Richard Huish – End Of Term Report
Richard Huish Lodge, Taunton, has adopted the excellent practice of holding at least one walk-through, as well as a dress rehearsal, before each meeting. This is particularly useful for the Deacons and helps ensure a ceremony of high quality that is both enjoyable to witness and meaningful for the candidate; it is a practice well worth continuing.
A May Emergency meeting was held to raise Brother Richard; although attendance was lower than usual, the ceremony was once again delivered to a first-class standard and received warm praise from the visitors. Senior Deacon Lee and Junior Deacon Bryan both carried out their duties with great professionalism, making a major contribution to the success of the meeting. The Wardens brought plenty of energy to their roles as the ruffians, while Brother Richard bore the rigours of the ceremony with good humour and came through it none-the-worse.
The Lodge was delighted that one of it’s guests, Malcolm, delivered the Walking Charge. Several members and guests were seeing this part of the ritual for the first time and were greatly impressed. JD Bryan also presented the working tools, meaning there are now a hat-trick of PGM’s WTC pin badges to award at the Installation Meeting in September. As this was the final meeting of the season and attendance was just 28, the photograph includes pretty much everyone who was there!
The following day Richard Huish held their Summer Lunch, with around 65 members and guests enjoying the usual five-star feast prepared by 5* Karen and her team. Aside from the delicious roast dinner, the plethora of puddings certainly deserves special mention! The Worshipful Master’s chosen charity was Medical Detection Dogs (MDD), and the guest speaker, Peter (below centre), gave a short and informative talk about its work. The charity runs two main programmes: Bio Detection Dogs, trained to detect illnesses such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease; and Medical Alert Assistance Dogs, which warn people of impending medical episodes. MDD are also involved in an AI project developing electronic noses. One memorable fact from the talk was that humans have around 5 million scent receptors, while dogs have about 300 million. Although the charity mainly uses gundog breeds, several dachshunds are part of the team as well. Read more about MDD’s work here – it is an amazing charity: Medical Detection Dogs
As ever, the raffle was well supported, with a groaning table of prizes, and together with proceeds from events held throughout the year, the Lodge was able to present MDD with a cheque for £2,500. Thanks go to Sara and Richard for organising the day, to Simon and Barry for once again running the bar, and to Ian for tirelessly selling tickets and delivering prizes. At Richard Huish, every guest is given a job – which may well be why they enjoy coming back!
This is the end of the 2025 / 2026 season – business reopens with the installation of W Bro Ian as WM (again) on Saturday 26th September. Ian will have a full season, as the Lodge has at least one candidate for initiation, plus 2 x 2nd and 2 x 3rd degree ceremonies.
Have a great summer, everybody!
Report by: Charlie Barker – RHL Comms Officer
