The Mark Provincial Ball |
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Saturday 12th October 2013 |
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The Mark Ball again took place at the Marriot Hotel just outside Preston, expertly organised by Paul and Sally Snape, who have done the job for some sixteen years! It was no surprise therefore that Geoff & Sally again managed to organise a really wonderful party, as it was referred to by our Prov.GM Peter Connolly. |
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Andy Wiltshire, Sue and Dave Winder |
Ian Nairn and Family |
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Dave and Sue with Any Wiltshire |
Keith and June Beardmore, Bill and Denise Ainsworth |
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Geoff and Marion Lee |
Lynne Connolly with Giles and Sandra Berkley |
| The evening started with the traditional greeting by Peter & Lynne, a handshake for the men, and a hug for the ladies, as each person was announced in for dinner by Dave Emmerson, our hardworking Provincial DC. We were treated to a really fantastic meal of baby gammon for main course, and profiteroles for dessert, which looked suspiciously like strawberry cheesecake, but no-one complained! | |
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Russ Greenhow with his lovely wife |
Peter & Cath Weller |
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Peter & Lynne step of with their left foot |
Peter meets Hanora and les Moore |
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Peter with Stan Oldfield and his lady |
Superb organisers Paul and Sally Snape |
| Straight after dinner the Wardens presented Lynne Connolly with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, to thank her for allowing Peter so much time out every week, throughout the year, and for being outside at most meetings to get him home safely! The Prov.GM then gave his after dinner speech, in which he thanked all the organisers, and presented Geoff & Sally Snape with a gift and flowers for all their hard work. He amused us all with his usual funny tales and jokes, welcomed the first time attenders, and then announced that the party was now open. |
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Tony Farrar, Amanda and Les Moore |
Tony and Amanda |
| The dance floor was immediately filled to the sounds of the band Pyramid, who provided a well judged mixture of old and new tunes, and kept everyone happily dancing all night. We had many distinguished Masons from all over the Province, including Our Deputy PGM Keith Beardmore, and our Assistant Ian Nairn and their wives. Tony Harrison and David Winder, Assistants in the Craft, and Stanley Oldfield, Third Provincial Grand Principal in the Royal Arch, and of course Danny Jones past Mark Assistant were also there. We were also honoured with the presence of Tom Marlowe, Mayor of Neston and his family. There were 185 people there, so please forgive me if you have not all been mentioned! | |
| A picture is better than a thousand words, so I will leave the pictures to tell the rest of the story, of an evening which will long live in the memories of those lucky enough to attend. The rumours that the party went on after hours until 4am were wildly exaggerated. It was only 3.30am.....for some, breakfast was a quiet occasion, and we all look forward to doing it all again next year! | |
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| Story and pictures by Giles Berkley Prov.GSW | |
