HOME Current Issue Index by Issue Search the Site Translate On-Line Printer Friendly Internet Help Centre Regulars Specials Humour Book Reviews Links Affinity Lodges Subscriptions About FMT ADVERTISING Contact Us

BACK NEXT Autumn 2000 Issue 14 Editor's Comment News Briefing Masons at Work Plumblines Letters to the Editor Ill Met By Moonlight The Flying Scotsma(so)n What's in a Name? Boaz and Jachin Riding High Durham Strides Out into the New Millennium Ethics and Religion in Freemasonry Facing up to the Challenges Bristol's Uniqueness Fit for a Queen We Must Change Our Ways Scrap the Festive Board Oyez! Brother Bigotry is Alive and Well The Two Brotherhoods Putting on the Style Certain Hebrew Characters Review: The Revival of Magick Review: Rose Croix Review: Lane's Masonic Records Dangers of Electronic Banking Copyright 1997-2008 Grand Lodge Publications Ltd Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited

FREEMASONRY TODAY Autumn 2000 - Issue 14 - Index John Jackson - Editor's Comment “It’s the Freemasons – they’re trying to kill me!” This typically juicy line is one of many contained in an episode in the Inspector Morse television detective series, enticingly called “Masonic Mysteries” which recently had a repeat on UK screens. Such a disgraceful slur on freemasons was only one of many in which the programme depicted Masons as deeply involved in all kinds of criminal acts. The final outcome, not surprisingly, was that masonry was not involved at all. Thanks a lot ... News Briefing Home Office to pursue register of Freemasons in the judiciary — Home Affairs Committee conclusions — Another council rethinks register — Judicial Review warning hits at Ministry of Defence “slur” — Grand Charity provides £300,000 for Red Cross work in England and Wales Masons at Work London masons launch drive for City-wide publicity — Open meeting for Stamford Hill Lodge — Kent masons fund cathedral fresco at Rochester Cathedral — RMBI chief on tough challenge communicating with freemasons — Grand Master visits Dorset — Masonic hall restoration plea follows Saffron Walden fire — Masonic website update — Atlantic sailor vows to make second crossing attempt — Sussex Freemasons prove a knockout — Montserrat masons fight on after volcano disaster destroys hall — Charity walker’s long pilgrimage — Assistant Grand Master leads top delegation to Borneo celebrations Plumblines The lives of Brian — Bikers in charity ride — Amalgamations Rule — Bristol architect honoured — Canonbury lectures — Masonic postcard — The Big Event — Rose Croix aids children — Commonwealth bi-ennial festival — £2m for ambulances — Ted’s home visitor — Taxi promotes masonic centre — Charity aids helpline — John Hale honoured — Sahara aid plea — Meningitis Trust receives £10,000 — London-Anglia link — Big effort for Hospice — Library and Museum brochure — Three of a kind Letters to the Editor First day cover from Jamaica — Friendly masonry In Jamaica — We must challenge our detractors — Lord Petre’s resting-place — More facts on Lord Petrie — Third degree reference is from scripture — Stop these Lodge pests — Welsh mystery — Wesley connection ... — ... and Wesley’s son — Moldova connection — Welcome in Bombay — French masons meet In former abattoir — A welcome in Vienna — Machine machinations — We are not amused — Canadian Lodge VC — Memories of a VC — French exhibition — Sufferer’s call Ill Met By Moonlight At the age of 85, Thomas William Gould, VC is President Emeritus of the International Submarine Association, takes great pleasure in driving his SAAB, and refuses to be a liability to anybody! He is the last Freemason decorated with the Victoria Cross to be active today. I came to know him during the many reunions of the Victoria Cross & George Cross Association that I attended with my late husband Phillip. As such, I was not surprised when he telephoned me from his home in Peterborough after reading my article “Beyond The Five Points” in the Summer Issue of Freemasonry Today ... The Flying Scotsma(so)n The man who owns the ultimate in Big Boys’ Toys – the Flying Scotsman – could perhaps be forgiven for thinking there is little more left to relish. But not so Oxfordshire’s Assistant Provincial Grand Master Dr Tony Marchington, a person who enjoys life, Freemasonry and his family – and not necessarily in that order. For him, his family comes