At Hillside Golf Club, a great and well attended celebration was held as Malcolm Dunlop was installed as master of County Palatine Lodge No 2505, following in the steps of his older sibling, Roger Dunlop, who was master of the Lodge in 2022.
The principal guest was John Robbie Porter, who had made the long journey from Poulton-le-Fylde to represent the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, who, being a member of County Palatine Lodge, happened to be seated next to him for the entire evening!
44 brethren packed themselves into the lodge room to witness a most excellent ceremony presided over by the installing master, Mark Barton. The address to the master was given by Maurice Evans with Roger Dunlop and Chris Hamilton giving the addresses to the wardens in a most excellent manner. Finally, John Robbie Porter delivered the address to the brethren of the lodge, to much approbation from the brethren.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Malcolm Dunlop had the pleasure of presenting John with cheques for various charities totalling £2,505 (perfectly matching the County Palatine Lodge number)! John thanked Malcolm and the brethren of the lodge, on behalf of the recipients, for their very generous donations
To make the installation night truly perfect, two extra events occurred. Firstly, the lodge was pleased to welcome two joining members in Jez Williams and Tony Small and secondly Mark Matthews stepped up with great delight to give a surprise presentation to Gerry Brunskill of a lapel badge denoting 60 years membership of the Craft, after the actual 60th celebration was postponed due to unavoidable circumstances last season.
Following the ceremony, there was a most convivial festive board. It was generally agreed that the evening had been a huge success and much enjoyed by all present. County Palatine Lodge continues to grow under the stewardship of a particularly esteemed membership, with the Dunlop family continuing to provide a safe pair of hands.