Wednesday 30 November saw an excellent effort by Liverpool Group superbly assisted by stewards from the South Eastern Group who, using their experiences at the Provincial Grand Chapter meeting were able to efficiently smooth out those small issues which would otherwise tend to throw things out of synchronisation.
After several false starts attempting to combine the West Lancashire Provincial Grand Chapter meeting with the installation of Mark Matthews as the new Provincial Grand Master, the installation went ahead as a stand-alone event with Mark’s installation as Provincial Grand Superintendent in the Royal Arch in the morning, followed in the afternoon by his installation as Provincial Grand Master for the Craft.
South Eastern Group Secretary Eddie Wilkinson volunteered the use of South Eastern Group Stewards as a vote of thanks for the assistance given by the Liverpool and Gladstone Groups during the Provincial Grand Chapter meeting, and with the assistance of Shaun Brookhouse, who once more acted as a vice captain, the experience gained proved useful for the guidance of members (and officials) who were obviously struggling to find their way around.
The day commenced once again with a briefing given by John Topping, PGL/PGC Advisor to the host groups and throughout the day the team stepped up valiantly to man the various positions, giving directions, booking in guests and delegates and generally keeping things moving smoothly.
The numbers were somewhat larger than those involved at the Provincial Grand Chapter meeting given the involvement of both Craft and Royal Arch this time but all the same, the day ran remarkably smoothly with all members of the team gelling together as a very efficient unit moving from the outer halls to the meetings themselves and after to a very jovial social board afterwards.
Following the event, the team once more received many messages of congratulations and thanks from all concerned gaining well deserved recognition for the South Eastern Groups together with all others who assisted.
