Everyone was welcome to attend the first Wyre Lodge No 7704 Jolly Boys and Girls Night Away in Bowness. The one-night event was steeped in fun, friendship, family and Freemasonry. 28 brethren, ladies and gentlemen arrived on a rather damp Sunday afternoon at the Stags Head Hotel in central Bowness and were efficiently booked into this delightful lakeside hotel.
The attendees comprised mainly Wyre Lodge members and partners, supported by North Fylde Group Chairman Eddie Wilkinson and Vice Chairman John Topping along with their wives. Everyone gathered at 14:00hrs in the bar to be welcomed by Wyre Lodge WM Mark ‘Bomber’ Clifford, where he gave a brief outline of the one-night stay. The rain was lashing down outside, but everyone was tucked up inside the bar area, warm and comfy with drinks flowing.
During the afternoon, everyone was invited to take part in a charity £2.50 per person fundraising game of 13-card bingo; the rules of which were explained by ‘Bomber’. After approximately 20 minutes, the last card was turned over and the thrilled joint winners were John Topping and Steve Hagan. The £17 cash prize was split two ways and both winners promptly returned their £8.50 winnings to the charity pot.
The ladies had then prepared a most challenging men’s quiz that tested everyone to their limits as to their overall historical knowledge of Freemasonry, which was tough to say the least. The winning team comprised John Topping and David Calvert, who scooped the magnificent score of eight out of 20 questions and received a very nice Lynx deodorant prize.
At around 18:00hrs, the rainclouds moved eastwards across the Lake District to give Bowness a few hours of respite. This was the opportunity to go across the road to another nearby bar ahead of the evening meal. After an hour of lively chat and good fun, everyone then formed into small groups to seek an evening meal close by, in a restaurant of their choice.
At approximately 20:30hrs all 28 revellers gathered back at the Stags Head Hotel for evening drinks, to be followed by three hours of hotel-organised Karaoke. This was a true crowd puller as many locals and keen performers gathered in the front bar, to be joined by the Fylde Coast contingent.
Three hours of fabulous singing and laughter followed, with some exceptional performances of the greatest hits of Al Jolson, Neil Diamond and Tom Jones by Dave Smith and John Ackroyd, with John Topping focusing on songs by Solomon Burke, Roger Whittaker and Elvis Presley. Lodge secretary Danny Whalley made a valiant effort through two songs and the evening came to a close with Dave Smith giving a breath-taking rendition of Oh Danny Boy, in respect of the hard work that Danny had put into the organisation of the weekend, alongside the sterling efforts of his wife Lynda.
Towards the end of the evening, Mark ‘Bomber’ Clifford discussed with John Topping the format of the ‘night away’ and how this could be developed and rolled out next year to encourage more Fylde Coast brethren, ladies and gentlemen to attend this very special one-night get-together. Throughout the event, a number of brethren spoke to the guest gentleman and his wife and hopefully ‘sowed seeds of encouragement’ for him to go home and think about potentially becoming a Freemason on the Fylde Coast.
The following morning, after a great night’s sleep, everyone gathered for a superb breakfast at 09:00hrs and then, with a low mist hanging over Windermere and the brilliant sun shining down, they set off home back to the Fylde Coast, with a range of memorable Karaoke songs still echoing in their ears; eagerly looking forward to the next social event, which is being planned as a Fylde Coast Freemasons Crazy Golf Day, with everybody welcome.