ELECTION OF GRAND MASTER

HRH The Duke of Kent was re-elected as Grand Master

INSTALLATION OF PRO GRAND MASTER

Peter Geoffrey Lowndes, Deputy Grand Master, was installed as Pro Grand Master.

INSTALLATION OF DEPUTY GRAND MASTER

Jonathan Spence, Grand Director of Ceremonies, was installed as Deputy Grand Master.

GRAND LODGE REGISTER 1999–2008

The tables below show the number of lodges on the Register and of Certificates issued during the past ten years.



COMMISSION FOR APPEALS COURTS

The following have been elected by the Rulers’ Forum to the Commission for Appeals Courts (with effect from the Annual Investiture), for 2009 to 2012:
     J.R. Bevan, Lodge No. 3250 (South Wales), A. Dunn, No. 3928 (West Lancashire), C.G.A. Aylwin, No. 6 (London), A.R.P. Ullstein, No. 259 (London), J.K. McLauchlan, No. 7801 (Leicestershire and Rutland), C.C. Hodson, No. 4316 (Nottinghamshire), R.A. Bayliss No. 7097 (Surrey) and S.S. Howarth No. 2823 (London).

PANEL FOR CLEMENCY

The following have been elected by the Rulers’ Forum to serve on the Panel for Clemency (with effect from the Annual Investiture), in addition to the President and Deputy President of the Board of General Purposes: M.B. Davies, J. Gillyon, D.V. Hagger, R.F. Venn, M.T. Stollery and N.J. Burger.

CHARGES FOR WARRANTS

Under Rule 270A, Book of Constitutions, the Board has considered the costs of preparing the documents specified in this Rule and recommended that for the year commencing 1 April 2009 the charges (exclusive of VAT) should be as follows:
     Warrant for a new Lodge, £285; Warrant of Confirmation, £695; Warrant for a Centenary Jewel, £420; Warrant of Confirmation for a Centenary Jewel, £600; Warrant for a Bi-Centenary Bar, £640; Warrant of Confirmation for a Bi-Centenary Bar, £640; Certificate of Amalgamation, £70 and Enfacement (Alterations) Fee £96.

ERASURE OF LODGES

The Board had received a report that 20 Lodges have closed and have surrendered their Warrants. The Lodges are:
     Creaton No. 1791 (London), Queen’s Westminster No. 2021 (London), Fairfield No. 2290 (West Lancashire), Tenacity No. 4597 (Surrey), Tracery No. 4719 (West Lancashire), Stoneycroft No. 5714 (West Lancashire), Staneway No. 5872 (Surrey), West Kent Invicta No. 5956 (West Kent), Lodge of Unity No. 6030 (South Wales), Exeforde, No. 6391 (Middlesex), Lodge of Truth, No. 6606 (Warwickshire). Llewellin No. 7771 (Zimbabwe), Chilworth No. 7810 (Hampshire and Isle of Wight), Path to Progress No. 7877 (London), Bucklebury No. 8129 (London), Caer Peris No. 8437 (Hampshire and Isle of Wight), Middlesex Pisces No. 8575 (Middlesex), Hillside No. 8622 (West Lancashire), Brethren in Amity No. 8650 (London) and Jubilee No. 8803 (East Lancashire).
     A Resolution to erase these lodges was approved.

PROVINCIAL OR DISTRICT GRAND MENTORS

Notice of Motion to amend the Book of Constitutions to permit the appointment of a Provincial or District Grand Mentor was given at the Quarterly Communication last December. The Board had received representations that the Office of Provincial or District Grand Mentor, though it will be more recent in introduction than that of Provincial or District Grand Orator, should rank before the latter.
     The Board had carefully weighed the arguments in this matter and had concluded that the proposed order of the two Offices should be reversed. An Amendment to the Motion was approved.

RECOGNITION OF A FOREIGN GRAND LODGE

The Grand Lodge of Slovakia The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic plans to consecrate the Grand Lodge of Slovakia on 21 March 2009 from three of its lodges which meet in Slovakia.
     The Board wished to support the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic and the new Grand Lodge and considered it preferable that the new Grand Lodge be recognised from the moment of its creation.
     A Resolution to recommend that recognition of the new Grand Lodge, conditional upon its being constituted, was granted.

AMENDMENTS TO THE BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS

Recent severe weather had highlighted the absence from the Book of Constitutions of any Rule expressly covering the failure by a lodge to elect a Master on the day named for the purpose in its by-laws – a situation which arose most frequently when bad weather or some other emergency had caused the election meeting to be abandoned for want of a quorum.
     In practice, the case had for many years been treated as one that fell within the provisions of Rule 106. The Board, however, considered it desirable that this should be clearly set out in the Rule, so that the matter might be placed beyond doubt.
     The Board had also taken notice of the anomaly that arose when a Brother who had already served for two consecutive years as Master of a Lodge, was forced by Rule 107 or 108 to continue for a third year as Master: under Rule 115 he may only do so by dispensation.
     The Board considered it wrong in principle that a dispensation should be necessary for something that the Book of Constitutions required, rather than merely permitted to be done, and therefore recommended that Rule 115 be amended to remove the necessity.
     Notice of Motion to amend the Book of Constitutions was placed on the Paper of Business.

LIST OF NEW LODGES

The following is a list of new lodges granted by the Grand Master with the date from which their warrants became effective:
     12 November 2008: 9844 Robin Wilson Lodge of Research, Nottingham (Nottinghamshire). 9845 Be Prepared Lodge, Wokingham (Berkshire). 9846 David Llewellyn Lodge, Uckfield (Sussex).

Meetings of Grand Lodge

Annual Investiture: 29 April; Quarterly Communications: 10 June 2009, 9 September 2009, 9 December 2009, 10 March 2010, 9 June 2010.
     Meetings of Supreme Grand Chapter 30 April 2009, 11 November 2009, 20 April 2010.