Masonic Hall, Hope Street was the venue for the second degree ceremony at Temple Lodge No1094 to pass Ashton Foat to the degree of fellow craft. It was a superb ceremony delivered with great skill and sincerity by the WM Howard Youdan and his officers.
It would not be fair to single out any individual for singular credit. However, mention must be made of Les Bramhill’s flawless presentation of the working tools which drew particular acclaim from all present.
What made this ceremony extra special was the attendance of the Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews, accompanied by Deputy Provincial Grand Master Philip Gunning, plus Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master Kevin Poynton, the Provincial Senior Grand Warden Michael Tax and the Provincial Junior Grand Warden David Rigby. Also attending were five grand officers, provincial deputy Grand Secretary Mick Southern and six acting Provincial grand officers, together with Liverpool Group Chairman Dave Johnson. Adding to this exalted list were 10 members of the DC’s Mess led by Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Barry Fitzgerald. In all 53 brethren attended the meeting.
The principal officers of the Province chose this meeting to show their appreciation of, and gratitude to, Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies Robbie Fitzsimmons for his outstanding service in the Craft before he moves across to perform his duties in the Royal Arch. Robbie, being a member of Temple Lodge, was very pleased and particularly proud to welcome everybody to the meeting whilst overseeing the ceremony as Director of Ceremonies on the night.
So well did Ashton Foat answer the necessary questions put to him, that he was commended by Mark Matthews for the obvious hard work he had put in to prepare for the ceremony.
Upon completion of the evening’s business, the brethren retired to the main banqueting suite for a sumptuous festive board. Everybody commented favourably on the excellent quality of the food, efficiently served by the catering staff.
Following the toast to the candidate, Ashton Foat thanked everybody for taking the time to attend the meeting and everybody who took part in the ceremony for making it so special and memorable.
Mark Matthews, in his response to the toast to his health, enthusiastically encouraged everybody to grow our membership both within the Craft and the Royal Arch. He asked all present to take the time to ensure any brethren they might know who are facing difficulties at this time are cared for and are not left to suffer in silence.
Mark also took the time to congratulate the brethren of the lodge for a super ceremony and all present for a most convivial festive board. Indeed, Mark noted that if we could bottle the atmosphere, we would have no problem recruiting new members!
A raffle was held and many bottles of “something refreshing” were won, much to the delight of the winners. The raffle raised an impressive £300 for charity. The evening was sadly brought to a close by the tyler’s toast; “Happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again.”
