When the Grand Master sends a representative and the Provincial Grand Master walks through your door, you know something out of the ordinary is about to happen. For Great Marton Lodge No 3985, based at Blackpool Masonic Hall, that night arrived, and it delivered.
Great Marton Lodge had been chosen to initiate the first candidate to come through the United Grand Lodge of England’s (UGLE) National Digital Marketing Campaign. It was, by any measure, a significant occasion. And those at the helm of Freemasonry clearly thought so too.
Travelling up from London with the Craft team, was John Thompson, Assistant Grand Master. Alongside him was the Province of West Lancashire’s own Provincial Grand Master, Mark Matthews. The gathering of distinguished guests that filled the lodge room that evening read like a who’s who of Freemasonry, with grand and Provincial grand officers, along with acting Provincial grand officers present in considerable number, a visible demonstration of just how much weight this occasion carried.
But before a single word of ceremony was spoken, a great deal of work had already been done. Umesh Dholakia, Secretary of Great Marton Lodge, had carried much of that burden with quiet efficiency and no little skill. At relatively short notice, Umesh took charge of all bookings for the evening, created a seating plan for the dining brethren and designed individual place mats for every guest at the festive board. A thoughtful personal touch that did not go unnoticed. He had liaised closely with Neil Ward, the Provincial Grand Membership Officer, and had been in direct contact with the Assistant Grand Master himself, John Thompson, in the weeks leading up to the meeting. Throughout the entire process, Umesh remained on hand to answer every question and resolve every query that came his way. It was exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes dedication that makes an evening like this one possible, and it deserved to be said plainly: without Umesh’s magnificent effort, the event would not have been the great success that it was.
The lodge was opened promptly at 6 pm. The WM Colin Rodgers rose to welcome his guests, thanking them warmly for giving their time to support Great Marton Lodge and to help make the evening one that the candidate and every member present would carry with them for years to come.
Then came a moment that brought a smile to every face in the room. As is his right, WM Colin offered the gavel of the lodge to the Assistant Grand Master. John Thompson accepted it briefly, then, with good humour, explained that he was currently master of his own lodge, learning the first degree for an upcoming triple initiation, and had absolutely no wish to inflict his attempts on the assembled company. He returned the gavel to Colin with a word of confidence: “I am sure we will all enjoy the ceremony much more with you in charge, WM.” The ice was broken. The room was ready.
The ballot for Colin Murray proved successful, and the knock at the lodge door signalled that the candidate was properly prepared and eager to take his first step in Freemasonry. And so it was that Colin, initiated by Colin, became a Freemason. Inner guard, Graham Forsdyke, duly reported to the WM, and deacons Paul Bennett, SD, and John Najdad JD were called upon to take charge.
From that moment, the ceremony unfolded with a quiet assurance that spoke volumes about the preparation and dedication of everyone involved. The deacons guided Colin through each stage with care and calm, ensuring he felt at ease throughout. It is no small thing to enter a lodge room for the first time as a candidate, and the manner in which he was received reflected enormous credit on the lodge.
Colin Rodgers conducted the ceremony with confidence and clarity, his delivery giving the words their full weight. Senior warden Alan Jeffrey and junior warden Rod Barnes were word-perfect. When the moment came for Colin to be invested with the badge of an entered apprentice Freemason, Alan Jeffrey stepped forward to perform that privilege with obvious pride, reciting words that have resonated through lodge rooms for generations.
Colin was then placed at the north east corner of the lodge, a moment rich in symbolism and tradition, conducted with real feeling by John Wall, who later returned to deliver the Charge after Initiation with equal care and sincerity. The working tools of an entered apprentice were then presented by junior warden Rod Barnes, who explained their symbolic significance with confidence, warmth, and assurance.
On completion of the initiation, Mark Matthews rose to address the lodge. He had, he said, witnessed a great many ceremonies over the years, but what he had seen tonight was quite simply sensational. Every officer had done himself and his lodge proud, and every member present should hold their head high as a member of such a fine lodge. He then crossed the floor and personally shook the hand of each officer who had taken part, a gesture that said more than any words could.
John Thompson rose to congratulate Colin Rodgers and our new brother Colin Murray for being the first to be initiated under the new UGLE Digital Marketing Campaign. John went on to thank Neil Ward, the Provincial Grand Membership Officer, for all his hard work in making this evening happen.
The evening was rounded off fittingly by Group Chairman for Blackpool, Stephen Jelly, who presented Colin with a group welcome pack, a practical and personal gesture from the Blackpool Group, ensuring the newest member of the Masonic family knew that he was already among friends. With the ceremony complete, the lodge was closed and the brethren made their way to the festive board, and if the ceremony was anything to go by, the evening still had plenty to offer.
