Showing posts with label Great Queen Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Queen Street. Show all posts

Monday, June 25, 2018

‘New Masons Reception: A worthwhile exercise’

     
A blog post today by the secretary of Covenant Lodge 4344 under the United Grand Lodge of England offers a great idea others might want to adopt:


New Masons Reception

A little more than a month ago, I responded positively to an invitation to arrange for any new members of the Covenant Lodge to attend a welcome presentation at our headquarters in Great Queen Street, London.

For anyone who has not previously visited the building, I heartily recommend it. It is open to the public most days of the week. That said, I booked two tickets that covered the cost of wine and canapés, after speeches and presentations.

What a surprise and delight it all turned out to be! I speak as a long-in-the-tooth Freemason of many years standing. We were treated to a very good “no holds barred” speech by one of our Assistant Metropolitan Grand Masters, followed by a most erudite, amusing, and informative mini-lecture on the topic of the history of Freemasonry.

We broke off from that and adjourned to a warm reception of wine, food, and chat in an area packed with new Freemasons, their friends and partners. I was most impressed with the energy, enthusiasm, and general level of intellect of all the newcomers to Freemasonry I encountered that evening.

The new member of Covenant Lodge and I then adjourned to a nearby pub for further chats, and then home.

What a worthwhile exercise.
     

Monday, May 3, 2010

‘The Merry Month of May’



The Magpie Mason regretfully will be absent from the Main Event of the Month of May. (I can’t be everywhere!)

To celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society in 2010, The Masonic Society, in conjunction with Library and Museum of Freemasonry, will host its first UK-Ireland Symposium in London, May 28-29.

On Friday, May 28, the organizers will host a private guided tour of the exhibition Freemasons and the Royal Society at Freemasons Hall. This happens to be the closing day of this exhibition. That evening, an informal dinner and drinks await attendees at the Prince of Wales on Great Queen Street.

The Saturday, May 29 event will take place at Kensal Community Center, located at 177 Kensal Road, London, W10 5BJ. The speakers for the day will be:

Michael Baigent (Holy Blood and Holy Grail, The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception) presenting “Aspects of the Royal Society.” A Q&A session will follow, and then a complimentary lunch.

The second speaker, Robert L.D. Cooper (The Masonic Magician: The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite, The Rosslyn Hoax) will discuss “A Scottish View of the Foundation of the Royal Society.” The afternoon will end with a second Q&A session.

The registration fee for Saturday is only £10.

The event organizers are none other than Masonic Society Founding Fellow Yasha Beresiner, Fellow Martyn Greene, and Founding Member David Naughton-Shires. Well done brethren! I am very sorry I cannot be there.

Even though I’ll miss the event, this is an event not to be missed! Folks, if you are in or around London, you will want to be there, so sign up here.

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But The Magpie Mason will be busy throughout the month. The Architects will meet on Thursday. Tim Wallace-Murphy will visit Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge on Friday. Scott Chapter No. 4 follows the next Friday. The day after that, the Scottish Rite’s 23° will be conferred aboard the USS New Jersey. The second half of the month promises a Knight Masons meeting, Scottish Rite elections and installations, and speaking engagements of Steve Burkle at Ocean Lodge No. 89 on May 27... and yours truly at historic Alpha Lodge No. 116 the night before!

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired already.