Brethren All,
I greet you all well and hope that you are safe and well. Perhaps you have been out a little more or ventured out for the first time for a while. Pat and I have been into Andover a couple of times, in some ways it seems strange but feeling more normal. The simple things in life are best.
My Dear Friends,
Pat has been busy picking soft fruits from our garden and has turned much of it into jam. We now have an additional seven jars of mixed fruit jam. This will not stay on the shelf long as it is then distributed to our children and grandchildren.
My Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Here I am again, sitting here on a Saturday morning thinking of what I am going to put in the letter today. At the moment it is raining, my garden certainly needs it, but what good weather we have had during the week. It has been too hot for some and we have found it cooler indoors than out, eases the thought of lockdown a little.
Following a recent donation from the Province, we were delighted to receive this letter:
My Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As it is Father’s Day tomorrow I thought I might start a little differently this week. I do not know how some of you reacted when one of your children were born, but way back in 1965, when my son was born, I looked at him and thought, “ I am now responsible for making you fit for this world.” It has been a pleasure to see him grow and mature.
The list of planned official visits for 2020-21 can be found here. These are of course subject to guidelines concerning gatherings and are pending further guidance from the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons.
My Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I hope that you are all safe and well. Today I wish to start by offering our heartiest congratulations to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on her official Birthday. Like us I am sure that she will miss seeing the wonderful ceremony of the Trooping of The Colours. This is usually a magnificent parade which many of us enjoy. We all wish her well.
£1,000.00 has been donated to each of the nine Hospices in Hampshire and Isle of Wight for the express purpose of buying Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).
The Hospices to benefit are:
Please find below a link to a message from the Grand Master.
Goodwill Message to Mark Brethren 09062020.pdf
Congratulations to all those awarded Mark Grand Rank in Active roles or First Appointment to Past Rank.
Brethren,
Under normal circumstances today should be one of the highlights of our Masonic year, a visit to Great Queen Street to attend the Annual investiture of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons. Sadly this is not to be and I shall miss the train journey to London, meeting up with so many friends and members of my Province, enjoying their company but more importantly to witness our Brethren invested by the Most Worshipful The Grand Master his Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, an honour I personally remember on my first appointment.