How to find us

My diary begins on 28 July 2008 at the Winter Gardens Blackpool, when I was installed as the Grand Superintendent in and over our Royal Arch Province and the Provincial Grand Master of our Craft Province. This was a very special day in my life and I much appreciated the wonderful support that I received from the Companions and Brethren.

I am particularly grateful to the Past Second Grand Principal/Deputy Grand Master, Comp and Bro Peter Geoffrey Lowndes, for installing me in such a pleasing way. He and the Grand Lodge Team could not have been more helpful, friendly and supportive. I will now do my best to justify my appointments.

August was a busy month and, as your new PrGM, many actions and decisions had to be taken in that month in preparation for the Masonic year ahead. I was keen to begin the task of putting in place, from the outset, my strategy and plans for the future.

As I indicated in my Address at my Installation, I wish to restructure the Province so that we all work together more closely as a team and so that there is a greater sharing of the work. At the Craft Cabinet Meeting in September, my proposals were wholly accepted and a new structure has been put in place.

My colleagues in this new structure will direct their attentions to 10 significant and evolving areas of work in the Province. Briefly, they fall under the following headings, namely: Relations between the Craft and the Royal Arch; Masonic Halls; Care; Charities; 2010 Festival; Internal Communications and the Website; Universities and the next generation; Southport Festival; Masonic Ball and Procedures.

An important development is the formation a new Planning and Development Committee which will be responsible for the preparation of a rolling five-year plan – we must ask ourselves the question, where will the Province be in five years time? It will also consider and develop new ideas and other relevant matters. Equally important, the committee will be looking at the subject of marketing and the recruitment of new members.

At the Southport Flower Show in August, WBro John Wingfield and his team successfully adopted a marketing approach for our Provincial Stand and I applaud their efforts. I am sure that the time has now come to develop our public relations work, designed as it was to improve our image, so as to concentrate more on marketing and recruitment.

Fortunately for me, September has been a relatively quiet month for visits and attendances and this has allowed me to concentrate on many aspects of running and managing the Province. That said, there have been three highlights which I wish to mention.

On the 10th, I attended Grand Lodge when the Pro Grand Master Lord Northampton announced that he is to retire as Pro Grand Master in March 2009. RWBro Peter Lowndes will succeed him, and the present Grand Director of Ceremonies RWBro Jonathan Spence will become the new Deputy Grand Master.

On the 25th, I attended the installation of the new Provincial Grand Master for Cumberland and Westmorland RWBro Norman Thompson. Our two Provinces have, of course, enjoyed good relations for many years and long may that continue.

On the 26th, I attended the Centenary of Andrew Lodge No 3328 in the Eccles Group. The Centenary was a wonderful occasion and I was delighted to learn that the Lodge has managed to revive its fortunes in every sense of the word. Much of that revival is, in fact, connected to the Scouting Movement, an organisation with similar beliefs and disciplines to Freemasonry, and there are now some seven new Masons who have joined the Lodge with Scouting in their blood. How approriate that 2008 is also the centenary year of the publication of the book by Lord Baden Powell called Scouting for Boys. This is the book which launched the Scouting Movement.

I am now preparing for October which is a very busy month for me but which has many exciting highlights to look forward to.  

Peter Hosker
Provincial Grand Master