The Derby Dash - August 2021
 
Well Brethren, where has the last 18 months or so gone? At least the mask and coloured floor tape makers had something to smile about, if nobody else. Millionaires overnight methinks, although a real entrepreneur might have found a way to recycle all that red tape and hot air produced by so many during this period, that would have helped to reduce the effects of climate change for sure.
 
Zoom was the new innovation on the block during the pandemic, and I wish that I had a pound for every minute that I have spent in front of my computer, participating in a variety of meetings, including many Allied gatherings. Over the past few months, I have also enjoyed a few Saturday nights with beer in hand participating in virtual quizzes with friends and families. Zoom may become the opium of the masses, to misquote Karl Marx, (although there are other interactive platforms available etc etc – I don’t want the advertising standards people on my trail!).
 
Masonically, I’ve also participated in a Zoomed 50th in Craft and a virtual enactment of a Mark ceremony of Advancement to quite a large audience, and many more of various denominations. Watch this space for an East Lancashire AMD led interactive series of ceremonies coming to your living room in the not-too-distant future (with West Lancashire Brethren participating of course).
 
Anyway, onwards and upwards, and out of a veritable famine of face-to-face Freemasonry comes a feast. September looks to be a very busy time in many different orders, and the Allied Masonic Degrees is no different. August has been the starting point for me with a flurry of summons, rehearsals and meetings; and talking of meetings brings me to the main point of this article. It’s like the bus service, in this case you wait 18 months for one, then 2, 3 or indeed many come along at once.
The first face to face AMD meet up for me was the Warden’s Mess dinner which was held on the evening of Friday 27th August at Chorley. It was great to enjoy an evening of good food and chatter in the newly refurbished Masonic Hall. A news item with photographs have been put on the AMD website concerning this refurbishment so I won’t repeat that here, suffice it to say that the hard work of Brethren at Chorley has produced excellent results, and is well worth a visit.
 
Chorley MH Function Room
 
This was followed the next day by a visit to Derby Masonic Hall for the East Midlands District Meeting, the first for me since the pandemic closed the country down.
An early rise saw me picked up at the Mount restaurant and hotel just off junction 26 of the M6 motorway. The driver was none other than Paul Snape, our esteemed DGP, and he was accompanied by William Richmond, DDGP. William is a very caring person, and cognisant of the fact that breakfast may have not happened for me because of the early start, he insisted that Paul call at breakfast bar enroute. When I was picked up, William passed to me a bin lid sized bacon barm, just as I like, warm and full of crispy bacon; mmm, worth getting up for. Other members of this District, including Marc Goldsworthy, our District SW, and John Sarti, District JD were to travel down separately.
 
In a mixture of cloud and intermittent drizzle, we got on our way towards Derby Masonic Hall. I should say here, that one of our passengers, no names no pack drill, is one of the original recyclers; he was into recycling way before it became fashionable. However, his recycling doesn’t just include plastics and paper - but wait for it…….none other than gathering roadkill! Or, to put it another way, a poor furry creature flattened by a passing juggernaut. In fact, this Brother’s expeditions has earned him the reputation of being Chorley’s own Grizzly Adams. So, he was mightily disappointed that we didn’t spot any flattened rabbits on the way to Derby; no, I tell a lie, we spotted one on the opposite carriageway but he didn’t fancy doing a u turn on the motorway. He was seething that it had disappeared by the time we returned as well, and he’s going to complain to his MP! We can’t have everything we want in life though, can we?
 
Anyway, back to the travelogue. For the engineering or war history aficionados amongst you, you will be aware that Derby is a traditional centre of engineering excellence and is renowned for being a base for Rolls Royce. Not just cars but also for the manufacture of the famous Merlin engines used to propel cars and of course WW II aircraft such as the Spitfire and Hurricane etc. Thank goodness we had this engineering excellence to help the country cope with the ravages of WW II. Many thousands of these engines were built, and there is an example of a merlin III engine sited in a glass case inside the Masonic Hall. You can almost smell the oil, grease and aviation fluid just by looking at it, worth the visit for that alone.
 
Engineering at its best
 
A monument to Mason’s killed in the in both world wars stands proudly in the grounds. I might add that Derby also marks the place where famously, or infamously, Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Jacobean ‘Young Pretender’, turned his invading army around in December 1745 to retrace his steps back to Scotland to face his army’s impending catastrophe at the battle of Culloden in 1746, but that is another story for another day.
 
Derby Freemasons Remember
 
Back to the script, on arrival at the hall we received the usual warm AMD reception and met up with old friends and acquaintances, it was almost as if we had never been away. Some colleagues from East Lancashire had also travelled down (many of them, and us, have a foot in both camps anyway), and it was great to meet up with them in person again.
 
East meets West (Lancashire Districts that is)
 
The District of East Midlands had put in a significant effort to make the hall as welcoming as possible for the 100 plus attendees, which was goodly number under the current circumstances. The Hall is a very stately place of residence for Freemasonry and the hall and surrounds are very well kept.
 
Pride of Derby Freemasonry
 
On arrival, refreshments were at hand to top up the earlier bacon barm, and all was well with the world. As an aside, I’ve often thought that there should be a collective term for a gathering of District Grand Prefects, I think there were 15 or 16 present from all over the country on this occasion. Perhaps a ‘Redoubt’ or even maybe a ‘Dereliction’ of DGP’s may be appropriate (they had all left their own Districts to cope without them). Suggestions on a post card please, but don’t suggest something like a ‘Galaxy’, as we all know that can infer something dim and distant, and we recognise that DGP’s always provide clarity and wisdom to their flock (or do you know something that I don’t???).
 
Calm before the Storm
 
Anyway, East Midlands had also thought through the way of accommodating the large numbers in the Lodge Room in these covid challenging times. Well-spaced seating, the room in a pristine condition and some of the usual processions dispensed with to prevent Brethren crowding together. The meeting went well, the DGP for East Midlands leaving his pedestal to make District appointments at the individual recipients’ station, which was a new innovation for me, and quite correct and well done in the circumstances.
 
East & West Swapping Notes
 
The downstairs dining area was immaculate, food was excellent and very well organised. A bonus for us West Lancashire Lads on these occasions is that our DGP always treats us to a glass of our preferred refreshment (no doubles please), (but if you happen to be 70% East Lancashire AMD, you can only have a half, but in a pint glass if you prefer….I tell no lies!!!).
 
Sorry Paul, I may have unintentionally let the cat out of the bag, and, with this incentive on offer, you may get inundated with requests to attend the next sojourn. As our East Lancashire cousins always tell us, half a bitter in the hand is worth two in the Bull and Bush.
 
So, there we are, another excellent meeting came to an end; the journey home was uneventful, William resting his eyes for much of the journey, no excitement of gathering up road kill (can that be construed to be a blood sport? Probably not, I think…..), just back to the relative calm of home, a beer and perhaps a virtual quiz…… via zoom, or one of the other service providers of course.
 
A good day all told, why not join us next time? You will be very welcome.
 
Article courtesy of Royce’s Rolls.
Pictures courtesy of Samsung 10