Queensway Mark Lodge Advancement Ceremony gets a Team Visit! |
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| Have you ever had a feeling of deja-vu? Me too. Last week at Prescot. On Monday I attended an advancement ceremony at Prescot Mark Lodge, with Michael Clarke, Steve Clarke (no relation!) Peter Hegarty, and a young brother who stood in as SD to assist the Lodge, called Peter Connolly. And we did it all again on Friday, but this time the acting SD brought 31 members of his Provincial Team! George Woods also served as JD for both Lodges, even though this was only his 3rd meeting.....and naturally Peter Connolly could be seen helping him every step of the way. | |
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The last Team Visit this season |
The Team practises |
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| John Waring makes sure we are all present | Doug Little plays at his last Team visit before retiring |
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John Dutchman-Smith, Provincial Treasurer |
John Waring, Geoff Lee & John Bicknall |
| I can only imagine how our candidate John Askew must have felt, being guided around the Lodge by the Provincial Grand Master. He will forever remember this almost unique honour. | |
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Our candidate John Duncan Askew |
And joining member Dr Raymond Christian |
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Special Rep, PrGSec, and 2 AsstPGMs. Impressive!! |
Queensway gather round for the ceremony |
| As well as the PGM acting as SD, and George Wood as JD, David Rigby of Prince of Wales Lodge stood in at short notice for the JO, and did an excellent job. It was wonderful to have a Chaplain with real contacts, in the person of VWBro Reverend Walter Balmer, who is a member of Queensway, and also Deputy Chaplain of the Province. | |
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| And a young man called Connolly stands in as SD! | Wardens Peter Hegarty & Giles Berkley |
| greet the new Mark Man | |
| WM Alan Scarrott ably performed the first part of the ceremony, with Secretary David Richards doing a great job on the second part. Ken Acton delivered the last part of the ceremony, the address to the candidate, which he had obviously spent a lot of time on, as it was flawless. Michael Clarke delivered the working tools in his usual accomplished manner. | |
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Giles returns his Prov.GSW jewel to Geoffrey Lee |
Peter Hegarty returns his Prov.GJW jewel to John Bicknall |
| The festive board was a very happy event, with Peter Connolly entertaining us with his usual mix of humour and information. As this was the last Team visit of the season, Giles Berkley responded on behalf of the Provincial Officers, and thanked Peter Connolly, Keith Beardmore, Michael Clarke and Ian Nairn for their kind support and assistance during this wonderful year, but did point out that he thought Peter Connolly had been better as SD on Monday! | |
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| Acting Deacons George Wood & Peter Connolly | Provincial Tyler Ernest Gavan wins the raffle! |
| The WM proposed the toast to the new candidate John Askew, and also welcomed the new joining member, Ray Christian, both of whom will be great assets to the Lodge. John Askew responded, saying how proud he had been to be guided round the Lodge by the PGM, and thanked all the members and guests who took part in a very enjoyable ceremony. | |
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Newest Mark Man John Askew gets the newest tie |
Giles speaks for the last time on behalf of the Team |
| WM Alan Scarrott rounded off the evening nicely by presenting a cheque for the West Lancashire Mark Charities. The last Team visit of the year came to an end, with all the acting officers having had a superb year, and having made many more Mark friends all around the Province, and on this evening at Queensway, where the Lodge secretary David Richards had organised such a big meeting with great efficiency. | |
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John Askew with Ken Acton |
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Words and pictures from Giles Berkley |
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