Tessellated Tales - March 2022

TESSELLATED TALES Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island New Zealand

March 2022

In this issue A Message from our District Grand Master R.W.Bro Warren Weir reflects on the current circumstances at home and abroad

W.Bro Steven Elliot continues his interviews with Masters and First Principals W.Bro Wayne Maddox from Tongariro Lodge No 705 W.Bro Desmond Stuck from The Lodge Franklin No 2138

Look what is happening at Rodney Lodge W.Bro Ron Pemberton gives an update on the fresh new look of the Lodge

Pub Quiz in aid of Starship Hospital W.Bro Barry Holland talks us through the evening

May Communications W.Bro Glenn Forber provides an insight into the planned activity

Meet our District Grand Officers in their new positions W.Bro Michael James – President of the District Board of General Purposes W.Bro John Robinson - District Grand Membership Officer W.Bro Andrew Vincent - District Grand Communication Officer

A message from our District Grand Almoner W.Bro Roger Johnston

Multifunction printers find new homes An article from W.Bro Tony Mansfield

Letter of thanks from Auckland City Mission District Ukrainian Appeal

Page 2 Periodical of the District Grand Lodge of North Island, New Zealand

DISTRICT GRAND LODGE of NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND UNDER THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ANTIENT, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF ENGLAND

Dear Brethren, As we are aware, New Zealand is currently in the middle of the Omicron “storm”. The rampant spread of the highly contagious Omicron has infected more than 195,000 people in NZ with more than 1% of the population considered active COVID-19 cases in the last week of February. By now most of us will know of someone who has either had the virus or has the virus and is dealing with the isolation requirements associated with the spread. I am very much aware that currently several our brethren have family members with Omicron or who are recovering. This includes my own family. For most of these people the Omicron effects have been relatively mild with no reported hospitalisations from Brethren or their family members. Most feel ill for a few days but by the 4 th or 5th day are much improved. Let’s continue to hope this is the worst any of our Masonic families need to deal with.

However, if you or a family member needs assistance, do reach out to your Lodge Almoner or the District Almoner.

The District is aware of several brethren who are requiring medical treatment, but due to Omicron restrictions are receiving their treatment outside their home region. If the District can assist or support you in any way, please ask.

What has been really pleasing is to hear of lodges continuing to meet socially in small groups with all safety measures required by restaurants or cafes. Socialisation is an important part of human nature and the COVID restrictions have just emphasised how much we miss each other's fellowship and that ability to meet with family and friends.

What has also been pleasing is how lodges have continued to be aware of the need of others during this period. The District Social committee after much discussion and very careful consideration, decided to go ahead with their quiz night under full Government protocols to raise money for Starship Children's Hospital. Over $5,500 was raised. The Charitable trust have kindly indicated they will be adding to this amount. A very special thank you to Barry Holland, Gareth Hollows, and all members of their team. This was a quality event which under different circumstances would have attracted wider support.

While NZ deals with Omicron issues nothing compares to the pain and suffering that is occurring in the Ukraine. The Grand Charity has donated £50,000 to the welfare of Ukraine refugee’s welfare. While its Trust deed precludes our Charitable Trust making donations to matters outside of New Zealand, nothing stops lodges from making donations for what is becoming the world’s fastest-growing humanitarian emergency. At the last Board of General Purposes meeting, a decision was made to start such an appeal through our District Grand Charity Steward and I strongly support this decision; you will be hearing more of this appeal in due course. Equally, I am aware some lodge brethren who are undertaking to drop coffees to their own over-worked GPs or pharmacy staff as a way of recognising the important role and stress they are currently under.

Our Masonic obligations require each of us to do whatever our circumstances allow in supporting each other and our Communities. It is the stories of kindness and generosity from our brethren when realising a need that makes me so proud of our District and of being a Mason.

I look forward to meeting with each of you face to face as soon as possible.

May the Great Architect of the Universe look after each of you and your families especially in the next few weeks.

Kind regards Warren and Jan Weir

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W. Bro. Steven Elliot of Aorangi Lodge No 2300, continues the interviews of the new Masters, on behalf of the District. If you are going into the chair soon, your turn will come W.Bro Wayne Maddox – Tongariro Lodge Q. Where were you born?

