The Province of Warwickshire has been busy this quarter. Saturday 7 March saw the formation of The Royal Leamington Spa Lodge, the 199th in the Province and destined to be a Lodge of Research.

The establishment, which took place at the Edgbaston Provincial headquarters “went exceedingly well” according to Rodney Pitham, Information Officer, from whom further information may be obtained (Tel 0121 454 4422).

Meanwhile, Vellum Lodge 5845 made history in the Province when on Friday 3 April W Bro JR Salisbury initiated Manjit Singh Sandhu (33), Amandip Singh Sandhu (30) and Sukhbinder Singh Sandhu (29) : three brothers. John Salisbury remarked : “We have been a little low in numbers, but this injection of new blood (in triplicate) will, we hope, encourage others to apply for membership. From three brothers to three generations : Stivichall Lodge 5799, meeting at Coventry, saw a ‘first’ in February. W Bro Joe Darling, Master, initiated his grandson David Wright, who was conducted round the lodge by his father W Bro Peter Wright acting as Junior Deacon, while the working tools were presented by the initiate’s brother, Paul Wright. The occasion was concluded when W Bro Darling received his 50 year certificate precisely on the anniversary of his initiation.

On 19 February Provincial Grand Master Stanley A Lates handed over £86,000 to some 160 non-masonic local and regional charities. Recipients included Training of dogs for the Disabled, St Basil’s Centre for the Homeless, Talking newspapers for the Blind in Stratford, The Birmingham Dogs Home, Birmingham Childrens’ Hospital, Cancer Concern in Rugby, the County Air Ambulance, BBC Children in Need, the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, and the Friends of Sutton Coldfield Hospital. The latter received £250 towards 2 new hydraulic baths.

On Saturday 7 November 1998, Lodge Room No 10 at Freemasons’ Hall, Gt Queen St, London, will provide the beautiful setting for a demonstration of the famous Bristol Ritual in the Third Degree by the Worshipful Master and Officers of Cabot Lodge 3884 to mark the 75th Anniversary of Bristol Lodge 4522. Further details from Secretary Peter Bryant : Tel 01242 579231.

Some masonic traditions are old; some masons are older than some traditions. On 13 January, Lodge of Tranquillity 3877 (Wirral, Merseyside) celebrated W Bro Wilf Wallworth’s 60th year in the Craft. Bro Wilf is at present 99 years old and hopes to be installed as WM in October - when he will be 100! And if you think that that is extraordinary, how about an event celebrated on Saturday 28 February 1998 at St. Andrews Lodge 6073 EC at Preston, Lancashire: a mighty 80 years in the Craft, attained by 99 years old Bro Alfred J McEwan, a Glasgow man initiated in Scotland as a Lewis of 18 years at Lodge Shettleston St John No 128 on 18 September 1918.

From an apprenticeship to marine engineers Burmeister & Wain in Glasgow, Bro McEwan served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and emigrated to New York at the age of 24. He then moved to Detroit as a toolmaker for the Ford Motor Co, where he donated money to the building of Detroit’s Masonic Temple, returning to Glasgow in 1932. Thence to Vauxhall Motors in London and eventually north to Preston, working for English Electric, then the British Aircraft Corporation until retiring in 1964. The lodge presented Bro McEwan with a beautiful cut-glass whisky tumbler suitably inscribed - and later, a bottle of Chivas Regal to fill it! As this was an Anglo-Scottish night, the haggis was piped in and Burns’ “Address to the Haggis” was rendered with gusto by W Bro Alec Dick of Lodge Hamilton Kilwinning No.7. An auld acquaintance was not forgot.

Calling all masonic collectors and curators! Peter Marks, Curator of the Dorset Provincial Museum and Library has asked FMT to garner your interest in a get-together, to discuss such matters as marketing, management, finance, cataloguing, computer-usage, valuation, restoration and preservation. Meetings could be held in London, Birmingham, Manchester or Oxford. Founded in 1926, the Dorset Museum & Library is one of the best masonic collections in the country, with over 1000 books in the library, historic aprons, china, glassware, games, watches, gifts, regalia, tarot cards, jewels and prints. All interested should contact Bro Marks at the Dorset Provincial Library & Museum, 57 Ashley Rd, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9BT (Tel/Fax : 01202 736323). If this isn’t news, perhaps your interest could make news.

And did you know anything about the International Masonic Poetry Society? Its 5th Annual General Meeting was held at the Masonic Temple, Queens Rd, Brighton on 20 March. Nearly 90 masons gathered to hear the voice of inspiration, enthusiastically received by the Master and brethren of Regency Lodge 6349. Those with ears to hear, let them hear. Contact Kevin Hylands, ‘Lions Pride’, Camberlot Rd, Upper Dicker, E.Sussex BN27 3RQ (Tel 01323 442265. e mail david @ mersinet. co. uk) Poetry is life made whole - don’t ignore it!

Saturday 25 July 1998 - that’s a date to put in your diary if you want to support the Surbiton Masonic Hall Open Day. If you’re a bit lost for words to explain what we’re about to family or friends, open days are a tremendous help for removing cobwebs and waking people up. Barrie Freeman (Tel/Fax 0181 399 2876) informs FMT that there will be two main temples laid out as for Craft and Royal Arch meetings, the Elizabethan Suite will contain charity stands. Refreshments will be served all day, and, in the Board Room, the first public showing of E Comp John Edgerley’s private collection of masonic memorabilia. Nearly 1000 individual invitations have been sent. The address is 6 The Crescent, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 4BN.

There are good reasons for becoming acquainted with the Quatuor Coronati Lodge (of Research) 2076 Correspondence Circle. In July, the focus is on Anglo-American relations with a trip organised to Virginia on the 18th. Members will visit Mount Vernon (home of George Washington) and a visit to Collingwood, commemorating military masons. And while we’re on the subject, Estcourt D Miller of QC asks readers to consider that the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle has been providing speakers for lodges since 1886, along with resources to help lodges prepare their own speaker events. Why not contact him at QC Correspondence Circle Ltd, 60 Gt Queen St, London WC2B 5BA, Tel : 0171 405 7340/Fax : 0171 404 8131 - and get in on the enjoyment?