Charity Presentation 12 April

What a brilliant, well attended, evening we had yesterday. Unfortunately, the speaker from the Stroke Association was, at very short notice, unable to join us. He was to have acknowledged the £500 donation we had made from our MCF Charity Chest, as W. Bro Alastair Slade’s charity for his year as Worshipful Master.

But fortunately, W. Bro Steve Collins, Assistant Provincial Charity Steward, who had been invited to tell us about his recent Arctic Ski-Trek as a fundraiser for the SJAB Support Units, ably filled the gap with his exploits in a previous Sahara Desert expedition. The two extremes of temperature, the different clothing required, and the various challenges he faced left us all open-mouthed with admiration.

When asked which he would do again, he was firmly for the Arctic. As he explained, his main difficulty, never having skied before, was pulling the sledge and not falling over, as when he did on numerous occasions, he was not able to get up without help as the snow was so deep. Next time he intends to be more proficient. To add to his fundraising target, the Lodge donated £500, presented by the Worshipful Master.

In recognition of the length of time W, Bro Tony Cooper had been Lodge Secretary, following his recent decision to stand-down, and for the multitude of things he has done for the Lodge year on year, he was presented with a crystal whisky decanter engraved ‘With the Gratitude of Connaught Freemasons’ along with two matching glasses, a bottle of malt whisky, and a bouquet of flowers for Diana, who unfortunately was unable to attend. Tony responded by saying it had been an honour and a privilege to have served the Lodge and was deeply touched by this gesture.

The evening concluded with an excellent buffet supplied by the young people at SWALLOW’s Radstock café.