A. Central Auckland.

W.Bro Desmond Stuck – The Lodge Franklin Q. Where were you born?

A. I was born in Invercargill in 1933.

Q. Where did you go to school?

A. I attended Mt Albert Grammar School, and I’ve lived in Wanganui since the late 1980s. My father was in the fire brigade in Auckland and transferred to Fiji. So I did four years of my early schooling at Nandi Airport School, back when Nandi was also an air force base for the US Antarctica missions before they moved to Christchurch. We used to start our school day at 7am and then afterwards, when classes were finished, we went swimming.

Q. What was your career?

A. I became an electrical fitter in the state hydroelectric scheme in Invercargill. I’ve since made my living as Area Manager for the various power boards. I was in the Chatham Islands from 1961 to 1971, the sole electrician there for ten years. After that I then moved to Tokoroa, then I shifted to Kaikohe for three years and then to Paihia, Bay of Islands until 2013.

Q. Can you tell us about your family?

A. My family were some of the early settlers in this country, arriving from England around 1840. I have one brother and one sister. I have been married to my lovely wife Gaye since 1974, having met her when I was 20 years old. We have two daughters, one of whom is a lawyer in Wellington and the other a chartered accountant in New Plymouth.

Wayne’s first job was with the fire brigade - his father’s occupation was a fireman, and a couple of uncles were also in the fire brigade in Auckland. Wayne studied and sat the fire brigade exams by correspondence to the UK and was awarded the MIFE from England. Wayne was one of the youngest commanders in New Zealand while he served the fire brigade.

Although he was called-up for military conscription during the Vietnam era, he was found to not be qualified due to his Essential Services standing. He retired early due to the restructure of NZ Fire Service in 1995.

Wayne won the Pen Hawkins Cup Chartered Clubs Golf in 2010.

Q. What is your Lodge affiliations?

A. Wayne is a member of Lodge Tongariro in Whanganui. Wayne’s father was also a Freemason and he first introduced him to Masonry in Ara Lodge No 1 (NZC) which was then located in Symonds Street, Auckland. Wayne later moved to Whanganui and joined the Tongariro Lodge through W.Bro Robert Jenkins.

Wayne says he doesn’t want to rush thru the Lodge, wants to take his time and make the most of the Craft.

Q. Where do you live now?

A. I’ve now lived in Whangarei since 2013.

Q. Can you tell us about your family?

A. I was married twice, the first time for 22 years, and now for 41 years. I have one sister and four half-sisters living in Invercargill as well as two boys and a girl from my first marriage.

Q. Did you perform military service?

A. I did compulsory military training in Christchurch at Wigram air base for 14 weeks, then served in active reserve.

Q. Are there other Freemasons in your family?

A. My grandmother’s side had Freemasons in her family; her brothers were Masons back in England.

Q, How did you come to join Freemasonry?

A. My grandmother gave me 100 pounds and directed me to join the Craft.

Q. What lodges did you join?

A. Whilst working on the Chathams, two of my mates, one a carpenter and the other a schoolteacher suggested when we returned to the ‘mainland’ that I join Tokoroa Lodge (NZC), through Masonic connections there. Then I shifted to Kaikohe and joined Kerikeri Lodge. After that I joined Northern Lodge in 1984, and finally Zealandia Lodge and Kaeo Lodge, serving four years as Master. In total, I’ve been Master 26 times! I joined the Royal Arch, Mark, RAM, Red Cross of Constantine, SRIA Ashmoleon College.

When we moved to Paihia, I had to resign from Auckland lodges as it was too far to travel for meetings.

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Rodney Lodge No 1711 gets a face lift Small Lodge – Big Heart!!!

The last two years for the Rodney Lodge, like so many Lodges, both in New Zealand and around the world, has been a struggle with the lockdowns during the COVID crises. However, the Rodney Lodge has not sat on its laurels. In the past two years the lodge has been able to initiate its first candidate in fourteen years. It did have plans to complete his third degree in 2021, but like all things of mice and men, things got in the way. We also have a new candidate waiting in the wings to be Initiated. Let’s hope the New Year brings some relief to the lockdowns so the Lodge can complete some of the growth it needs.

