Ground Breaking Double Raising at King Alfred
Friday 10 th January saw a very special evening at King Alfred where a rare double raising ceremony
was conducted by the Provincial team of Somerset.
Almost a full provincial turn-out for this ceremony with a total of 34 of them attending of which
were led by the 3 assistant provincial grand masters. To kick off proceedings WM Mike Willis
proffered the gavel to Tony Gutherie which on this occasion accepted it who then with a dash of
humour quickly passed it to Russ Woodland also a PGM who ran the ceremony from that point on.

It was a grand display of masterful ritualism by the provincial team, each and every part of the
ceremony was conducted with passion, precision and perfection. A wonderful honour for the
brethren at King Alfred to witness.
As one of the candidates myself, I can honestly say that it was certainly a night to remember and was
inspiring to think that one day I could be on the giving end of such a powerful display and not just on
the receiving end. How does the saying go, “blesses him who gives as well as him who receives” …
One King Alfred brother really captured the mood of the evening – “In all the years I have been a
mason, I have never seen a 3 rd degree conducted as well as it was tonight”.
A special mention to our visitors, we had brothers from Royal Sussex Lodge of Vocation in Bristol,
Lodge of St George in Taunton and even a visitor from Aethelberht Lodge in Bournemouth who
made his long journey just to support his friend in the ceremony.
So, from all the brethren at K.A, to the whole of the Provincial Team that turned out that Friday
evening please accept our gratitude for allowing us to experience it with you.

Report by: Chris M Whitehead LCO & Membership Officer, King Alfred Lodge