Dear Brethren All,

It with a great sadness that I, along with you, I acknowledge the passing of our Gracious Lady, Queen Elizabeth II, from this earthly life. I have stated in another letter that I remember the day her father, King George VI died, I was at Secondary School and we were called in to the hall, the headmaster, Mr. Poole announced, “The King is dead, you may go home for the rest of the day and I will see you all tomorrow. Long lived the Queen.” There was not the T.V. coverage that we have today, only the radio to listen to for news.

Dear Brethren All,

Well, at last we have had some rain for the gardens and to start replenishing the reserves. The lawn is at last,  beginning to return to green in colour although we do have rather a large patch of brown grass in one area. The blackberries continue to bear good fruit so Pat is still making crumbles and jam. Although we have had to cut back a little on making the crumbles as the freezer decided that it has had enough and is not working properly so we have had to purchase a new one, which should be delivered Tuesday. Thankfully we have a daughter living nearby who has been able to store some of the contents from the freezer. This rain has also increased the bird life in the garden. The other morning we watched a large number of sparrows foraging in the lawn for grubs. We have also witnessed starlings doing the same thing. All points to happiness.

Dear Brethren All,

What a wonderful piece of news we received yesterday the Rt. W. Bro. John Herbert Prizeman is to be Obligated and Invested as Pro Grand Master at the September Communication of Mark Grand Lodge. I am sure that you will all join me in offering him our sincerest and heartiest congratulations on this appointment. John has served Mark Masonry with dedication for a number of years and will, I am sure, continue to do so for a number of years yet. It would be good if as many brethren as possible are able to attend this special meeting, to give him our support and to the other worthy brethren who are to be appointed as our Rulers. Once again I say Many congratulations to Rt. W. Bro. John, he is supported well by his wife Kay.

Dear Brethren All,

I am compiling this early so that I can get myself ready to join a number of you at Botley to support those of our Brethren who are receiving Promotions in Mark Provincial Grand Lodge. Congratulations to them all and I hope that they have an enjoyable day.

Dear Brethren All,

Last week this time, Pat and I were coming to the end of a cruise around the Isles of Scotland and Belfast. It was at last good to get away for a holiday. Pat very much wanted to visit Scapa Flow, which we were able to do. It was fascinating to see how the Churchill barriers were used, not only to protect the natural harbour from attack but to connect some of the Isles together.

Dear Brethren All,

In my last letter I mentioned attending the Installation of Rt. W. Bro. Keith David Bristow as Provincial Grand Master of the Mark Province of Buckinghamshire, it was a splendid day. W. Bro. Ian Vincent was the Grand Standard Bearer, accompanying the Pro. Grand Master, Most W. Bro. Raymond John Smith.  One thing I learned was that Rt. W. Bro. Keith was Advanced in Thomas A Becket Lodge of Mark Master Masons, No.  775, so he has an association with our Province. During the day I was speaking with some of the Brethren from Cheshire who asked if I knew Charles Bailey, I answered in the affirmative, to be told that the person I was speaking to takes Charles‚Äô wife, Josie, out socially. It is a small world. Josie is keeping quite well.

Dear Brethren All,

What a glorious week of sunshine we have had, putting much needed vitamins into our bodies. I know that not everyone is comfortable with such heat but I trust that you have been able to cope well with the conditions. It has not been such a good week on the health side for Pat and I as last Sunday, on arriving back from a masonic meeting in Hinckley, I tested positive for covid, and Pat proved positive on the Monday. We have spent the week isolating and trying not to spread the virus too much. Thankfully it was like having a cold but we were very tired. We are now beginning to feel a lot better. Figures show that there has been an increase in the number of infections so Please, be careful and take care of yourselves. Pat has spent some time sitting on the patio and completing jigsaws that we received for Christmas.

Dear Brethren All,

I hope that you were able to celebrate Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee yesterday. What a remarkable woman and an inspiration to us all in dedication to duty to her Country and the Commonwealth. We wish her our deepest congratulations and such an achievement.