Members of Peace and Unity Lodge No 3966 and their guests from various lodges throughout the Province and beyond gathered at the Masonic Hall at Blackpool to witness Cameron Afzal installed into the chair of King Solomon for the first time. Principal guest at this auspicious occasion was effervescent David Thomas, Assistant Provincial Grand Master, a native of Blackpool and a former member of Peace and Unity Lodge, returning home as the proverbial prodigal son.
David was accompanied by grand officers; Harry Cox, Duncan Smith, John Turpin and David Edwards with Rowand Tate of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland. Blackpool Group Chairman Stephen Jelly and group secretary Michael Tax, acting Provincial grand officers Ryan Modlin, Colin Rogers, Neil Higgins, Adam Simpson and Jason Bleakley.
Reigning master Carl Spindler opened the lodge in his usual calm and controlled manner and swiftly dispensed with the routine business of the day. The electrifying atmosphere in the lodge room came to its conclusion with the announcement of item 6 on the agenda; ‘To install the master elect, Cameron Afzal.’
Carl invited Peter Maxwell to occupy the Chair of King Solomon for the purpose of installation. Ian Watson was invited to occupy the senior warden’s chair, Alan Howie, was invited to occupy the junior warden’s chair and Keith Carter (WM of West Lancashire Century Lodge No 2349) was invited to occupy the position of inner guard. Cameron was presented to the lodge by Simon Scarr, and certain questions were asked of him by the lodge secretary, Paul Cummings.
Cameron was installed as the latest master of Peace and Unity Lodge by Peter in a fine and traditional manner. A ceremony, maybe not quite worthy of a Silver Matchbox, but certainly of a silver-plated matchbox.
The presentation of the working tools were all eloquently given by junior brethren: the third degree by Andrew Coppen, the second degree by Warren Gill and the third degree by Jason Whitehead. Giles Berkley gave the address to the new WM, Ken Buckley gave the address to the wardens and the address to the deacons was given by Ken Sykes, while the address to the stewards was given by the acting Provincial Grand Steward, Jason Bleakley. Majestically rising from his comfortable chair, principal guest David Thomas delivered a flawless address to the brethren of the lodge. It was so emotional that tears could be seen forming in the rheumatic eyes of the lodge past masters.
Once all the officers had been invested, Peter announced the completion of the installation ceremony. At this juncture in the proceedings, David rose to bring the greetings of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, congratulating Cameron on attaining the chair of King Solomon and to Peter’s skills as the installing master. Special congratulations were reserved for the junior brethren for their delivery of the working tools and to the senior brethren for their delivery of the remaining addresses.
Cameron had the privileged opportunity to present David with a list of donations totalling £4,800 to various deserving causes. Comprising of: £500 to Blackpool Sea Cadets, £500 to Poulton Girl Guide Centre, £400 to the Battens Disease Family Association, £400 to Blue Skies at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, £400 to Papyrus (a suicide prevention charity), £350 to Northfold Community Primary School towards a sensory garden, £250 to Cancer Research UK, £1,000 to the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity, and £1,000 to the Blackpool Masonic Club improvement fund. David thanked the lodge members for the magnificent donations.
A festive board comprising minestrone soup, chicken breast stuffed with Lancashire cheese and tomato, followed by lotus biscoff cheesecake, soaked up the copious amounts of wine quaffed by the members and guests eagerly waiting for the forthcoming responses to the toasts. Whilst waiting, a festive board raffle in conjunction with the lodge room collection raised a further £670 for deserving causes.
In his response to the toast to the grand officers, David Thomas thanked everyone for the warm welcome he had received. Complimenting the lodge on the wonderful ambiance, just like the ‘old days’, he commented. He was honoured to be in the presence of such luminaries as Harry Cox, Duncan Smith, Giles Berkley, David Edwards and John Turpin. David thanked the acting Provincial grand officers for their attendance, with a special reference to Ryan Modlin, who is to be appointed to acting Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in United Grand Lodge.
David also thanked the group chairman and executive for their attendance and kind invitation to attend the installation. David informed the brethren that Peace and Unity Lodge is his mother lodge and that he joined in 2001. The brethren also learned that in 2001, there were between 12,000 and 13,000 subscribing Freemasons; the figure now stands at approximately 6,600. (The correlation between David joining and the reduction in membership is purely coincidental.) It was gratifying to see so many light blues in the lodge room, a sure sign that Freemasonry is turning the tide. David also thanked all those involved in organising the installation meeting, recognising that a lot of hard work had gone into making the day so enjoyable. David concluded by thanking everyone and congratulating Cameron on achieving the chair of King Solomon and wished him a most enjoyable year.
After the completion of the traditional toast list, immediate past master Carl proposed the toast to the new WM Cameron, informing the brethren that Cameron was born at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport. Eventually moving to the Fylde coast in 1985, Cameron started working in the aircraft industry, eventually moving onto design, forming his own business in electrical engineering design, working for many large companies and his work has taken him all over Europe. He joined the Territorial Army, which in turn led him to joining Freemasonry and Peace and Unity Lodge.
John Darrell sang the Master’s Song, loosely accompanied by John Wall on the piano. Cameron responded to the toast to his health by thanking everyone for attending and making the day so enjoyable. He was looking forward to his year in office and working with the lodge in helping new members in their Masonic journey.
The lodge has a full program of social events planned for the year ahead, including a Bavarian-themed evening. Cameron thanked the visitors and everyone else for attending. Cameron then presented Carl with his past master’s jewel for him to wear with pride. The festive board concluded with Cameron presenting David with a bouquet of flowers for his wife, Paula.