If the ceremony had set the bar high, the festive board was in no mood to disappoint. The room was relaxed, the company was excellent, and the wine, as is traditional, flowed with appropriate generosity. Toasts were honoured, glasses were raised, and the warmth that had filled the lodge room followed the brethren naturally to the table. When the toast to the grand officers was called, John Thompson rose to respond, and what followed was one of those after-dinner addresses that hold a room from the first word to the last.
He began, perhaps unexpectedly, with a smile and a memory. Blackpool, he told the assembled brethren, was not an unfamiliar place to him. As a boy, he had spent family holidays here, the illuminations, the sea air, the particular kind of happiness that belongs to childhood and to the seaside. To be back, and in such fine company, was a pleasure he had not anticipated quite so keenly. The room, it is fair to say, warmed to him immediately.
But John Thompson had not travelled to Blackpool merely to reminisce. He turned his attention to the UGLE Digital Marketing Campaign and the significance of what Great Marton Lodge had achieved. The campaign, he said, had been a genuine success, reaching men who might never otherwise have found their way to Freemasonry’s door. Colin Murray was living proof of that. Yet success, he reminded those present, brings its own responsibilities.
Freemasonry, he said, must continue to show itself to the world in a positive light, not simply by telling people what it stands for, but by demonstrating it. By being responsive. By being engaged. By working alongside the communities, it serves, and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. The strength of the Craft, he said, lies not in its history alone, but in what its members do with that history every single day, supporting one another, listening to what members need, and giving them the tools and fellowship to thrive.
Before resuming his seat, John Thompson paused to pay a personal tribute. He wanted, he said, to single out Neil Ward, Provincial Grand Membership Officer, for the quite exceptional support he had provided throughout the duration of the campaign. His contribution, his knowledge, and his tireless willingness to help had made a very real difference, and that deserved to be said publicly and with genuine gratitude. He then turned his attention to. Umesh Dholakia, whose organisational work in the weeks leading up to the evening had, he said, made the whole thing possible. The bookings, the seating plan, the individual place mats, the countless emails and conversations, all of it had been handled with a professionalism and a warmth that reflected enormous credit on the lodge. John Thompson thanked him sincerely and without reservation.
It was a tribute that drew warm and well-deserved applause, all the more poignant given that Neil is stepping down from his post at the 2026 Provincial Grand Lodge meeting. If the success of the UGLE Digital Marketing Campaign in West Lancashire stands as any kind of measure, it is a considerable legacy to leave behind. The Province thanks him for it. It was a message delivered without fanfare, but with unmistakable conviction. And in a room full of men who had just witnessed a man take his first step in Freemasonry, drawn there by a digital campaign that not so long ago would have seemed unthinkable, it landed with particular force.
If John Thompson had set the tone, Mark Matthews was in no mood to let the evening’s momentum slip. He rose to speak with the easy confidence of a man entirely at home in a room full of Freemasons, and entirely at home in Blackpool. He opened with a question that needed no answer: “Isn’t this what Freemasonry is all about?” He gestured, in spirit if not in gesture, to everything around him, the fine ceremony, the distinguished company, the festive board, and the sea of happy, smiling faces that filled the room. It was, he said, exactly what the Craft is for. Moments like this one.
He touched briefly on the Digital Marketing Campaign, echoing John Thompson’s pride in what had been achieved, before turning to a subject close to his heart, membership. The challenge of bringing good men into Freemasonry, he said, belongs to every one of us. It is not the responsibility of Grand Lodge alone, nor of the Province. It rests with each brother, in his own circle, in his own community. If you know a good man, encourage him. The Craft needs him, and he may need the Craft more than he knows.
He had a particular word, too, for Royal Arch Masonry. Currently, only 43% of Craft members in the Province have taken that next step into chapter, and Mark was clear that this is an opportunity waiting to be seized. The Royal Arch, he reminded the brethren, is not a separate organisation but the completion of a Freemason’s journey. If you haven’t yet made that journey, perhaps it is time to ask yourself why. He then turned to Portal, the online platform that allows members to check their records, ensure their details are correct, stay in touch with fellow Freemasons, and keep track of their lodge and chapter meetings. For anyone not yet signed up, his message was simple and direct: do it today. It takes minutes, and the benefits are immediate.
