St CECILIA ON SONG BY THE SEA
Members of St Cecilia and Tynte Lodges and their ladies displayed both masonic and musical harmony in abundance at their weekend away to Dawlish Warren in Devon. Twenty-three of them journeyed to the Langstone Cliff Hotal for a weekend of rest, relaxation and revelry by the seaside.
A splendid black-tie dinner was enjoyed by all on the Saturday night which was followed by a quiz organised by W. Bro Chris Marchmont, and a raffle and auction which realised the fantastic sum of over £700 for the benefit of the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. One of the popular auction items was Hairy Styles the Gorilla (a hot water bottle) who now has a new home with Lindsay & Mel Edmunds and is now companion to Cluck Norris (a rubber chicken!) who similarly adopted Lindsay & Mel at last year’s event!
By coincidence, also staying at the same hotel was a combined choir of over 100 Welsh ladies and gentlemen who were in Dawlish to stage a concert at the local Methodist chapel. Their dress rehearsal in the hotel ballroom provided some excellent entertainment, but the highlight was an after-dinner performance, staged especially for the masonic contingent, of Calon Lân, a beautiful Welsh hymn. This was followed by Mae hen wlad fy nhadau (the Welsh national anthem) which was bravely joined in by those masons who knew the Welsh words! By way of a return compliment, the two lodges then sang a rousing rendition of the Tyler’s song, bravely led by soloist Chris Marchmont and supported by the visiting choirs who rapidly picked up on the chorus! Rapturous approbation then followed!
Such was the enjoyment of those present that next year’s weekend away was immediately booked, with confirmed reservations already in from most of this year’s attendees! Watch this space!!
