Brethren of Acacia Lodge No 4512 had great pleasure in proclaiming Ian Knowles as WM for a second year. The ceremony was held at the Liverpool Masonic Hall.
The Lodge was opened at 5:15pm with the brethren of the lodge, visitors from other lodges as well as a very colourful contingent of Freemasons from Lodge Irvine Newtown Lodge No 1662 in the Scottish Constitution. Roy Ashley representative of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews entered the lodge accompanied by Neil Francis, Vice Chairman of the Liverpool Group and other distinguished guests.
The Proclamation ceremony was conducted with elan and diligence by the director of ceremonies Mike Cove. Included in the ceremony was a first-class presentation of the third and second degree working tools by Neil Kearney and the first degree working tools by Tom Nuttall.
Once the officers of the lodge had been appointed and invested, Stuart Kane gave a faultless address to the master of the lodge, followed by Roy Ashley with an equally faultless address to the brethren. When the formal business of the ceremony was completed, Roy stood and offered the WM hearty congratulations from Mark Matthews and good wishes for a healthy and busy year.
Ian Knowles presented Roy with a cheque for £1,000 to the Friends of the Tithebarn Care Home and another cheque for £1,000 to the Bobby Colleran Trust, Take Care Programme. Roy commented that the two cheques were wonderful donations from a relatively small lodge and on behalf of the recipients, he thanked the brethren of Acacia Lodge.
The festive board provided a wealth of good food and companionship and not forgetting a glass or two of wine! Colin Mitchell proposed an interesting toast to the visitors, and he particularly welcomed the brethren from Scotland who had added such colour to the evening.
Replying to the visitors’ toast, Scott Singleton informed the brethren that the association between Acacia Lodge and Lodge Irvine Newtown had been in existence for 35 years, and he sincerely hoped that it will continue for many years to come. He added that it was almost as long as it took Scotland to qualify for the World Cup 2026. Wyn Jones also replied to the visitors’ toast, stating that Wales could still qualify for the World Cup.
The festivities finished and all the brethren agreed that the evening was a great success with everyone enjoying their Freemasonry. With that iconic sentence ringing in their ears; ‘Happy to meet, Sorry to part and Happy to meet again’, the brethren made their way home.
Report by Neil Francis.