first. To this end, his meteoric rise up the Freemasonry ladder since joining in 1991 has now been ... What's in a Name? My surname is a simple one. It is a description of the place where my ancestors originated, namely by a ford on a river marked by ash trees. It is the same as “Ashford”, but is an earlier form in which Old English “aesca” has become “Ax” – but not yet “Ash”. The early form is quite rare: indeed there seem to be only two original families, one from Cornwa11/Devon and the other from Wiltshire. It is a simple matter to investigate these families by searching ... Boaz and Jachin Riding High Ingenuity has always been a strong point among freemasons when seeking to raise funds or to provide some lasting token in their locality. Such was the case when the question arose as to how Berkshire and Buckinghamshire freemasons could mark the 100th anniversary of the decision to set up two separate provinces. That anniversary was in 1990, and when Buckinghamshire lodges were asked what they were going to do, one idea hit home more than any other. It was a proposal from W Bro Bill Morris, then charity steward of Taplow Lodge No 3111, that the event ... Durham Strides Out into the New Millennium Rarely are Freemasons seen in public in full regalia. More’s the pity – the colourful spectre, along with banners and flags, is a sure crowd-puller, as Durham masons found when they marched through the streets of Beamish to lay the foundation stone of a reconstructed pre-First World War Masonic hall. Beamish, the North of England Open Air Museum, is of national and international importance, situated in over 300 acres ... Ethics and Religion in Freemasonry A generally accepted, traditional definition of Freemasonry says it is a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols (Emulation Ritual, Lewis Masonic, 1991, pp. 107-108). Translated into philosophical terms the definition takes the following meaning: Freemasonry is a conception of man demanding the pursuit of ethical goals oriented by transcendence in conformity with initiate modalities. Freemasonry is not an all-inclusive philosophical conception. Indeed it does not claim to answer the questions concerning all the fields ... Facing up to the Challenges This is an account of English Freemasonry in what is now the Masonic District Grand Lodge of Nigeria, operating under the United Grand Lodge of England. The District today, like most English Provinces, has grown somewhat since its inception in 1913, when the District of Nigeria was established in the then capital of Lagos. The capital is now Abuja. Before that, the first Lodge in Nigeria was established as Lagos Lodge No. 1171in 1861. I must acknowledge a former DGM of Nigeria, RWB Sir Lionel Brett, who in 1963 wrote the forward to a document to mark the 50th ... Bristol's Uniqueness Bristol is unique in that it is the only Province within the English Constitution that is a City, and the ceremonies are unique, and all the degrees meet in one building. Freemasons’ Hall was built for the Bristol Philosophical Society in 1820 and cost more than £14,000. In 1871, local Freemasons, who had been seeking larger premises, offered to buy it for £5,500. The society decided to go to auction and the building was purchased for £5,950. A mortgage was raised at 4% for £4,000 and this was paid off in the following year ... Fit for a Queen The connection between the Lovekyn Chantry Chapel in the Province of Surrey, Kingston Grammar School and Lovekyn Chantry Lodge No. 6807 goes back 691 years. On 11 January 1309 Edward Lovekyn, Bailiff of the Borough, received Letters Patent from King Edward II to found a Chantry chapel. A few months later the licence of the Bishop of Winchester was granted, and in 1310 the chapel was consecrated and the first Chaplain installed. Edward died a few months later, and through misappropriation of the endowments by his son Robert, the chapel fell into decay ... We Must Change Our Ways Whilst I would not wish to criticise or denigrate the efforts of those who have gone before us, we are suffering as a result of excessive secrecy since the days of the Second World War. When I became a Mason in the 1950s I was told that under no circumstances must I ever discuss Masonry with non-masons, and never let it be known that I was a Mason. This probably happened because of the war and the fact that