St Cecila Lodge on Tour!

Music was most definitely in the air when members of Somerset’s own musical lodge visited The Music Lodge No 9919 across the bridge in Cardiff in The Land of Song. Worshipful Master Chris Marchmont, accompanied by JW Richard Kilburn, IPM Lindsay Edmunds, Treasurer Steve Jones, DC Colin Martin and their respective wives Kate, Carol, Melanie, Hilary and Pauline all set off on a wet and windy Friday afternoon and braved Storm Darragh to battle their way to Cardiff.

Saturday morning saw the brethren make their way to the Masonic Centre, home to 42 Craft Lodges, 20 Royal Arch Chapters and many side degrees, to witness a very fine double raising ceremony in one of the three truly magnificent temples. All then retired to the dining room to be joined by the ladies for a splendid festive board where they all found out just how musical the Music Lodge really is. The Christmas theme ran through a programme of vocal and instrumental soloists, all of whom could quite easily have graced the West End stage. The celebrations concluded by the assemble company performing a rousing rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas, to rival even that made famous by
Tynte Lodge in Bridgwater!

It was at this point it was realised that Storm Darragh had caused both Severn bridges to be closed and the journey home was likely to have meant a detour via Gloucester. As fortune favours the brave, all set off regardless to find, on leaving the outskirts of Cardiff, that the Prince of Wales bridge had reopened and the shorter route was back on. Looking forward, St Cecilia Lodge are keenly preparing for a reciprocal meeting in Spring ’25 when it is anticipated that they will host the Music Lodge 9919 (Cardiff), St Cecilia Lodge 6910 (London) and the soon-to-be-consecrated St Cecilia Lodge 10064 (Shrewsbury). Ideas for attracting new members of a musical inclination will no doubt be on the agenda, as will a goodly amount of celebrations of a musical nature. It was Duke Orsino who said in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “If music be the food of love, play on”. As we all know, our meetings without music would not be complete, so we can confidently say that music is most definitely the food of Brotherly love, so…
…PLAY ON!