How often have you heard it said when talking about certain individuals , ‘they couldn’t organise a p***-** in a brewery' ?
Well, for their recent meeting White Horse Lodge of Installed Masters decided to rise to the challenge - actually doing it. The Lodge decided to 'break the mould and push the boundaries even further’, by having our meeting in a different place and our festive board somewhere else, and invite partners and guests to join us.
And so, under the guidance of their WM, W.Bro Paul Baker wheels were set in motion. With the result being that for their April meeting the lodge was held in the Town Hall in Masham, in what was believed to be the first masonic meeting ever held there. And as Masham is also home to two breweries, it would seem rude not to take advantage of that.
The evening began, as many good evenings do with several of the brethren and their guests meeting in the bar of The Black Sheep Brewery Visitors Centre, before Brethren and Masonic Visitors departed for the Town Hall to hold their lodge meeting. Whilst the ladies continued to enjoy the hospitality of the brewery, including a private guided tour around the brewery.
A tour which proved so successful and interesting, that upon their return the brethren were surprised to learn that the Ladies were still somewhere in the depths of the brewery. However, upon their eventual return, all present enjoyed a buffet meal, before watching a most enlightening and interesting presentation by Bro James Baker of Beresford-Peirse Lodge, regarding his 7 trips over 12 months delivering aid to the Ukraine and bringing refugees from the area back to the UK., one of whom is now working in the Brewery.
James explained how he and his friend Mike, over a few beers, had originally thought about doing one trip to the Ukraine, but are now planning their 8th trip in June. Trips which rely heavily on donations not just of items to deliver but also the cost of travelling and purchasing vital supplies, which equates to around £4,000 per trip, with James and Mike being prepared to make up any shortfall in funding themselves. And of course, each trip encounters different problems along the way.
James thanked the many Masons, Lodges and Chapters that have made generous donations.
So, in essence, not only can a group of past masters organise a p***-** in a brewery, they can do it rather well, resulting in an enjoyable evening for all who attended, and by way of a raffle, and auction kindly conducted by W Bro John Tennant, raised £695. This sum will be apportioned between James’s Ukraine Aid and WM’s chosen charity of the year Pendragon Community Trust.
James will be bringing back a few bottles of Ukrainian “Victory Vodka” to generate further fundraising.
In fact, to paraphrase a well known brewers advertising slogan, ‘White Horse Installed Masters 9807, ‘probably’ the best Installed Masters Lodge in the Province’.
And to those other ‘Installed Masters Lodges’ out there, please feel free to prove us wrong. Although following the success of this meeting, who knows where we will meet next.
Should anyone reading this article want to know more about what James is doing, or indeed support his ongoing work in the Ukraine, he can be contacted on james.baker@prestonbaker.co.uk or on 07855 351249
James’s previous “Justgiving” page has expired after 4 months and he has now transferred fundraising to “Gofundme”