our continental brethren suffered because they were Freemasons. We are almost in a catch 22 situation. If we tell everyone that we are Freemasons ... Scrap the Festive Board Whenever friends bemoan the falling membership and current unfashionable image of Freemasonry, I attempt to cheer them. But the Order has been going 300 years, seen bad times before and will still be here in another 300 years. English Freemasonry must address the shortage of good candidates in many lodges. There are many different answers, but one simple practical measure for some Lodges would be to scrap the festive board. This is not a new or revolutionary idea. Struggling Lodges in London were advised in this way some years ago. Many English lodges abroad ... Oyez! Brother Phylip De La Maziere de Gers, a one-time Merseyside disc jockey and butcher now turned professional psychic and town crier – who can claim the possibility of being descended from a Knight Templar – is a Second Degree Freemason who predicts the Craft’s future lies in its past. “Freemasonry preserves the old values and I find, as a psychic, people are returning to those values more and more. It seems to me that now a lot more people are aware that Freemasonry is here.” He continued: “Of course, there are critics but that is always the case when people don’t understand ... Bigotry is Alive and Well The dust settles on a new century and the world nurses its collective, post-Y2K hangover. But amid all the rhetoric of ‘new beginnings’ and ‘spiritual significance’, it will come as no surprise to many, that the ancient human traditions of suspicion, misinformation, prejudice and bigotry will be as every bit alive in this millennium as they were in the last. For this reason, members of the Craft and its supporters must brace themselves against the ongoing hostility ... The Two Brotherhoods - Scouting and Freemasonry There are no formal or official links between Freemasonry and the Scout movement, nor should there be. But for many Scout Masons there are natural affinities and sharing of ethos, and in the case of members of the Kindred Lodges Association, a very powerful emotional linking of the two Brotherhoods. But first a little history. Baden-Powell (BP) was not a Mason, although his brother was, as were many of his friends. This is perhaps surprising in the light of his military service in India and South Africa, where the Craft was active and much in evidence ... Putting on the Style Eaton Lodge No. 777 (now 533) was granted its warrant from the Grand Lodge of England on 27 August 1846 and held its inaugural meeting on 4 November that year. Like many other newly formed lodges, Eaton purchased surplus regalia from other lodges or from those that were defunct. Eaton purchased regalia from Harmony Lodge No.705 of Knutsford in Cheshire, which had its first meeting in 1818 and its last in 1839. Apparently, in 1822 Harmony Lodge had purchased jewels and paraphernalia from the moribund Beneficent Lodge No.513 of Macclesfield in Cheshire ... Certain Hebrew Characters Tourists in the Middle East are always regaled by the local guides with fanciful explanations of natural phenomena. One splendid example of this is as follows: “God has one hundred names: man knows only ninety-nine of them, but the camel knows the hundredth. That is why the camel always goes round with his nose in the air and a superior look on his face.” Well, that's as may be, but does God really have a hundred names? I suppose one could count The Lord, The Almighty, Providence, The All Merciful, The One Above and so on. But these are really descriptions and functions ... Review: The Revival of Magick Review: Rose Croix Review: Lane's Masonic Records Dangers of Electronic Banking I often hear complaints about banks, but last month was quite an eye-opener on the aspects of banking-related fraud. Traditionally, the law has placed banks in the position of being strictly responsible for ensuring that cheques are correctly signed. Electronic banking has changed all this and banks are often asking their customers to sign a “blanket” indemnity. People seem to sign these documents in blissful ignorance, trusting their bank, not realising that by doing so they may be letting the bank “off the hook”. The electronic bulk payments system makes no provision ...   Issue 14, Autumn 2000 © Grand Lodge Publications Ltd 1997-2008