There were a few other things that needed our attention apart from trying to gather new brethren to our midst. The Warkworth area is growing fast, new houses are going up, younger people are moving in, the motorway extension will be finished in 2022, which should bring more people to the area.

To improve our profile, it was decided the front of the building needed attention. Internally the Lodge didn’t have any columns so with the very kind donation from Remuera Lodge, and the engineering help of the Master of the Prince of Wales Lodge, W.Bro Robin Breddy, two columns are now ensconced in the Lodge rooms.

The first coat is on, the renovations are proceeding, and New signage will be on in 2022 Volunteers are worth a hundred pressed men

For all those in the Auckland area, don’t forget to come up and see us sometime, you will be made most welcome.

W.Bro Ron Pemberton

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Pub Quiz in aid of Starship The Quiz...........that is the question?

The DGL Social Committee organised a Pub Quiz in aid of the Starship Hospital but it had to be postponed from 4th September last year for reasons which need no further comment! Finally, on Saturday 19th February, the quiz was held at 'The Brook' in Highbrook, Auckland. And what a night! The attendance was down unfortunately and instead of the expected 100 people, 55 managed to make it. (Interestingly Masons made up the minority.) Everyone truly benefited as not only did those present have a great evening (with many congratulatory comments about the fun night, being received) but Starship Hospital are in line to receive a donation of $5,500.00, a fantastic effort! Especially with the numbers so much lower than hoped!

Special thanks must go to the NIEMDCT for their generous donation towards the charity. The winning team, the 'Arrogant Bastards', even had a stamp with their team’s name on, so they didn't have to write their name on each question sheet! Much deserved winners though and gratefully purchased over $300 worth of raffle tickets. Their prize? a $100 bar tab which they spent on some of the most 'off the wall' cocktails imaginable!

Sincere thanks to them and ALL who supported this function. The sponsors were thanked on the night for all the wine, spirits, dining vouchers, and beauty treatments for prizes won in the 7 raffles which were held during the evening. The Brook pub were particularly generous, supplying a free barrel of beer, free quizmaster, and restaurant dining vouchers!

Many lodges were not represented and whilst naming individuals is not ‘the done thing', a special thanks must go the Steve Hammerton who came down from Northland specifically for the quiz! (Steve has personal reasons for providing his staunch support of the cause and we are very grateful to him and the team who took the time and effort to be there.) Just imagine what amount COULD have been raised for charity if more people had turned up, more lodges had put teams in? Who knows? Anything is achievable if the will is there! And, of course, if we try!

If you missed the festivities then you missed out on a great event, so maybe next time you'll come along? Remember; events take a lot of organising and we as Masons should do our utmost to support them, if for the charity alone and nothing else! But equally, people gathering in the name of Freemasonry to enjoy themselves and at the same time benefitting a charity must be the epitome of being a Mason.

The event was organised by the DGL Social Committee who are a keen, dynamic bunch of committed Masons, but a huge thank you must go to Bro Gareth Hollows of St. George Lodge who shouldered most of the work to make this happen.

Watch out for further District organised events, least you should miss out on a good time!

W. Bro. Barry Holland

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May Communications Greetings Brethren and Companions, As most of you will be aware the main purpose of our May Communications meeting is to hold the District Chapter Convocation. This is the chance for the Grand Superintendent to appoint and invest the new District Chapter Officers and to generally communicate to the Chapters in the District what has happened in the past year and what is planned for the following year. Hence the planning for this event comes under my leadership as President of the Chapter Committee of General Purposes.

The day also includes a Craft Communication and the AGM for the District Charitable Trust. After discussion with the District Grand Master and the President of the Board of General Purposes we have decided to try a different format for this year’s May meeting. If successful, this will prompt further changes which have been discussed at a high level to make our Communication meetings more enjoyable and attractive to a wider audience than currently.

The activities this year will take place over a Friday and Saturday in May, however the formal parts of the proceedings will be streamlined to make them more time efficient for those attending whilst still leaving the opportunity to socialise for those who wish to.

