The last time I attended a Masonic meeting was on 26th February. It was the meeting of the Kudu Chapter No.8662 of the Holy Royal Arch, and I gave them a talk about Sir Charles Warren. We ate a meal together afterwards ... and on 17th March, United Grand Lodge of England suspended all Masonic activity until 17th July.
There are very few Masonic meetings during the summer months, and my first scheduled meeting should have been the Hertfordshire Provincial Grand Lodge meeting on 23rd September ... but initially this was restricted to just thirty attendees and subsequently to six(!) ... and so I was not able to attend. My second meeting should have been at Freemason’s Hall, Great Queen Street, London on 24th September ... but as I am now seventy and getting there involved travelling on public transport, I had to give my apologies.
(People in my age group have been advised not to travel by public transport if it is at all possible to avoid potential contact with someone who might be infected with COVID-19.)
Today I was going to drive to Radlett, Hertfordshire, to attend a meeting of the Veritatem Sequere Lodge No.9615 ... and despite the fact that my round trip is over one hundred miles, it would have been worth it to be able to attend a meeting and feel part of the fraternity once again. This is not to say that we haven’t kept in contact by telephone, Zoom, and WhatsApp, but to actually meet other Masons in a Temple (even if there are only going to be six of us in attendance) and to conduct the ritual of opening and closing the Lodge is something that I have been looking forward to doing for months. Unfortunately, some of those who were going to attend are now unable to, and as we need five to be quorate, the meeting will have to be abandoned.
It looks as if I am going to have to wait until at least December before I will be able to attend a Lodge meeting ... and I suspect that I will not actually do so until well into 2021.
Like all of us Bob, being able to meet up in any form is looking increasingly remote until some time in 2021:(.
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteI have a horrible feeling that the restrictions are going to last well into 2021 ... and possibly even longer.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard for you Bob missing out on the Meetings - though for good reason. Perhaps 2021 will be a boomer year for all the lost time- one can only hope. Stay well Friend. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteDuring a normal Masonic year, I usually attend at least one meeting per week. After so long, I’m really missing the interaction, and I am finding the absence of face-to-face fraternal goodwill and bon homie difficult to deal with.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
I feel your pain. I am currently a prospective joining member of a lodge since March. It will be adhering to the rule of 6 plus a Tyler. The next meeting will be in 3 weeks' time at which I will be ballotted and appointed SDn all in absentia. Strange times !
ReplyDeleteMike C,
DeleteThe wait will be worth it, and I hope that your meeting isn’t abandoned and you can become SD, even in absentia. With luck, you’ll be able to physically occupy your new office early in 2021.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
I am in a similar position. In the normal masonic season I am at perhaps one meeting per week. I am v much missing it. I do however feel that as well as the meeting, the beer afterwards and the FB is all part of the enjoyment. Just 6 people in masks doesn't really cut it.
ReplyDeleteWe abandoned our September lodge meeting and we will almost certainly do the same in December. I am hoping we can physically meet in march when we will do a double second to try and catch up.
There have been lots of zooms (in fact too many!). I did a provincial meeting on monday with 100. That element is working but I do look forward when we can all get together again
Guy
Guy,
DeleteTo me, the social interaction between Brethren is a vital part of being a Mason ... and along with the ritual aspect of our ceremonies, it is what I am really missing.
Zoom meetings help (my Mother Lodge Zoom meetings have been hilarious), and I’ve delivered a number of online talks to over a hundred Hertfordshire Masons as part of the Provincial Online Learning programme. However, meeting via Zoom isn’t the same as being at an actual meeting ... and the sooner we can restart meeting normally, the better.
Keep safe and keep well,
Bob
I know how you feel, our scout troop has started meeting face to face again. It's nice to be with the scouts and the other leaders again. We have managed to even have a couple family camps with some pretty strict rules regarding cleanliness, distance and masks. Lucky we are all OK with washing our hands and wearing masks, even if the we relax a little and just keep our distance from one-another.
ReplyDeleteMeeting in person is just so much more pleasant!
My neighbor wanted to talk to me about some masonry work he's having done and we tried to do it over the phone but...jeeze...he's right next door! We put on our masks and had a nice little chat about having our homes fixed up a bit.
Hang in there, you'll get your turn soon.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteThe personal, face-to-face meeting with someone outside your family grouping is a pleasure that should be savoured during these troubling times. It sounds as if your scout troop has managed to reignite that contact in a safe and secure way ... and I hope that circumstances allow it to continue, as I am sure that all of you received great benefit from it.
As you probably gathered, the last Masonic meeting I went to was of a Chapter (it is what we call the equivalent of a Lodge in Holy Royal Arch) that was founded by members of the Scouts (the Kudu Chapter), and which remains linked with that organisation's membership in Hertfordshire. The links between Scouting and Freemasonry go back to the beginning of the Scouting movement in the UK, and most of the early leaders were Masons before they became Scouts.
All the best,
Bob