With spring in the air and a spring in his step, Peter Ivory looked nervous and excited in equal measure. The Palace Masonic Hall at St Annes was bustling with St Anne’s Lodge No 2457 members, their guests and visitors totalling 51 as they put on their regalia and prepared for the feast of tradition and ritual that was about to unfold. What made this passing ceremony particularly memorable for Peter was the fact that Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews and no fewer than 15 grand officers were in attendance. A great night to remember, if ever there was one.
With the meeting underway and everyone seated in their respectful places, WM Mike Hornby in his usual comic style said to Mark: “It would be remiss of me not to offer you the gavel of the lodge and I truly hope you accept it”. With equal comic timing, Mark replied: “As much as I would love to accept it, I’m sure there has been a lot of practice and preparation gone into tonight, so I will decline on this occasion and pass it back”. This interaction between the two immediately settled any nerves and the meeting continued in the usual manner.
At the appropriate time, Mike requested all those below the rank of a fellow craft to retire from the lodge room. As the candidate looked around and realised, he was the only entered apprentice in attendance, he duly stood up as Mike announced: “Except for Peter Ivory”. It was clear that Peter had put a lot of effort into learning his responses as he was faultless, a true joy to witness. He then retired from the lodge room to be prepared for the ceremony and the chair of King Solomon was duly occupied by Abdul Benashour.
With the appropriate sign, inner guard, Peter Metcalf, announced that there was a report. Peter was admitted in due form, ably guided throughout the ceremony by senior deacon, Robin Taylor, who was supported by junior deacon Scott Burns. Once passed to the second degree, Peter and the rest of the brethren present were treated to an excellent explanation of the second degree tracing board by Roger Perry, who asked for as many brethren as possible to stand and witness the magic that was about to unfold. Once the ceremony was complete, WM Mike Hornby occupied his rightful place in the chair of King Solomon, the meeting was brought to its conclusion and the celebrations continued in the dining hall.
It was a delight to enter the dining hall and as always from Lee Munro and team, the sweet aroma of fresh, hand-made food was in the air. The food on offer is always high quality and the evening’s offerings were no different. Whilst waiting for the first course to be served, it is always good to see after a successfully ceremony, conversation amongst friends flowing and conversation going to and fro from brethren who have only just met with laughter filling the air.
As the toasts began, Mark, in his very personable style, took the opportunity to congratulate Mike and his team for the fantastic ceremony he had just witnessed and gave a heart-warming congratulations to Peter, commenting that he had shown a tremendous amount of resilience throughout the ceremony, having been in pain from a recent operation. He then had the brethren laughing aloud as he joked, asking whether there was a book being run on how long it would take him to mention the recruitment drive. The recruitment drive, he went on to say, should never be far from any of the brethren’s mind. It is an essential part of keeping the Masonic traditions and ritual alive.
Mark also discussed the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting, encouraging brethren to book in if they had not already done so in a bid to improve on the 1,200 Freemasons that had attended in 2025. After reminding the brethren about the importance of signing up to Portal, the online platform for communication and keeping track of one’s Masonic journey, Mark came back to the seriousness of the membership challenge. In 2008, the Province of West Lancashire had approximately 12,500 members and as of November 2025, this number stands at approximately 6,500 members. Mark then reminded all present to encourage good men to attend social events, to encourage them to ask about Freemasonry and to encourage them to sign up to a lodge. There is, however, no point asking men to join if the lodges are not being pro-active in offering a date of initiation. There are currently more than 50 men associated to lodges but whom haven’t yet been given a date of initiation.
Mark is captivating when he speaks and as the brethren continued to listen intently, he encouraged them to complete their journey into Royal Arch Masonry, with the exaltation ceremony being one of the most impressive experiences a Freemason will ever have. He drew his response to a close by thanking his acting Provincial grand officers and the fantastic work they do both in front of and behind the scenes and before being offered a rapturous applause, he ended by saying: “Most importantly, keep enjoying your Freemasonry.”
It wasn’t long before thoughts turned to raising money for Masonic charities, with a West Houghton raffle in full swing, raising £230. The winning numbers were revealed with David Barr winning a fine bottle of rosé wine, Ken Greenwood scooping a blended Scotch whisky and Geoff Crossland claiming a bottle of Bells whisky. With the raffle dispensed with, immediate past master Bryan Bennett gave a toast to Mike. It is clear that Bryan and Mike share many memories and a similar sense of witty charm with Bryan announcing that Mike has done well so far, the first sign of a great leader is to delegate saying: “And by gum, Mike has sure delegated.” The brethren had wide smiles on their faces as Bryan sat down and Mike took centre stage, eager to return the toast, which was a masterclass in comedy saying: “Well, we’ve all had an enjoyable evening, at some point in our Masonic careers.”
Bryan went on to say that he had enjoyed the meeting and he thanked Abdul Benashour and Roger Perry for their assistance with the ceremony. Bryan had very little to do, a little like the director of ceremonies, who after a raucous practice last week had lost his voice completely and couldn’t be heard. The brethren of St Anne’s Lodge issued a press statement describing his condition as, satisfactory.
Bryan continued to say that it’s a pleasure to respond to the 90-year-old immediate past master’s toast to my health, saying that he looked resplendent in his new jacket. Having the eye for a bargain, he had spotted it on eBay and bought it for £2. He says there’s nothing wrong with it except that one sleeve is slightly longer than the other two! Bryan thanked the immediate past master for the toast to his health and to the brethren for their patience listening to his response.
The response from the brethren was a sight to behold, with Alan Barlow in particular unable to contain his laughter for minutes after the final punchline was delivered. With the night waning fast, the meeting ended and the brethren went in peace with a reinvigorated zest for promoting charity and ensuring that Freemasonry, its tenets and traditions continue for generations to come and for Peter Ivory, an evening he will remember for years to come.