Dear Brethren All,

A hearty greeting to you all and I trust that you are all as well as can be expected. This will be my last fortnightly letter, we will, hopefully, be able to meet as much as we can face to face, if and when we wish from the 1st September. However I will continue with a monthly letter from the beginning of October. Restrictions have been lifted but the virus seems to continue to spread so please be cautious, only attend meetings as and when you feel comfortable. It has been said before, if you do not wish to shake hands then feel comfortable by keeping your hands by your sides. Likewise if you feel it necessary to wear a face mask please do so, we must all be aware of each other’s feelings so that all are comfortable within themselves.

Dear Brethren All,  

 I trust that I find you as well as can be expected and safe from harm. The restrictions having been lifted we now have to carefully follow any local directives in place. Hopefully you will all be of the opinion that you wish to meet up with  your fellow brethren, but there must be no pressure on you if you wish to still keep away from meetings until you see  how things are developing. The matter of shaking hands or wearing of facemasks is a very much a personal choice, please do not feel uncomfortable if you decline to shake hands or you wish to wear a face mask.

Dear Brethren All,

What a week this has been for the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight. On Wednesday some of us were privileged to witness W. Bro. Steve Allum be Installed as the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent for the Royal Arch Chapter of the Province which, was followed in the afternoon by the Installation of V. W. Bro. Jonathan Whitaker as the Rt. W. Provincial Grand Master in the Craft. Both ceremonies were carried out in an excellent manner, at the same time being very meaningful. Understandably both Brethren expressed the disappointment that due to covid restrictions, the ceremonies had to take place outside of the Province, with the numbers of those attending very restricted.

Dear Brethren All,  

Well, another fortnight has gone by and here I am again putting finger tips to the computer keyboard. I trust that you are continuing to keep safe and well, although I am aware that some of you are suffering, as I am kept up to date as to the welfare of many of you. It is not possible to look after you all personally but we do have a good bunch of Lodge Almoners doing fantastic jobs. Thank you to all of them for their unstinted efforts.

The Provincial Grand Lodge of MMM of East Lancashire have published the results of their Festival in aid of the Mark Benevolent Fund. Find the report here: {phocadownload view=file|id=77|target=s}

Dear Brethren All,

Hello to you all on a Saturday when many of us had been booked in for the 153rd Benevolent Fund Festival in Manchester to assist East Lancs celebrate their efforts. That is not to be, we await the announcement of the final total of their Fund Raising, which must have been curtailed due to the pandemic.

Brethren,

There has been a terrific fundraising event from the members of New Forest Mark Lodge No 611. Bro Lee Marsh completed 24 hours of golf, completing his challenge and raising nearly ¬£3,000 for the mental health charity MIND.

Dear Brethren All, 

A good morning to you all and I hope that you are all as well as can be expected. It was not unexpected that the roadmap should be looked at and the relaxation of restrictions delayed for a while. The rate at which the virus is spreading is frightening but hopefully the vaccinations will be beneficial to all. I am sorry that some have had planned meetings cancelled but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Dear Brethren All,

It has been really nice this week to catch up with some of the family and give them a hug. I have had this pleasure with all three of my daughters and it was great. I hope that some of you have had the opportunity similar pleasure.

Dear Brethren All,

This has been a different week in a number of ways. I did manage to attend the funeral of W. Bro. Stan Brooker on Monday at Basingstoke Crematorium. The limit of those attending these premises is now 60, it is well organised and appears safe, with social distancing very easy to observe. W. Bro Stan was a proud man and one that we can be proud of, there was a good masonic presence with some travelling down from Beaconsfield.