Then came a moment that brought the room to life. Mark stepped forward to present the newest member of the Masonic family with a One Organisation lapel pin badge, a small but meaningful token marking the beginning of Colin Murray’s Masonic journey. But before he did, he paused, a glint in his eye. He had, he said, one further observation to share with the assembled brethren. This evening, this very evening, happened to be Colin’s wedding anniversary. The room took a moment to absorb this information. Mark let the silence do its work before delivering his verdict with a smile: “Now that,” he said, “is what I call commitment.” The laughter that followed was warm and long. And as for what might await Colin when he eventually made it home, well, the Provincial Grand Master wished him the very best of luck.
Mark had one more acknowledgement to make before he resumed his seat. He spoke warmly of Umesh Dholakia, whose efforts in the weeks before the evening had been, in his words, quite magnificent. To have taken on so much at such short notice, and to have carried it off with such care and precision, was something the Provincial Grand Master wanted recognised properly and in the right company. The room obliged with a generous round of applause.
It fell to Colin Rodgers to propose the toast to the newest member of Great Marton Lodge, and it was clear, from the moment he rose to his feet, that this was a moment he had been looking forward to. He spoke about the first time he had met Colin Murray. There are occasions, he said, when you meet someone and simply know. Know that they have the right character, the right values, the right spirit. That first meeting had been one of those occasions. Something about Colin, his manner, his warmth, the way he carried himself, had left Colin in no doubt whatsoever. Here was a man who would not merely join Great Marton Lodge, but would enhance it. A man who would give as much as he received, and who would, in time, become exactly the kind of Freemason the lodge and the Province could be proud of. To have seen that instinct confirmed so emphatically, on such an evening and in such company, was a source of enormous personal satisfaction.
The room raised their glasses. The toast was drunk with enthusiasm. Then brother Colin Murray rose to respond, and the festive board fell quiet. What followed was entirely unscripted and entirely genuine, and perhaps all the more powerful for it. Colin spoke of the years, and it had been years, during which Freemasonry had quietly occupied a corner of his mind. He had wondered about it. He had been curious. But life, as it tends to do, had moved on around him, and somewhere along the way he had begun to believe that the moment had simply passed. That it was not to be. That he had, perhaps, missed his chance. Then the Digital Marketing Campaign had found him.
He had seen it, recognised it for what it was, and in his words, grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He was not a man, he made clear, who intended to let it go to waste. He spoke of the commitment he had already made in his heart, long before he ever set foot in the lodge room. He spoke of what he intended to give, not just attend, not just participate, but give to the Craft and to Great Marton Lodge. And he spoke, with a quiet sincerity that needed no embellishment, of how he already felt it. That sense of belonging. Of brotherhood. Of having found, among the men in that room, something he had not quite been able to name before but recognised immediately upon finding it. It was, by any measure, a remarkable response from a man who had been a Freemason for only a matter of hours. And as the room applauded, more than one experienced Mason present reflected that the Digital Marketing Campaign had, on this particular evening, done its job rather well.
As the evening drew towards its conclusion, a word of recognition was only right and proper, and long overdue. Throughout the entire proceedings, from the moment the first distinguished guest had taken his seat to the final exchanges at the festive board, one man had worked quietly and tirelessly to ensure that everything ran without a hitch. Barry Fitzgerald, Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, had kept the evening moving with the kind of calm, unshowy precision that only reveals its true difficulty when you stop to consider what it actually involves.
And consider it the brethren did. When you reflect on the sheer number of grand and acting Provincial grand officers present, each with their own title, rank, and correct form of address, the task of keeping every introduction, every procession, and every protocol perfectly in order is no small thing. To do it seamlessly, as Barry and his fellow Provincial Grand Directors of Ceremonies do, is a testament to the hours of preparation, the depth of knowledge, and the genuine dedication they bring to their role in service of the Province of West Lancashire. It does not happen by accident. Well done, one and all.
There was one final piece of good news before the evening closed. A raffle held in support of both Masonic and non-Masonic charities had raised the magnificent sum of £677, a wonderfully generous contribution from the brethren present, and a timely reminder that the spirit of giving that lies at the heart of Freemasonry is never far from the surface.
Barry then stepped forward once more to make a final request, that after the tyler’s toast, all brethren remain standing as the distinguished guests retired. It was a mark of respect entirely in keeping with the occasion. The tyler’s toast was drunk. The distinguished guests departed to the warm appreciation of all in the room. And as the brethren of Great Marton Lodge took stock of the evening behind them, the feeling was unmistakable.
This had been a night that had shown Freemasonry at its very best, its ceremony, its fellowship, its warmth, its humour, and its purpose, all on full display. For Colin Murray, it was the beginning of a journey. For everyone else in that room, it was a reminder of why they had made that same journey themselves. The evening had given everyone present something to think about. And something to be very proud of indeed.
