Peace Lodge No 2269 ended the Masonic season with an Old English night. WM John Cunliffe opened and closed the lodge with precision and speed, as everyone was eager to enjoy the activities at the festive board.
In lodge, John proposed that the proceedings of the festive board raffle and fines were to go to Girl Guides as they were raising money for new beds and bedding.
Once downstairs, with the first course being over, the Junior Warden Gary Smith conducted a pop quiz with several rounds, the first being to match the stage name to certain individuals. It was rather difficult, although some teams did extremely well.
Once the first round of the quiz was over, the Charity Steward David Williamson then issued the fines in the usual Old English night tradition. The first fine was to anyone who didn’t sign the Tylers book; unfortunately, the secretary couldn’t attend, so everyone had to suffer one whole pound. Although the secretary then got fined five pounds for not sending the book in advance.
After the second course, Gary then gave the answers to the first round’s questions, to the dismay of many brethren who got the names wrong. The second round was again a difficult one and the questions this time were of a general musical nature. After even more fines for either getting driven here or driving yourself, the third course of the evening got underway.
The answers to the second round’s questions were then given to everyone and you could see a lot of confused faces. Then there was a final round, which was again a general music round.
After even more fines, the final course was eaten and the winner was announced. A visitor, David Hargreaves, won a bottle of whiskey with 23 points out of 36. The runner-up with 20 points also won a prize.
After this, a raffle was conducted and the fines were collected and counted with an astounding £500 being raised. The treasurer, Allan Cartwright, thanked the brethren for their contributions and WM John then stood and thanked everyone personally as the money raised was going to the Girl Guides.
After the Tyler’s Toast, the karaoke started, with Andy Wiltshire being the first brave soul to sing the song “Save the last dance for me”. This encouraged others to get up and sing as well, with the treasurer, Allan singing the song “Mary Lou”.
After a few more tipples of wine, the night ended with the rest of Peace Lodge singing the night away.
