At the appointed hour, the WM Stephen White and the wardens of Derby Lodge No 724 entered the lodge and took their seats. There is great joy in a lodge when a new member joins, and on this occasion, Derek Nolan was to be balloted for as a fit and proper person to be made a Mason.
There were several guests and members present who had gathered to witness this event at Derby Lodge which is an amalgamation of Dingle Lodge No 4610, Duke of Devonshire Lodge No 6735 and Rodney Lodge No 4625 and the ceremony was taking place at the Geoffrey Hirst Masonic Suite within Woolton Golf Club.
The usual business on opening lodge was conducted and then the WM read out the details of the candidate, Derek Nolan, who had come through the Pathway scheme. Derek felt that this was the right time in his life to venture into Freemasonry and made an enquiry eventually wishing to join Derby Lodge. The ballot was undertaken and proved in favour of Derek. This prompted the secretary and treasurer to request that they retire from the lodge to attend upon Derek and on their return, they confirmed that he had paid the necessary dues and signed the Declaration Book.
For the ceremony, the acting senior deacon was Keith Lindsay and the acting junior deacon was Barrie Mault, both of whom acquitted themselves well throughout the ceremony. After Derek had been entrusted in the proper manner, he had the the working tools explained to him, in an exemplary manner by Craig Atkin to great acclaim from the brethren, after which the WM presented him with the Book of Constitutions and the By-Laws of the lodge together with the warrants. Derek then retired to restore himself to his former comforts and on his return an excellent delivery of the Charge was provided by Kevin Henderson who also received acclaim from those present.
Stephen White welcomed Derek as a new member of the lodge and asked him to take his seat amongst his brothers. The ceremony of initiation being completed, the lodge conducted its closing business and the brethren retired to the dining room to partake of a Burns Night meal consisting of Cullen skink, haggis, neeps and tatties, served with a whisky gravy and a traditional dessert of cranachan, fresh raspberries, oats, honey and cream. The traditional toast to the haggis was given by Kevin Henderson. A very enjoyable evening ended when the tyler, Tommy Lunt, proposed the last toast of the evening.
Story and pictures by Colin Roberts.