July ’26

Our gathering on 1st July was our 650th Regular Meeting. 

It was attended by most of our members, their Ladies and our very welcome Masonic friends and too a rather different format than usual. 

We opened at 6.00pm: W.Bro. Gerald Butterworth – the IPM – took the Chair. By 6.20pm all the usual matters had been dealt with and the Lodge was Closed. While all this had been going on, our Ladies had been mustering around some bottles of “Fizz” in the Bar; our members and their guests promptly joined them for a suitable period of ‘refreshment’ themselves while the Temple was re-configured to a theatre layout. 

Everyone them returned and settled down for an excellent Talk by W.Bro. Robin Tarvin entitled “A Fallen Brother” – the story of Frederick Seddon, a Freemason, who murdered his lodger by extracting arsenic from ‘Fly-papers’ in 1912. The case became famous when the accused sought mercy from the sentencing Judge on the grounds that they were both “On the Square, as Brothers”. Bro. Robin enlarged on the basic tale to include references to all the other Masons involved in the case, both on the prosecution’s and the defendant’s sides and even the hangman! An engaging tale, very well told and much enjoyed. 

Everyone the moved on to the Festive Board where a superb Cold Buffet had been prepared by Vitalij and his team. 

All in all, an excellent way to mark the 649 previous Regular Meetings.