Blood Bikes.


Glamour with a spanner (and dirty grid lids)

SHEILA DIBNAH, widow of the late Fred Dibnah, was very warmly welcomed when she made a second visit as guest speaker at the St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge No 8348 Sun-day lunch held at Wyrebank, Garstang. On her first visit Sheila entertained everyone with tales of her life with Fred but on this oc-casion the emphasis was on her life before Fred which was just as incredible, interesting and amusing. Sheila was born in Bolton and as a child – and much to her mother’s despair – was more interested in toy cars, spanners and dirty grid lids than the more traditional girl’s pursuits. Both she and Fred attended the Bolton School of Art and Design, and shared the same driving instructor – though not at the same time, due to the 20 year age difference between them! However, their paths didn’t cross until much later on, and whilst Fred went on to become a household name, due to his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Indus-trial Revolution and daring antics as a hard-working steeplejack, Sheila chose a stage career which took her across the continents from Blackpool to Bermuda and New York working professionally in cabaret and thea-tre. Leaving school at 17 to become a window dresser by trade, Sheila also became a part time catwalk model for the acclaimed Lucie Clayton Agency in Manchester, following in the footsteps of models such as Jean Shrimpton. The bright lights beckoned, and after studying dance and drama locally in Bolton, Sheila went on over the years to work with touring shows and three stage hypnotists; the most prominent being Peter Cas-son who went onto to pioneer treatment for what he called “Aquaphobia” – the fear of water. During the early 80’s, Sheila formed an illusionist act with partner Les Brown called “Duo Magicana” and toured throughout Europe later working as a cabaret dancer and showgirl in Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland for several months of each year.

Shelia headed back to the UK to settle in Black-pool when her son, Nathan was born in 1985 and returned to the stage shortly afterwards, as a part time singer in the resort and duplication engineer for several years in a recording studio. After their marriage in September 1998, Sheila used her skill and experience gained through many years in the entertainment industry to as-sist with Fred’s increasingly busy life in the pub-lic eye after a career spanning from 1977 to 2004 on television. Sheila really takes her audience ‘behind the scenes’ of her fascinating life with fabulous sto-ries and even though her presentation majored on life before Fred, there were still enough amusing anecdotes involving Fred to have the packed Wyrebank audience in tears of laughter. The event, together with generous support for a raffle, raised almost £500 for charity.

Sheila’s highly interesting and amusing presentation is boosted by her wonderful and endearing personality.

St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge WM Mike Kilroy and his personal guest Barbara Britton (left) welcome

Sheila Dibnah to reprise her presentation at the lodge’s Sunday lunch.


Mike gears up for Alzheimer’s Society

WHETHER derailleur or hub, gears were put to good use by the band of cyclists who set off from Wyrebank, Garstang, on a 25 mile sponsored circular ride around the local countryside. Organised by Mike Kilroy, the WM of St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge No 8348, in aid

of the Alzhei-mer’s Society participants were fortified before the start by ba-con and sau-sage buns, hash browns and coffee - perhaps as an added incentive to work off the extra calories along the route! Above: riders and volunteers gather at Wyrebank.

Above: David Christopherson sets off with collecting

buckets

Just in case anyone thought they might have burned off too many calories the group were treated to a generous selec-tion of cheese and biscuits upon their return to Wyrebank. The event was blessed with excellent weather and volunteers who didn’t take part in the ride set off with collecting buckets on to the streets of Garstang where the generosity of passers-by add-ed over £100 to the fantastic total raised on the day of over £1,500.

Left: On the starting grid.

Below: And they’re off!


Support for community Sensory Garden

WHEN TWO local Garstang town councillors hit upon the idea of creating a Community Sensory Garden on land on Kepple Lane, Garstang, they decided from the outset to involve as many local people and businesses as possible. It was therefore only natural that local Freemasons should wish to be associated with the project and they assisted the Kepple Lane Park Trust to make application for a community grant from

the West Lancashire Freema-sons’ Charity. That petition was successful and resulted in a £2,000 grant being awarded to facilitate disabled ac-cess to the garden. The garden is now becoming es-tablished and is enjoyed by the local community thanks to the WLFC and many others who helped bring the ambitious scheme into being. Left and below: two views of the beautiful garden created with help from the West Lancashire Freema-sons’ Charity.


Kerneforde Hall - a real hidden gem

EVERY YEAR in September buildings that are often not open to the public throw open their doors and invite visitors to explore these hidden or forgotten jewels of local cul-ture and heritage. This event is publicised as the national Heritage Open Days event and Masons meeting at Kerneforde Hall, the home of Freemasonry in Carnforth, are proud to be a part of this regular event when they invite members of the public to take a tour around their building. Local Masons Phil Newby, Roger Nevinson, Frank Senior and Ian Birnie, were on hand to offer explanations or answer any questions together with the group chairman Jim Wilson. Throughout the day a number of visitors took up the open invitation and were guided around the hall. The symbolism of the Masonic furnishings were explained and information given on the aims and objectives of Masonry, together with details of its significant activity in charitable giv-ing. Many admitted to being totally unaware that a Masonic hall existed in Carnforth and said how much they welcomed the chance to view the hall and learn about Freemasonry.

