A very busy night at Leigh
 
16th November 2015
 
Leigh Royal Ark Mariners No 1322 and Leigh Mark Lodge, (same number) always meet in November on the same night and this year was no exception with a candidate in the RAM and demonstration in the Mark.
 
The evening started early with David Porter, a member of Rose and Thistle Mark Lodge No 158 of Pemberton being elevated as a Royal Ark Mariner Mason, by W Commander of Leigh Ram, Derek Todd ably assisted by his officers in a very pleasant ceremony.
W Commander Derek Todd greets David Porter after the ceremony, together with Ken Alker, and Ian Clark
At the conclusion the lodge room was cleared and then set up for a demonstration of The Building of the Sacred Arch of King Solomon’s Temple by members of Rose and Thistle Mark Lodge No 158.
 
The Lodge business was concluded and then the team from R and T took over for the demonstration.
 
WBro George Fletcher took the part of the Worshipful Master and WBro Paul Ledson as the narrator. The part of Master Overseer was played by Keith Robinson, SO by Norman Meadows and Frank Ashbrook as JO. The builders of the Arch were Derek Todd, James Wheeldon and Gordon Turner.
Members of the construction team and guests at the completed Arch. Len Hart WM of Leigh Mark is on the very left.
The wooden framework for the Arch lay on the floor of the lodge looking a bit bare initially but has the builders got to work and the stones were examined by the overseers things started to take shape and despite one or two hiccups over whether the tea provided was hot enough, eventually the Arch was almost complete except for the stone which became ‘the headstone of the corner’.
 
Eventually it was found and placed in its position in the Arch, a ‘perfect fit’ and a very appropriate conclusion to what had been, at times a humorous demonstration and well done to all those who took part.
 
Incidentally, it was the first time that the Rose and Thistle team had done the demonstration outside their own lodge and very well done it was too.
 
Contact: George Fletcher on 01744-892509 or Paul Ledson on 01695-622943 for further details.
 
Article and Photographs courtesy of Fred Lomax