Great start to the season for Lodge St George Bahrain
Meetings resumed in style at Lodge St. George Bahrain 7389 in Ashford on Saturday 7th September, when the Lodge was honoured to welcome 22 visitors from 11 different Lodges at their first meeting after the summer break.
Brethren from other Ashford based Lodges were joined by Masons from London, from Sussex and even from Hong Kong, representing the following:
Stour Lodge 2305, Derwent Lodge 40, Hastings Lodge 2692, Lodge of St. George 6054, St George Abadan Lodge 6058, Ashford Lodge 8945, Setech Lodge 8185, Malay Lodge 5213, University Lodge of Hong Kong 3666, Rose of England Lodge 6493 and United Strength Lodge 228.
W. Bro. Allan Watson ( who seems to be trying to set a record as this is his fifth consecutive year as Worshipful Master of a lodge) impressed everyone by Raising Bro. Matthew Harrison in style, who surprisingly before his raising was actually the acting Inner Guard – that was a surprise! Having conducted the degree in its entirety the WM finished off by delivering a flawless and heartfelt Walking Charge. The only note of concern was from the Senior Warden, W. Bro. John Banks, when he realised that he will have to try and top the performance next year.
The IPM and Charity Steward, W. Bro. Clive Hallett was a welcome sight as he had fallen critically ill in May: evidence that he is well on the way to recovery came in the form of his ability to open wallets in the cause of Charity.
Continuing, the secretary W.Bro Richard McAllister said ‘The Festive Board really lived up to its name and the Brethren even managed to remain cheerful when another £240 was extracted from them by Bro. Colin Yalden for the raffle. The usual toasts included a particular mention for W. Bro. David Birchenough PGOrg for Sussex who volunteered to play during the meeting, and a humorous response from the Visitors from W. Bro. Robyn Murdo-Smith of St. George Abadan Lodge (our grandmother Lodge).’
So, on to planning return visits!
Following their visit W.Bro David Birchenough PGOrg for the Province of Sussex wrote:
So I suppose the question is ‘Why did 14 masons from East Sussex make a trek to Ashford?’
Because you can!…
We are told that when we become a master mason, say you are in a town you do not know, we can visit any lodge, our certificate is our kind of Masonic passport, though we should be prepared to be challenged and know our signs, tokens and words.
The hard part though is actually ‘making contact’.
In early July, bored on a Wednesday night, I looked on my phone where the train lines went from st Leonard’s, both North and East and to which towns.
I looked at the towns to see if there was a Masonic Hall. There are a few. In various places around 1-1 1/2 hours ride away.
The downside I found is that not all of the hall websites list the lodges that meet there, and even less have links to make contact with them.
Ashford did…
I looked, Lodge St George Bahrain met on a Saturday and had a link to their website and a line to say they welcomed visitors with, most importantly, contact details.
So I sent an email to the secretary and went from there.
I spread the word round my lodge and others members in st Leonard’s and a good few expressed interest and it all came together into a train ride (we all managed to get the same train), a pub then on to an afternoon meeting. We set up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch. Really simple to do.
We arrived in Ashford just after 1pm on the Saturday.
Turned a fair few heads as a bunch of guys in dark suits, pinstripes and cases walked up the main road together. No idea what some were thinking. But sometimes that’s the fun. Knowing we are harmless kind bunch of friends. Not a fictitious group of mafiosos.
Anyway…
When we arrived at the Hall, we were greeted warmly at the door, looked after and given a quick tour. We got our aprons on and settled down in the lodge room.
The meeting was great. We enjoyed an excellent 3rd ceremony, with some extra bits which has inspired some of us in Sussex to ‘learn’ some new parts.
Then on to a well stocked and very affordable bar, nice food, good company and a friendly festive board.
We arrived as strangers and left with over a dozen new friends each, which at its heart is a big part of the joy of being a mason.
The question I am getting now is ‘so where are we going next’?
I would actively encourage anyone to do the same, but also put it out there that if we want people to come to visit us, we really do need to make our buildings, our websites and our lodges accessible and contactable.
