Leicester M.A. Students Visit Library at Freemasons' Hall

A small group of students studying for an M.A. in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester visited the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London. They were guided around the museum by the Curator Mark Dennis. The trip consisted of a tour of the ceremonial areas of Freemasons’ Hall including the Grand Temple, lodge room no. 1 and the beautiful ‘Egyptian’ inspired lodge room no.10. This was followed by a visit to the museum itself.

Essex Charity Auction for Cardiac Care

What have Michael Owen, John Travolta, Sting and Greg Norman got in common? They, along with many other familiar stars, helped to support a Charity Auction Night at the end of June in the Province of Essex, spearheaded by Southchurch Hall Lodge No. 8005, who donated items for the event. This helped to raise a grand total of £2,500. The money was raised in aid of the Southend Hospital Cardiac Care Unit and will be presented via the local Cardiac Support Group ‘Take Heart’.
    The evening took 6 months to plan. Many local companies and local businessmen were approached, all of whom very generously gave their support in some way. Many television and sporting personalities were approached, and the Charity Auction contained well over 100 separate lots.

Battle of Britain Pilots Active in Freemasonry

Tony Pickering and Ken Wilkinson are members of the Warwickshire Royal Air Force Lodge No. 9456 and conceived the idea of raising money in their Lodge donate to the fund for the Battle of Britain Monument to be erected on the Embankment in London in 2004. They to presented the cheque for the money they had raised to Ken Mackenzie, a trustee of the fund.

Masons and Scouts Open New Building

April 2003 saw the opening of the new ‘Rowallan’ building at the County Campsite at Chalfont Heights, Middlesex. The project is the result of three years’ fund raising which has been supported by many lodges and chapters, who have contributed more than £3,000 towards the project.
    The new building, named after Lord Rowallan the third Chief Scout, can accommodate thirty in six bedrooms and is fully equipped to meet special needs requirements, a modern kitchen and hall for indoor activities.

Canonbury Masonic Research Centre

Public lectures organised by the CMRC are held on Wednesdays, 7.00-9.00 pm.
18 February: Dr. Ahmed Osman, Moses and Akhenaten - the Secret History of Egypt at the Time of the Exodus
17 March: Michael Edwards, On Contemplating the Heavens - Hermetic and Cultural Cosmology
21 April: Robert Gilbert, The Crucified Rose - The Rosicrucian Diaspora in the English-speaking World
To reserve a place at the lectures please send a cheque for £7 payable to Canonbury Masonic Research Centre
Available now: The Canonbury Papers – Volume 1 – The Social Impact of Freemasonry on the Modern Western World. Enquiries: Carole McGilvery 020 7226 6256 email mcgilvery@canonbury.ac.uk www.canonbury.ac.uk

Centre for Research into Freemasonry, Sheffield University

20 January: John Goodchild, The Freemasons and the Unitarians: Connections and Contrasts in the Library Seminar Room, Dept of History, 387 Glossop Road at 5.15 pm
The following speakers will be presenting papers during the Spring semester. Dates to be confirmed. Please telephone 0114 222 9890 or email Julie Banham at j.p.banham@sheffield.ac.uk for further information.
Lisa Cooper - will speak on the ‘Old Charges’
Pierre Mollier from the Grand Orient of France
Prof. Jose Ferrer Benimeli - Universidad de Zaragoza
News of the Centre’s work is regularly posted on its website: www.shef.ac.uk/~crf.

The Cornerstone Society

This is the Society for those Freemasons who have ever asked themselves questions about the deeper meaning behind our masonic ritual. A series of talks to individual lodges is planned, the first of which will be given on Thursday 26 February 2004 when Julian Rees will deliver a talk at Broadsmith Lodge No. 3593 (Wallasey, Cheshire) entitled Freemasonry - the Heart of the Matter. Brief synopsis: We make much use of the word heart in our rituals, but we seem to interpret this in relation to our fellow man, rather than towards ourselves. In fact the heart is at the centre of all we should do on our masonic path. The Broadsmith Lodge meets at Manor Road, Wallasey, Wirral.
All those wishing to attend are invited to send a stamped addressed envelope and a cheque for £ 16.00 for the Lodge meeting and dinner, cheques made payable to Broadsmith Lodge and addressed to John Ekblom, 14 Copeland Close, Pensby, Wirral, CH61 8TH, saying ‘Feb 26 talk’. A ticket will be sent. Further details from John Ekblom tel. 0151 648 9345 or email zen13972@zen.co.uk
The fifth London Conference will be held on Saturday 26 June 2004 and the fourth Northern Conference will be held at Leyland, Lancs on Saturday 13 November 2004. Website – www.workingtools.org Email – workingtools@aol.com

Quatuor Coronati

Thursday 19 February 2004 A Belgian Lodge in Exile in London During the 1914-1918 War. Speaker: Michel L. Brodsky.
Thursday 13 May 2004 The Contribution of the Provinces to the Development of English Freemasonry (the Prestonian Lecture for 2003). Speaker: Prof. Aubrey Newman
Thursday 24 June 2004 The Ogilvy Papers. Speaker: Robert Cooper.
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