Provincial Almoners Weekly Letter

I trust that many of you watched the Provincial Wardens on their usual Monday evening communication. What a good meeting it was with the Deputy Grand Master, Rt. W. Bro. John Herbert Prizeman addressing us. As usual he was candid and gave us food for thought, at the same time bringing us up to date as to what is happening at Mark Mason‚Äôs Hall. Sir, we thank you very much indeed for that. We then had the draws taking place, our PGM was rewarded for his support of good causes in finishing with two prizes. He then demonstrated his generosity further in the presence of us all. As VGO to Oakley RAM Lodge, I was over the moon when their name was drawn out of the hat as winners of the Provincial Teams‚Äô offer to carry out an Elevation Ceremony. 

Congratulations to Winchester Mark Lodge for being the beneficiaries of having an Advancement 

Ceremony being carried out by the same team, well done. We must also congratulate all those Brethren who have been informed of their preferment to RAMGR. Well done to you all, it is well deserved. 

As the weather is deteriorating and the evenings draw in there is not so much to do in the gardening so I have taken up the paint brush to start smartening up the d√©cor indoors. As I do this the house seems to get bigger and bigger. I will get there in my own time. 

To answer one comment from last week, yes, Andover is well above sea level and we live on one of the highest points in the town so perhaps I might have been exaggerating about the need to build the Ark but some of you must have really suffered from the heavy rain. I hope that you all coped with this without too much damage. 

The pandemic seems to be taking hold in some parts of the country more than others, and as the Deputy Grand Master stated, many of our brethren in the North are not meeting at all and have no chance to do so, even in a restricted number, for some time yet. Please spare them some thought. We still have to proceed with caution and be very careful, keep safe and look after yourselves and loved ones. 

God Bless you all 

Malcolm Lloyd, G.S.D., Prov. Grand Almoner