Somerset Masons visit London to Support Daniel at his installation.
The sun was shining and the sky was clear when 3 intrepid Somerset Freemasons set off from Burnham on Sea last Friday at 7.30am, to go to Grand Lodge to witness Daniel Dean (also of Tyntesfield Lodge) be installed as the new Master of Chelsea Lodge. They stopped at Nailsea Masonic Hall on the way to pick up 10 more and benefit from the expansive car park, allowing for the Minibus to turn around in plenty of space!
Three became thirteen and off they went, with Stewart Galway providing lovely bacon, lettuce and tomato rolls, prepared by is wife Wendy at some ungodly hour.
The minibus was full of laughter, with Martin Slocombe providing a fun quiz and entertainment on the way. The questions were all relevant to the chaps and their Masonry; as over 6 different Lodges in the province had representation, this was no mean feat! One member had the new nickname (previous one being Brian) of TCP – Tivoli Car Park, for reasons that cannot be said here (what goes on tour stays on tour)
Martin Hockley was celebrating his birthday and very kindly purchased cakes for everyone, after stopping at the Services, Martin said get yourself a coffee and we can have some cake. In true form one of the members decided coffee was not for him, so purchased several ready made gin and tonics and several cans of Stella, which were then distributed amongst the passengers.
On arriving at Great Queen St they visited the the Prince of Wales Pub, to continue enjoying the sunshine and to have a light bite.
They then joined a further 20 masons from Somerset and over 250 Brethren from all across the country to witness the installation of Daniel in fine fashion, with the usual humour and aplomb provided by Chelsea Lodge.
The Festive Board was superb and the Cabaret after was indeed brilliant, with a Marilyn Monroe tribute, a very funny comedian (being booked for a Somerset meeting – stay tuned), with the evening being topped off by a superb Elton John (another tribute act). No photos are allowed for copyright reasons – you will need to visit yourself to enjoy the fun.
A wonderful day was had by all, and a big thank you to Barrie Palmer for booking everyone in and to all of the fab thirteen for making it a wonderful day and to prove that Masonry can be fun and enjoyed by everyone. A long day but one of the best for those that went.
After a long day of fawning over the celebs (and the Past Pro Grand Master) some were a little tired:
Anyone want a Stella?
Article by Ian Evans
Pictures courtesy of Ian Evans, Neil McGrath, Chris Waterhouse and Stewart Galway.