The first meeting place used by Freemasons in Carnforth was above the old stables at the Royal Station Hotel on Market Street until a dedicated Masonic hall was created above the former Co-operative premises at the junction of New Street and John Street in 1977. Their current premises have seen many uses

with the building mainly remembered locally as the original Church of England primary school built in 1850 which became the old National School and latterly, prior to its purchase by the Carnforth Masonic Hall Company in 2012, as a night club. The modern and impressive range of facilities available at Kerneforde Hall are the result of the dedica-tion and hard work by members of the lodges and chapters which meet in Carnforth. The premises management team welcome enquiries for private hire as the venue is fully licensed and has in-house catering facilities. The hall has already hosted weddings, birthday parties and social events as well as catering for business meetings. Other local venues that were open for exploration included Carnforth Station Heritage Centre, Midland Hotel Morecambe, Morecambe Town Hall and Heysham Heritage Centre.

Further details on the facilities available and enquiries concerning private hire of Kerneforde Hall can be found at the website: http://www.kernefordehall.co.uk Information about Heritage Open Days is available at: http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk

Above: a couple of new recruits: Pauline Den-

nison demonstrates how to use the gavel to her

friend Jane Swidenbank.

Pictured from left to right are Frank Senior, Jim Wilson, Roger Nevinson and Phil Newby.

http://www.kernefordehall.co.uk

http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk


Back by popular demand:

A NIGHT AT THE DOGS

hosted by Longridge Lodge No 8077

Friday 7 October 2016 Belle Vue Greyhound Stadium

Manchester M18 7BA

reserve your place NOW for another VIP charity night experience.

Private room and bar: Tote betting facility: Private plasma screens: Two-course carvery meal:

Photograph of presentation of winning trophy

£25 per person

Each way transport from: Longridge High School 5.45 pm and

Stags Head Goosnargh 6.00 pm

CONTACT ANDY THIELE: 07795 026391 [email protected]


A ‘towering’ feat by Lavinia

LAVINIA DAVENPORT joined nine friends who set off from the Eiffel Tower to cycle to the Leaning Tower of Pisa to raise funds for MIND the mental health charity.

The group covered 774 miles over the course of eight days at an average speed of 17 mph. The route in-volved tackling a cumulative elevation of 29,000 feet and bearing in mind that a commercial airliner flies at about 33,000 feet it was obviously a very gruelling challenge. Over £6,000 has been raised by spon-sorship - a sum that was substantially assisted by a donation of £250 from St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge No 8348. MIND is a charity which provides advice and support to empower anyone experi-encing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding with a mission which declares that “We won’t give up until everyone experienc-ing a mental health problem gets support and respect”. Lavinia paid tribute to all the sponsors and particularly to St Michaels-on-Wyre Lodge for their generous contribution.

Above: St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge WM Mike Kilroy presents the cheque to Lavinia

A calm and serene visit by Amounderness

GEORGE ASKINS the WM and two other brethren from Lodge Amounderness No 7105, which meets at Wyrebank Garstang, visited Trinity Hospice in Blackpool to present a cheque for £225 in support of the amazing work of the hospice. The presentation was prompted by the excellent terminal care which had been provided by the hospice to John Paterson one of the past masters of the lodge. The brethren were given a guided tour of the facilities by community fund raisers Michelle Lonican and Emma Padgett and were impressed by the aura of quiet dedication and friendship displayed by all they met as well as the atmosphere of calm serenity in what is a modern, bright and caring environment. Trinity Hospice provides care not only for the Blackpool area where several of members of the lodge hail from but also across the whole of the Fylde as far as Garstang and relies on a dedicated group of over 800 volunteers to attend to its daily requirements providing for 22 always-occupied beds and a further four in Brian House which caters for young people. The annual running costs of the hospice are over £7.5m of which only a relatively small percentage is provided by the national health ser-vice.

Right: (from right to left) Dr Vasudev, George Askins and Ian

Cuerden (Lodge Amounderness) present the cheque to

Emma Padgett


GROUP SPECIAL EVENTS 2016-17

EVENT CELEBRANT DATE

60th Anniversary E.Comp. Joe Dixon PPrGSN Carnforth Chapter No 5941

TBA

50th Anniversary W.Bro. John Hulme PPrJGW (Devon)

Poulton-le-Sands Lodge No 1051 16/12/2016 Home Visit

50th Anniversary W.Bro. John Scurr PPrJGW Silverdale Lodge No 6926

07/03/17

50th Anniversary W.Bro. Alan Physick PPrJGW

Duke of Lancaster Lodge No 1353 15/03/17

50th Anniversary W.Bro. John T Wild PPrJGW

Runic Lodge No 6019 04/04/17

60th Anniversary W.Bro. Dennis Butterfield PAGDC

Torrisholme Lodge No 5245 18/05/17

60th Anniversary W.Bro. Michael Ismay Graham PPrAGSwdB

Carnforth Lodge No 4951 24/05/17

‘Sumptuous’ afternoon tea raises £800

MEMBERS of Heysham Lodge No 4108 and Poulton le Sands Lodge No 1051 hosted a fantastic afternoon tea at the Longlands Hotel, Tewitfield, Carnforth. The afternoon was a great success with over 95 guests in attendance, including 20 children. Whilst the members of these two fine lodges, to-gether with their families and friends, settled down to tuck in to what can only be described as a truly sumptuous tea, they were able to listen to the excellent music of the Mahogany Hall Stomp-ers Jazz Band.

