September is proving to be the most popular time for holding Provincial meetings in the Order of the Secret Monitor, and it’s adding 1 or 2 miles to the mileage on my car.
The 10th saw me setting off at 5.45 am to drive to Oxford to catch the bus to London for a very full Masonic day, as the Quarterly Communication at Grand Lodge, coincided with the Provincial meeting of London & Middlesex OSM Province at Mark Masons Hall in the late afternoon. Unfortunately the tube strike made it a tortuous journey into Central London arriving at Marble Arch at 9.30. I then walked the length of Oxford Street to Gt Queen Street to see the Installation of the new Assistant Grand Master, the Past Grand DC, Rt Worshipful Bro. Charles Hopkinson-Woolley. The meeting was to have been chaired by The Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent, but after the untimely death of his wife, Katherine, he naturally sent his apologies.
From there, after the meeting had finished, I walked down to MMH down Pall Mall to St James’ , stopping at a Costa for lunch on the way. The meeting started at 4pm, and I and 12 of my fellow Deputy’s saw Rt Wy Br Cliffard Sturt invest and promote his Brethren for the new year, before enjoying an excellent Festive Board Carvery of a choice of Roast Beef Roast Pork or Salmon, followed by fresh fruit salad. At 9pm I then completed my new knee and hips ‘workout’ by walking back to Marble Arch to catch the bus home – thank you RMT!
The 20th saw me set off at 6.30am to drive to Preston for the West Lancashire Provincial meeting, while the drive up was fine although grey and dismal, but the return journey was spent much of the time with the windscreen wipers on double speed, until I got to the Gloucestershire border, where the roads were bone dry!
Last Saturday saw me attending one a bit nearer home at Burton upon Trent, but it was a very pleasurable occasion, as the Grand Supreme Ruler was Installing one of our fellow Deputy’s, Ian Bennett, as the new Provincial Grand Supreme Ruler of Shropshire and Staffordshire. Ian has been one of the ‘stars’ of the Deputies WhatsApp group with his wonderful sense of humour, but unfortunately, immediately after the meeting had finished, we had to ‘De-App’ him as he has now moved to ‘the other side’. Even Deputy’s have secrets!!!
This Saturday will see another early start going off to Braintree for Essex’s Provincial meeting, followed by Kent’s at Gillingham on the 11th, and then I had the choice of either the North of Scotland Province at Peterhead or the Cornwall Provincial meeting at Newquay on the 18th. I have opted for Cornwall, as again, one of ‘our’ number, Terry Conroy, is to be Installed as the new PGSR, but being a 4hr journey, this one will involve an overnight stay. Peterhead, a 9 hr journey, will have to wait till next year!
The last Provincial meeting of the year, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, takes place on the 1st of November at Botley, that will just leave Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Provincial meeting in February, before our own in March. By the time that comes around, of the 31 OSM Provinces, I will have had the pleasure, honour and privilege of representing Gloucestershire & Herefordshire at but 3, something i never ever expected in my wildest dreams, and something I wouldn’t have given up for the world!!
Thank you to W. Bro Rob Dewbery for providing the pictures and commentary.
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