John Ray writes:

How about a touch of the Cymbolick Penalties (yes – I can spell their name correctly!), a very good speaker, a splendid lunch with impeccable service and lots of friends, old and new?

The Provincial Officers’ Mess is for all Freemasons in East Kent Province who hold the rank of a Provincial Grand Officer. You pay a small annual subscription to belong, and can attend the twice-yearly Mess Meetings, where you pay for lunch and listen to talks on masonic topics of current interest. The Provincial Grand Master/Grand Superintendent is the President. The Provincial Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary are usually elected accordingly.

So – how did it go?

I turned up at the Maidstone Masonic Centre on Thursday 16th October 2025 at about 1220 hrs, and already the large car park was fairly full. My first port of call was to sign in. How many people were expected? One hundred and fourteen, I was told. The Dining Room was neatly laid out with round tables and silver service the order of the day. I noted a large projector screen. There were no reserved seats, apart from at the Top Table. I soon met a couple of old friends, who told me that they would be on Table 2 and suggested that I place my “ticket” at a seat adjacent to them.

Now to do a spot of circulating. I bumped into Ralph Craig of Norman Chapter No.3502. He was wearing an interesting tie. “It’s one of the original Mess ties,” he explained. Hmm, I thought. I must see how many others I can spot.

Ralph Craig, Mark Treadwell and Geoff Smith, all suitably “attired”

Andrew Notley, former Assistant Provincial Grand Master, told me he would be announcing something interesting under Any Other Business – but wouldn’t say more. How intriguing! David Graeme, our former Provincial Grand Secretary and outgoing Mess Secretary, was, he told me, “Living the dream”. He said the same to me some years ago when I was escorting him to a Lodge Installation Meeting. It must be true, then.

At 1255 hrs we were called to order by Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Graham Cuthbert (pictured) as Provincial Grand Master Neil Hamilton Johnstone, Deputy PGM Neil South and Assistant PGM Wayne Smith entered the Dining Room.

Graham Wyles, Third Provincial Grand Principal, led Grace, after which we settled down for lunch: Minestrone Soup, Chicken Wrapped in Bacon (or vegetarian option), Gypsy Tart, Cheese & Biscuits, Coffee and Mint.

Seated on my left was Peter Funnell of Belvidere Chapter No.503. Running Joke alert: “Too cold for my athletics shorts”, he averred. Thank goodness for that!

Graham Cuthbert pictured. 

During our meal our President took wine with us all, then with his Vice-President, his Secretary and Treasurer and his Guest Speaker, APGM Wayne Smith. At 1426 we gave Toasts to The Craft and Royal Arch Masonry and to the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent.

Following the after-dinner Grace, the President dealt with Apologies from those absent and proceeded to the Election of the Mess Treasurer John Fox and the Mess Secretary Colin Tunbridge. The President gave “huge thanks” to both retirees, William Daniels and David Graeme. Regarding David Graeme, it was with a mixture of sadness and happiness: “David Graeme would be very sad, but on the other hand the rest of us… “ Our President’s voice tailed off amid much mirth and laughter.

Moving on, the President reminded us that there was a lot of public misunderstanding “of who we are and what we are about”. We were now concentrating our efforts on “trying to increase our engagement” with the public. People knew very little about who we were and what we did. Accordingly, he had requested a meeting with the Grand Master, at which he had said he was determined to find out “What is the big picture within the Province?” The Grand Master therefore allowed the appointment of a fifth Assistant Provincial Grand Master, whose remit would be to tackle the question and concentrate on the important issue of Community Engagement. Wayne Smith was our new Assistant Provincial Grand Master and was already making considerable progress on the matter.

Wayne Smith then took to the microphone and introduced his subject under the title of the Third Pillar in Freemasonry. Our members, he said, were proudest about what they were achieving. They excelled in “small, notable acts of service that resonate well with the community”.
Phil Lumley gave an example: a local school was celebrating its 150th anniversary and wanted to restore the school’s bell tower. Pupils and parents alike applauded the work that the Stanley Wykeham Lodge No.6599 put in to help them do so.
Wayne pointed out that many Masonic Centres were not in the best state for hosting community events, therefore money was being made available in the Heritage Building Fund for such work to be carried out.

Jeremy Parkin, Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works, echoed what Wayne had said. Masonic Centres needed to have maintenance plans and adequate insurance. Our Centres were tremendous assets and were often being underutilised.

Our Area Groups were pitching in with their own ideas and initiatives. Group 8’s John Matthews maintained a diary of community-involved events. Other Groups were actively involved in following the Armed Forces Covenant. Our aim now, said Wayne, was to “lift the words off the page” and to fulfil our pledges under the Covenant more actively. One example of doing so was the opening up of our annual PSA Testing service to veterans. A member of the Royal British Legion had attended our session last May and had been given a red-card result.

Tony Read of the Per Mare Per Terram Lodge No.3609 explained how the Lodge had adopted the Chatham Marine Cadets and was participating with them in the monthly “turning of the pages” at Rochester Cathedral in memory of fallen Marines.

Wayne concluded by saying we should be using the skills of our Lodge and Chapter members to assist wherever possible, including offering work experience.

Thanking Wayne for his presentation, the President remarked that the fraternity was underrepresented by many faiths other than Christianity, and he was especially looking forward to his upcoming visit to the Gurdwara Sikh Temple (pictured) at Gravesend.

At 1506 hrs it was time for Any Other Business. Up stood Andy Notley to announce that the Cymbolick Penalties’ latest CD had resulted in an £18,200 donation to the Province’s 2025 Festival. He thanked all those Brethren and Companions who had given their support. Applause all round.

Our President reminded us of the Building Together seminars, the next one being held at the Maidstone Masonic Centre on the 25th October 2025. This was very much a “three-line whip” affair.

Our next Mess Meeting would be on the 19th March 2026. “In case I don’t see you beforehand, may I wish you all a Happy Christmas?”

Provincial Senior Grand Warden Julian Friel thanked the President for his continued hard work and support and congratulated him and Margaret on their imminent fifty-fifth wedding anniversary.
And with that we all rose as the members of the Top Table retired. 1515 hrs.

I always find these Mess Lunches interesting because we receive useful updates on Provincial thinking from the top people themselves. It was also lovely, of course, to meet our friends and catch up with all the gossip.

One final thought that always occurs to me: how smoothly the catering arrangements run at the Maidstone Masonic Centre. It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that we do not notice them: a sure sign of true professionalism. I’d like therefore to record my thanks, and those of everyone else I’m sure, to Sharon Smith of Thyme 2 Dine and her team: kitchen staff Heike Wheat, Kate Banks and Becky Kember, and serving staff Sue Taylor, Suzanne Frame, Dawn Clark, Jan Lingham, Dada Adams, Deb Hawkes, Nicki Severn and Julia Williams.

John Ray

[Photos: Paul Goodwin and John Ray]