The children who were pre-sent also had the oppor-tunity of getting their faces painted, which from the smiles on their faces seemed to be much appre-ciated.

In true Masonic tradition the afternoon raised £800 for the St John’s Hospice in Lancaster


CRAFT INSTALLATIONS

DATE LODGE ATTENDING 2016 OCTOBER

04 Tuesday Scorton 5791 P R Pemberton PPrSGW 12 Wednesday Warton 8411 J S Seddon PAGDC, APrGM 21 Friday Heysham 4108 D Grainger PSGD, APrGM 22 Saturday Vale 5256 J Woods PAGDC

NOVEMBER 09 Wednesday Great Eccleston 8895 J H Wilson PJGD 11 Friday Runic 6019 P M Taylor PAGDC, PrGSec 15 Tuesday Torrisholme 5245 J A Harrison PrGM 22 Tuesday Lancaster Castle 5952 A Jones PAGDC

DECEMBER 02 Friday Morecambe 1561 R G S Wright SGD, APrGM

2017 JANUARY

10 Tuesday Silverdale 6926 C C Butterfield PAGDC 18 Wednesday Duke of Lancaster 1353 D Thomas PAGDC 25 Wednesday Amounderness 7105 J Robson PAGDC

FEBRUARY 16 Thursday City of Lancaster 281 H Cox PSGD, APrGM 20 Monday Plantagenet 9357 J A Harrison PrGM 21 Tuesday Wyreside 2605 D J Winder PSGD, APrGM 22 Wednesday Poulton-le-Sands 1051 P H Gunning PGSwdB, DepPrGM

MARCH 01 Wednesday Lune 4724 D Grainger PSGD, APrGM 15 Wednesday Longridge 8077 P Schofield PPrSGW 22 Wednesday Carnforth 4951 K S Kemp PAGDC, PrGDC 28 Tuesday Garstang 6633 J Lee PrSGW

APRIL 06 Thursday Aegis 9115 F P Gardner PSGD, PAPrGM 28 Friday St Michael’s-on-Wyre 8348 J Heaton PrJGW

MAY 11 Thursday Pilling 7879 A Bent PSGD, APrGM

ROYAL ARCH INSTALLATIONS

DATE CHAPTER ATTENDING 2016 AUGUST

31 Wednesday Vale 5256 Dr P A Renton PGStdB, 2ndPrGP OCTOBER

03 Monday Lancaster Castle 5952 S F Robinson PGStdB, AtoPrGPs NOVEMBER

21 Monday Rowley 1051 G D Jones PGSwdB, DepGSupt DECEMBER

06 Tuesday Fortitude 281 C C Butterfield PGStdB, AtoPrGPs 2017 MARCH

06 Monday Great Eccleston 8895 J A Harrison GSupt 06 Monday Morecambe 1561 I Cuerden PAGSoj, AtoPrGPs 09 Thursday Heysham 4108 C C Butterfield PGStdB, AtoPrGPs 13 Monday Knott End 8674 K S Kemp PGStdB

APRIL 06 Thursday Carnforth 4951 D Randerson PGStdB, AtoPrGPs 13 Thursday Sandylands 5702 G D Jones PGStdB, DepGSupt 24 Monday Scorton 5791 P Taylor PGStdB, PrGSE

CRAFT AND ROYAL ARCH INSTALLATIONS 2016-17


Celebrating 300 years of English Freemasonry

SPECTACULAR BANQUET & BALL with overnight stay

YES - I wish to reserve …………. places at the Spectacular Banquet and Ball on

Saturday 11th November 2017 at the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange over Sands.

I enclose cheque in the sum of £……………. (£10.00 per person payable to Lancaster and

District Masonic Group) as deposit and understand that the balance of £70.00 per person

will become payable on or before 1 September 2017.

(The full amount of £80 pp may be paid now if you wish to do so).

Address (for postage of tickets): ……………………………………………………………………………………………... ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... Contact telephone number: …………………………………………………………...

E-mail (for event updates): …………………………………………………………...

Please return completed form with cheque to:

Peter Pemberton,

Bushells Cottage, Mill Lane,

Goosnargh, Preston PR3 2BJ

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: 01772 865057

Name - please include forename (not just initial) Special dietary requirements

eg Vegetarian, Celiac, Gluten free etc


Documents

Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter - … · Chris takes the scarlet robe at Vale Chapter ... of Ceremonies Mark Barton, together with Bernard Snape, Paul Fuery, Ian Thompson,