With the leaves turning a myriad of colours and an autumnal chill in the air, the Palace at St Annes was bustling with 31 members, guests and visitors of Lodge of Triumph No 1061. As they put on their regalia and prepared for the feast of tradition and ritual that was about to unfold, Liam Booth; nervous and excited in equal measure, was not sure what to expect, as his initiation into Freemasonry drew ever closer.
With the meeting underway and everyone seated in their respective places, John Topping occupied the chair of King Solomon in place of absent WM Darren Collins. It wasn’t long before inner guard, Joe Shaw, announced an alarm. It was at this moment, with a poor candidate in a state of darkness, that the initiation ceremony began in earnest. Whilst the candidate was in a state of darkness, it was clear to all that the brethren of the Lodge of Triumph had been thoroughly practising to guide Liam to a state of light.
Whilst it was Peter Grihault’s first initiation ceremony as junior deacon, no one present would ever know. With a firm guiding hand, a gentle guiding word and a purposeful, if dainty step, it was difficult for Liam to put a foot wrong. Indeed, this incredible standard of ritual was to run throughout the evening with Dave Eastwood delivering the first degree working tools, Edward Rhodes in the North East corner and a somewhat sublime word-perfect first degree charge being delivered by the ever-charismatic William Buchanan, whose ritual really has to be heard to be believed.
Once the ceremony had drawn to its conclusion, South Fylde Group Chairman, Ben Gorry, on behalf of the grand officers, commented that it was fantastic to see Liam experiencing such a well-rehearsed ceremony. This sentiment was echoed by Ken Greenwood, who, speaking on behalf of the visiting officers, welcomed him into Freemasonry and reiterated that both Liam and the brethren present would have to “go a long way to experience a ceremony at the standard of that performed this evening”.
As the final touches were being put in place for the festive board, the brethren gathered in the bar area and it was at this point that entered apprentices William Hodge and Sam Holmes, who were both recently initiated into Thornton and Cleveleys Lodge No 3854, had the chance to comment on the ceremony they had just witnessed. Sam said that it was “Amazing to see it from the other side; it opened my eyes to what is actually going on”, and William was also full of praise, saying that it was “Incredible to witness; I can’t believe that there wasn’t a stutter to be heard throughout the whole ceremony”. Whilst it is positive to hear such commendations, it is worth remembering that our newer brethren deserve to be impressed, especially if they are making the effort to visit other lodges.
It was a delight to enter the Blue Room at St Annes Palace, and as always from Lee Munro and the catering team, the sweet aroma of fresh, hand-made food was in the air. The food on offer is always high quality and this evening’s offerings were no different. Whilst waiting for the first course to be served, it was good to see, after a successful ceremony, conversation amongst friends flowing from the brethren with laughter filling the air.
As the toasts began, John Topping, in his very personable style, took the opportunity to congratulate the team for the fantastic ceremony he had just witnessed and gave a heart-warming comment saying that it was “A joy to be back in the chair, even if it was only to fill in for WM Darren Collins” before going on to promote Provincial Grand Lodge, encouraging those who are able to attend and to celebrate with those being awarded honours.
Given that it is the bi-centenary, there are an extra 60 Provincial honours being awarded for both Craft and Royal Arch. He also encouraged all of the brethren to book in for the Lodge of Triumph Christmas social night, which is a ladies and gents to dine on 12 December 2026, an extra-special night as the Chorley Silver Band will be returning after their memorable entertainment the previous year.
Lodge charity steward, Peter Grihault led the charge to raise money for Masonic charities. The West Houghton raffle, together with the other collections of the evening, raising a total of £207. The lucky winners were Eddie Wilkinson, who took home a bottle of Argentinian Malbec and visitor Sam Holmes, who won a large bottle of Bells whisky. After the raffle, Edward Rhodes read out the results of the Lodge of Triumph monthly lottery draw. Ian Stirling was lucky enough to come out on top, with Edward’s son-in-law taking the runner-up prize. If you would like to be part of this lottery, it costs just £5 per month and you can choose your own number from those still available. Please contact Edward Rhodes for details.
Following the charitable giving, it was time for the toasts. The first was from Liam’s proposer and future father-in-law, Joe Shaw, who began by saying what a great pleasure it had given him to be able to propose Liam and welcome him into Lodge of Triumph. As the father of Liam’s partner, Joe had a warming smile on his face when he said that Liam thrives from helping others, raising incredible amounts of money for charities such as Streetlife and breast cancer charities and is always willing to roll up his sleeves, carrying out various tasks such as litter picking in the centre of Blackpool. He concluded by saying that he couldn’t ask for a more reliable and trustworthy person to be by his daughter’s side saying “If he’s good enough for my daughter, I’m sure he’s good enough for us.” This was received with tremendous applause from all present.
A confident-looking Liam was given the opportunity to respond to the toast and after thanking both Joe and Mike Boxall as his proposer and seconder, he conveyed his thanks and appreciation to all those that had been involved in his initiation ceremony, giving particular mention to Peter Grihault for his assured way of guiding him around the lodge room. Liam continued to say that he was looking forward to many years of enjoyment in the lodge and ended the response by saying that he will do his utmost in the years ahead to be a regular attender and will commit to contributing fully to the lodge. Again, the brethren gave a hearty applause.
The response was swiftly followed by junior warden Kenneth Taylor proposing a toast of thanks to the visitors, in which he joked that those from the North Fylde Group were always “Welcome down South, to be able to experience the best ceremonies on the Fylde Coast.” This had the brethren smiling and, quick to respond, was David Hodge from Thornton and Cleveleys Lodge No 3854 who said that he had been extremely impressed with the high standard of the ceremony, the warmth of the brethren of the Lodge of Triumph and the fantastic quality of the food, giving a particularly warm welcome to Liam. “As a new candidate”, he said, “tonight will have been a blur; but Freemasonry is a wonderful organisation to be part of, which will give you opportunities to grow and develop”. With a wry smile on his face and a sarcastic tone in his voice, he ended by saying how glad he was to be able to “Head South, where the air is warm and the ritual is great.” And with this, the brethren raised a glass to the visiting brethren.
The tyler’s toast was delivered in the ever-enigmatic style of St Anne’s Palace manager, John Nicholls, and as everyone finished their drinks and packed away their belongings, it was time for a moment to reflect on the importance of the new brethren, who will undoubtedly be the custodians of our great ritual and traditions to pass on to the generations of the future.