Dear Brethren All,
I trust that most of you are safe and well on this sunny Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I am aware that there are a number of you in hospital or suffering at home with ill health. To all of you, I send my best wishes, assuring you that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
The weather lately has been more conducive to getting out in the garden, tidying up where necessary, planting out seeds or plants ready for later in the year. Pat has sown some turnips, broad beans, runner beans, tomatoes and lettuces, which are all coming along nicely. I have to make sure, during the next few days, that they are ok as Pat is attending a Trefoil Guiding Conference in Jersey. I hope that your gardens are coming along well, this sunshine make a lot of difference to us all in many ways.
The Annual Mark Provincial meeting went well I am told, congratulations to all who received honours on that day. On the 11th June I will be attending Mark Grand Lodge to see some of you honoured with your First Appointments to Mark Grand Lodge, well done all of you, enjoy the moment.
The seminar that I attended on Care and Dementia was very well attended, being once again well presented by professional and dedicated people. There is a lot to learn about this condition which comes in many forms, dementia is the umbrella word for medically recognised conditions and illnesses. Malcolm Collier and Malcolm Childs, together with their team can be very proud of what they put on.
In the past I have shared some sayings that I feel very apt and I now give you some more, “ A woman is like a tea bag, you never know how strong she is until she gets in to hot water.” Pat has one on the fridge which reads, “ Grandchildren and great grandchildren spoilt here.” Another, “ Grandchildren are God’s gift for being a Parent.” We, like many of you, are blessed with a loving family, we do not see them often but we know they are there if needed. These last few years have shown how we need one another for support and sharing life’s difficulties and also the very good times. Not all families are close knit, I know, but I would like to think that where there may be differences, a path to coming back together can be found. We all belong to the family of masonry and should be caring for each other. Please keep those lines of communication open and make contact with other brethren that we have not seen for a while.
Best wishes
Malcolm Lloyd, P.G.S.D., Prov. Grand Almoner