It has been a memorable time in the Warrington Group recently as members of the Lodge of Lights No 148 and their guests gathered to celebrate 50 years in Freemasonry for John Starky.
The principal guest for the evening was Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Stuart Sutherland Boyd. Stuart was joined by other grand officers that included Kevin Poynton, Gordon Amos, Chris Eyres and John McIntyre, together with the Warrington Group Chairman John Tyrer.
In the lodge room, Stuart accepted the gavel offered by WM Philip Hughes and duly occupied the chair of King Solomon to regale the brethren with tales of John’s life. After a detailed review of John’s career, it is safe to say he was the king of engineering training. Stuart ensured that the journey through John’s life was entertaining by dropping in strategically placed puns to test whether the brethren were paying attention. The chorus of groans from the audience proved this to be the case.
John was presented with his 50 years in Freemasonry certificate by the Chairman of the Warrington Group, John Tyrer which was met by warm applause.
The warmth and sincerity of the meeting continued downstairs at the festive board as tales of quizzing, cruising and golf were heard. A touching toast to the celebrant was made by Geoffrey Wright, a longtime friend of John.
A princely sum was raised in the charity raffle and after hearty toasts were proposed, the principal guest retired and everyone headed out into the chill of the evening, wishing John another 50 years in Freemasonry.
