Duke of Kent Follows Family Tradition into the Ancient and Accepted Rite

The Duke of Kent followed in the masonic footsteps of his father and great-grandfather when he had the 33º conferred on him by the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales.
     In a nice family touch, the Duke was invested with the regalia which had previously been worn by his father and by his great-grandfather, Edward VII.
     All nine members of the Supreme Council were present for the ceremony at the Order’s London headquarters, as well as two former Sovereign Grand Commanders, Canon Richard Tydeman OSM and Richard Sandbach OSM. The Duke was also elected an Honorary Member of Supreme Council.
     In addition, there were three other former members of Supreme Council present as well as the Craft Pro Grand Master Lord Northampton, and Assistant Grand Master David Williamson, both members of the 33º.

City of London Event for Medical, University and Legal Lodges

The seventh annual festival of the Association of Medical, University and Legal Lodges (AMULL) took place at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate and Haberdashers’ Hall, attended by 180 members and guests.
     The event was hosted by Rahere Lodge No. 2546, and the church service was led by Dr David Foster, Metropolitan Assistant Grand Chaplain. Among the guests were Lord Millett, the Metropolitan Grand Master for London and Lady Millett.
     The event raised £5,500 for the Sheriffs’ and Recorder’s Fund, which helps ex-offenders with small grants to those on licence under the supervision of the London Probation Service. There was an entertaining talk by Dr Stephen Jones the ‘Keeper’ (now known as the Building Manager) of the Old Bailey about that famous building.
     The festival venue, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, is the largest parish church in the City of London. Its tower and porch date from 1450 and its main body was rebuilt in 1670-1671 after damage in the Great Fire of London.
     AMULL is planning to hold its 2008 festival at Middle Temple.

Universities Scheme Meeting to Encourage Dialogue

To help to satisfy the growing demand for knowledge of and participation in the Universities Scheme, a general meeting was held at Tapton Hall, the Sheffield masonic centre, to encourage nationwide dialogue. Eighteen lodges, including current participants, attended.
     Scheme President, Assistant Grand Master David Williamson, spoke at the meeting, as did Yorkshire West Riding Provincial Grand Master John Clayton and some of the 70 seventy representatives from lodges and provinces present.
     There were a series of short presentations from participating lodges. The objective was to explain the issues lodges have faced in pursuing the aim of broadening the scope for undergraduates and other university members to join and enjoy freemasonry.
     The symposium also included a talk on the benefits and practicalities of conducting multiple ceremonies and a general discussion session. David Williamson paid tribute to all the Provincial Grand Masters who have so visibly supported the Scheme and to the committees and permanent officers in participating lodges who lie at the heart of the movement.

Masons Go Gunning in Clay Competition

Masons were out in force at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley in Surrey for the fourth Inter-Provincial Masonic Clay. Hosted by the Province of Surrey, the event was held under the auspices of the Surrey Masonic Sports Association.
     There were 87 participants representing 11 Provinces and London, as well as several non-masonic teams, who all competed over the picturesque Siberia Range at Bisley.
     The event was won by Cornwall, followed by Surrey, West Lancashire and London in fourth place. The Metropolitan Grand Lodge of London Clay Shooting Association High Gun was won by John Perrin. London has been invited to host a Home Counties Masonic Clay Shooting event next year.

Hertfordshire County Council Drops all Reference to Freemasonry on its Job Application Forms

Hertfordshire County Council has dropped all reference requiring potential employees to declare masonic membership on its job application forms.
     The decision was finally discovered after persistent inquiries from Michael Imeson, Hertfordshire Provincial information officer, led to the council confirming its decision to him by email.
     Michael Imeson said: “We had been gently probing Hertfordshire County Council to try to find out why it continued to ask about membership of Freemasonry in a question on its employment application forms.
     “We never received a real answer – indeed for more than a year we did not get an answer at all – until I sought a response in which the council itself mentioned that it was replying under the Freedom of Information Act!”
     Michael Imeson added: “I had never realised that it had been something they had been trying to keep under their hats – which is what the Freedom of Information Act is usually employed to find out – and at the end of the day it appears it was not.”
     He received the following email from the county council:
     Your request for information has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I can confirm that the County Council has recently reviewed its policy of asking employees to declare membership of Masons and as such have removed this requirement from all employment contracts. We no longer therefore ask our staff or applicants for vacancies whether they have Masonic links.
     When asked what had changed their minds, the council said that they had moved into the electronic age, and had been examining many of their forms – conditions of employment among them – and had come across examples of outmoded questions.

All The Fun of the Fair at Worcestershire Group 12's Day Out for the Kids

Group 12 of the Worcestershire Associated Masonic Lodges in the Province have again successfully organised an annual Fun-4-Kids day at Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham. Thanks to the generosity of showman Robert Wilkinson, a mason in the Province, who allows the free use of his funfair, the organisers are able to invite around 500 children from a range of local special schools, particularly in the south Birmingham area.
     The invited children face varying challenges from cerebral palsy to learning disabilities which would normally preclude them from going to events such as the fair.
     The event was supported by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, as well as the rulers of the Province, led by Provincial Grand Master Richard Goddard and his wife Helena.
     The costs are met by the subscribing lodges and a donation is made to the Benevolent Fund of the Showmen’s Guild, since the fairground volunteers took no payment for the day.
     The event would not have been possible without support from West Midlands Police, St John’s Ambulance, Robert Wilkinson Funfairs and Group 12 (and other lodges) that come along every year to steward the event.

Speculative and Stonemasons Play Key Role in Armed Forces Memorial Construction

The new National Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas, Derbyshire, opened by the Queen last October, has a special meaning for Derbyshire Freemason Ian Hodgkinson – his local construction company supplied the 250,000 bricks and built the primary structures of the dramatic site.
     The circular memorial features a slit in the east wall to allow a beam of sunlight to fall on the focal point centre stone exactly at 11am on 11 November – Remembrance Day.
     Ian, a member of Cantelupe Lodge No. 8247 in Derbyshire also supplied a number of stonemasons to carry out a significant part of the Portland stone cladding in addition to the brickwork.
     The £6 million memorial bears the names of 16,000 men and women killed in combat and training as well as by acts of terrorism since the end of World War II.
     Ian and his wife Allison were presented to the Queen at a reception after the ceremony which was also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

Guide to Emulation Working is Published

A new book – Emulation Working Today – has been written by Graham Redman, Assistant Grand Secretary, who has been on the Committee of Emulation Lodge of Improvement since 1980 and its senior member since 2002.
     It has taken Graham some 20 years to finally get the book to print, having written the first draft of part of it in 1987, and should be seen as complementary to the published ritual.
     He said: “The book should enable anybody to work out how to do the ritual accurately. It is more about the accuracy of actions than the accuracy of words.”
     Following the union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813, a new ritual was approved and in October 1823 the Emulation Lodge of Improvement was founded. However, the official Emulation ritual was only printed as late as 1969.
     Describing the purpose of the book, which has been published by Lewis Masonic, Graham Redman states: “It does not claim to be exhaustive as a description of Emulation working, for in many, if not most, cases the Emulation ritual is quite clear as to the procedure that is to be followed.
     “There are, however, many instances where, despite what might be thought a clear description in the rubric of the ritual, brethren commonly fail to carry out the work in accordance with Emulation working, which, it should not be forgotten, preserves as far as possible the only Craft ritual that has ever been formally approved by the Grand Lodge.”