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Red Letter Day for White Ensign Lodge

It was a delight to learn from the latest edition of the Provincial Square News, Edition 53 dated 22nd March, that our recently launched reconfigured website is the first in the Province of Worcestershire to receive the new UGLE Charter Mark. 

The hard work of our backroom team of W. Bro. David Crump and his son Peter have done a superb job, and it is with grateful thanks to them that we have achieved this excellent result.

Accredited lodge website

Burns Night Report

BURN’S NIGHT JANUARY 29TH, 2021

On Friday evening 29th January the Worshipful Master and his lady welcomed some 60 Members of their Ladies and Visitors to a Virtual Burn’s Night Supper.

Following a warm welcome the “Sin Bosun”, (Chaplain) rendered the Selkirk Grace and the WM paraded in a Haggis appropriately accompanied by the Pipes.

As is customary in White Ensign the WM gave the address to the Haggis in his best Scot accent with his lady, Irene, a Scot, giving the translation into English.

The Wine Takings then followed which included the Lodge’s customary taking of wine with the Armed Forces, Mercantile Marine, Blue Light Brigade and to ensure no one was left out those who never served in any of the above.

On completion, the Sin Bosun Returned Thanks and the WM then conducted an Auction for a suitably engraved Pewter Quaich, (the Scottish cup of Friendship), which raised £140, this was coupled with a Charity Appeal from W. Bro. Les Leek gave a final Charity collection raising more than £1,000. This allowed the Lodge to donate £650 to PTSD Resolution UK and £750 + Gift Aid to our Festival 2022.

The WM then commenced the Formal Toasts for the evening which included Mrs Vikki Hart proposing the toast in prose to the “Immortal Memory”, “The Lassies” proposed by Bro. Paul Tuckley, one of our Entered Apprentices, with an excellent response from Mrs Sandra Evans, “The Visitors by our Junior Warden, Bro. Martin Carver with the first-class response from W. Bro. Paul Wong.

At an appropriate time, we then Petitioned Absent Brethren with the Sin Bosun reciting the Second verse of the Naval Hymn.

The very successful evening was rounded off with W. Bro. Mike Wroe, our newly promoted Provincial Grand Officer, Proposed the Tyler’s Toast and the WM thanked everyone for their excellent support.

Junior Warden Superhero

Following several discussions with Bro. Martin Carver, our JW, W. Bro. Les Leek, our Communications Officer and the WM Bro Martin volunteered to follow in Capt Tom Moore’s footsteps and raise money for the NHS Charities through a “Just Giving” page and the Masonic Charitable Foundation, by running, what in the end proved to be, a 200Km Marathon over several days, concluding at the Houseman Memorial statue in Bromsgrove High Street on Saturday 30th May.

It commenced on 12th May at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch where Martin commenced as Spiderman before running through, over several days, the 31 Districts of Redditch dressed in one of his 3 costumes, Spiderman, Batman or Superman.

Following on from that success he then met with the Provincial Grand Master and Senior Nursing Officer at the Worcester Royal Hospital before running through Worcester, stopping for a photoshoot at the Guildhall and finishing at the Worcester Masonic Hall on Rainbow Hill where he was welcomed by our WM.

The next “Marathon” was through Birmingham commencing at the QE Hospital where Martin had a magnificent “Clap In” on the approach road lined with Hospital Dr’s, Nurses and staff before running past the City Hosp; ital in Dudley Road and concluding at Heartlands Hospital in East Birmingham, the route traversing Birmingham from West to East.

The Final Run commenced once again at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, through Finstall to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bromsgrove, where, once again, he had an emotional “Clap In” by the Nursing and Admin staff before finishing by running through Bromsgrove and concluding in the High Street, where he was met by W, Bro. Patrick Firminger, PSGD, APGM, Chairman of the Worcestershire Festival 2022 Committee for the MCF, and the WM together with his family and friends. 

The WM then, thanks to Martin’s sterling efforts, presented the APGM with a cheque for £1,000 for the MCF: this brought the Lodges contribution to just over £20,000, and then presented a Certificate of Achievement to Martin for his magnificent efforts both for the NHS and MCF Charities.