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BACK NEXT Summer 2005 Issue 33 Letter from the Editor News Briefing News and Views On The Level News Beyond the Craft International News Julian Rees Unity and Diversity Seeking That Which Has Been Lost Light Invisible Nearer to the Great Architect in a Garden A Weekend Away After the Flames Brother Lightfoote's Journal Letters to the Editor Review: Level Steps Review: Radical Prince Review: The Voyages of the Venetian Brothers Review: Templars in America Canon Richard Tydeman Copyright 1997-2008 FREEMASONRY TODAY Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited

FREEMASONRY TODAY Summer 2005 - Issue 33 - Index Letter from the Editor - Michael Baigent Many Freemasons remain concerned about the viability of the Craft. They point to the continued drop in numbers, the demise of lodges and the financial pressure that many Masonic Centres are facing as evidence of a continued deep malaise. It seems to me that we need to put this matter into some kind of perspective in order to identify the core of the problem; only then can we consider initiatives and actions. Looking firstly at the context, it is clear that Freemasonry is not alone in being an organisation facing declining support; associations like Rotary and the Lions’ Clubs have seen a big drop in membership; the Church of England is struggling to maintain its position ... News Briefing: New Provincial Grand Master for Derbyshire — Brothers and Sisters, Knights and Nobles News and Views: Essex Freemasons Spread Charity — Dorset Provides Air Ambulance — Cornish Freemasons’ Medical Assistance — Museums Group Visits Sindlesham — Medical, University and Legal Lodges — Songs of Praise in Bletchley — Provincial Grand Master Acts as Junior Deacon — Charity Initiative: Sussex 4 Sussex — North Wales Wheelchair Curling — Black Country Masonic Tradition On the Level: Cheshire Helps Belarus Children — Bicester Helps Hospices — East Yorks Affairs of the Heart — Hants Wheelchair for Needy Child — Canonbury Masonic Research Centre — Centre for Research into Freemasonry, Sheffield University — The Cornerstone Society — Quatuor Coronati News Beyond the Craft: Hertfordshire Mark Masons Present Ambulance — Development of Masonic Orders in India and the Far East International News: Paris Georgian Group Celebrates — Royal Arch Developments in Estonia — Masonic Art in California — Indian Freemasons Feed the Poor — Educating Children in Nebraska — American Grand Masters’ Conference Insights of the Human Heart Once again, I have two subjects whose links I shall try to demonstrate. The first is this; some years ago, there was a lady of my acquaintance, who wanted guidance for her daughter in what subjects to suggest for her ‘A’ level exams. She asked me what subjects my own daughter was taking, and on learning that my daughter’s chosen subjects were classical Greek, Latin, and modern German, remarked with amazement: ‘That’s not going to be much use for her later in her career, is it?’. At that stage, over twenty years ago, I had not yet realised how endangered was the teaching of the humanities. At that stage, without my fully realising it, education had become the preserve ... Unity and Diversity The District of East Africa covers a vast area, comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Seychelles Islands, and the membership covers probably more ethnic, religious and cultural groups than any other masonic district in the world. Sir Jayantilal Keshavji Chande KBE, former District Grand Master for the District of East Africa, last year celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his initiation. Affectionately known as Sir Andy Chande ... Seeking That Which Has Been Lost Our cruise-ship slowly pirouetted on Lake Nasser before the two temples at Abu Simbel; that of Ramses II, distinctive with its four huge seated figures at the entrance, and that more modest one of his daughter, Nefertari. As the ship swung slowly about, selections from the operas Aida and Nabucco soared into the light breeze ... Light Invisible It would seem that the Editor of Freemasonry Today is still concerned about my education as he has sent me for another learning experience; this time with David Stevenson, Emeritus Professor of History, St Andrews University, Scotland; author of The Origins of Freemasonry – Scotland’s Century and The First Freemasons - Scotland’s Early Lodges and their Members I wanted to speak with David Stevenson on his claim that ... Nearer to the Great Architect in a Garden At first sight you might not think that there is much of a connection between gardens and Freemasonry. Masonic symbolism is surely all about architecture, and gardening is about working with things that grow. Nevertheless there is a connection, in fact many connections, and if this seems far-fetched it may be because we need to widen our conception of both gardening and what a ‘masonic garden’ might be ... A Weekend Away In days gone by, the format in which lodges would organise a ladies’ festival comprised a dinner dance at a local hotel, with a toastmaster and some tasteful gifts. Nowadays, lodges are more and more planning weekends away, either in holiday and other resorts in the United Kingdom or, increasingly, at continental or Irish resorts ... After the Flames It was as a guest of one of the Lodges in the Province of Derbyshire that I first met H.W. (Bert) Marks in 1992. He had just been formally appointed Librarian of the Province and his enthusiasm and warm sense of humour were as apparent then as they are today. In just a few months Bert retires, giving up what has been a labour of love for some two decades and he was rightly awarded the Provincial Grand Master’s certificate of Merit ... Brother Lightfoote's Journal Saint Gwen was a remarkable woman: she had three breasts. The reason for this mammary exuberance was revealed when she gave birth to three saints: Wethnoc, Iacob and Winwaloe. She decamped to France to escape a pestilence that was ravaging the countryside but was twice captured by English pirates and carried back to England. Undaunted, on both occasions, she calmly walked back across the Channel. At the end of her life, however, she decided to return to Canonicorum (Dorset) where sculptures at Whitchurch (to the French she is St. Blanche) ... Letters to the Editor Mysteries of Promotion — Sell Freemasons’ Hall? — Costs of Freemasonry — Music in Lodges — Cost of Regalia — Cycling Masons — Replacing the Gauge With a Centimetre Rule? — Emperor of Austria: a Freemason? Review: Level Steps Review: Radical Prince Review: The Voyages of the Venetian Brothers Review: Templars in America Canon Richard Tydeman The trouble about getting old is that one can easily lose touch with the young; we don’t always seem to be speaking the same language! For instance, I will freely admit that I have never listened to Radio One in my life and consequently had never even heard of a disc jockey called John Peel. So when a young lady told me, in a sorrowful voice, that ‘John Peel has died’, I wrongly imagined that this was some sort of catch or a juvenile joke, so I replied, ‘Well, he had probably just heard that the government propose to abolish hunting.’ The young lady looked at me in bewilderment. ‘What’s that got to do with it?’ she asked. ‘Oh,’ said I, ‘D’ye ken him - with his hounds and his horn ...   Issue 33, Summer 2005 © FreemasonryToday 1997-2008