The first change is that none of the social events will be held at the EMC. Friday night’s meet and greet (including partners) will be held at a local Ellerslie venue in a private or semi-private area where people can stay as long as they want. Drinks will be at people’s own cost; catering is under discussion but at the most will be a nominal charge for some nibbles. People will be free to make their own dining arrangements before or after the event.

Saturday is where the biggest change will take place with all formal meetings to take place in the afternoon. This is for several reasons, first it means that those travelling from out of town have the option to travel on Saturday morning; second it means there will be no need to provide a lunch, reducing the overall costs for attendees and finally it means that there will be less time wasted waiting around for those not involved in all the meetings.

The plan is to start after lunch and be finished for 5pm at the latest, at which point the formal toasts required will be held at the EMC prior to everyone leaving. The exception to this will be those active officers who need to be present for rehearsals which will now take place in the morning prior to the meetings.

Saturday evening will be a dinner, again held at a local venue with partners encouraged to attend. The formal toasts having been held at the EMC, means there will be no toasts or speeches in the evening. It is an opportunity to socialise with friends and partners in a convivial setting. This again will be at the attendee’s own cost.

The Saturday evening function will be open to everyone including non-masons, in a similar fashion to the successful quiz night held in February.

Russell, our District Grand Secretary is working on registration and our Social Committee, under Barry Holland’s capable leadership, is looking at finding suitable venues for the Friday and Saturday evening functions.

Of course, the above depends on the COVID situation at the time although I hope by then we will be well past the peak of Omicron and onwards to a “new normal”.

Looking forward to seeing you in May, E.Comp Glenn Forber, PresCoGP

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Introducing W.Bro Michael James - President of the Board of General Purposes Hello, I am Michael James the new President of the Board of General Purposes.

I joined the Remuera Lodge in 1994 and am also a member of the Te Awamutu Royal Arch Chapter. I have been the Master of Remuera Lodge twice and the First Principal of the Chapter once. I am married to Wendy and have two adult sons, the youngest is in the process of transitioning from university to work. During the day you will find me running a fire engineering consulting business designing buildings to be safe in fires. One of my passions is improving the state of the construction industry to build better buildings. You will find many of the shrink-wrapped apartment buildings around Auckland undergoing repairs have had my involvement in their remediation. While my role in the business is getting the work done, my wife is involved in getting the money in which makes a nice combination to be able to work together.

The role of the President in conjunction with the Board is to control the property and regulate the affairs of Craft Freemasonry in the District. The Board also employs the District’s sole employee, the District Grand Secretary so it also has to fulfil its obligations as an employer. Prior to my taking over the position of the President, the District Grand Master along with the President of the Board and Chairman of the Chapter Committee set up 10 sub-committees to cover the main affairs of both the Craft and Chapter. These cover finance, charity, communication, welfare, membership, property, social, training, logistics and a final one for organising the six-monthly Communications meetings we have. The Chapter Chairman (Glenn Forber) and I alternate organising these six-monthly Communications and then share the management of the rest of the sub-committees between us. The reason for having committees that deal with both Craft and Chapter concerns is that the Chapter Membership is almost solely a subset of the Craft membership and the concerns, needs and aspirations of one is the same as the other. By linking the affairs of the Craft and Chapter closely together we avoid diluting our efforts dealing with the same opportunities and problems with the same people in two separate forums.

The forum for engaging with the Board is either to approach us directly, through the District Visiting Officer that is assigned to your Lodge or the District Grand Secretary. We have also been holding a successful online zoom meetings with sitting Master and First Principals.

To guide us over the next few years the District Grand Master has set out three key goals he would like us to achieve during his term. These are: 1. To have the best leadership team with good succession plans in place.

2. To have strong, happy Lodges which are relevant to their communities.

3. To see that charity is practiced in our communities and Lodges.

Over the coming months the Chapter Chairman and myself will translate these into a strategic plan with concrete activities to measure and achieve these goals.

My personal goal is to see the District Membership to increase to 1,000 by the year 2030. Some people I have spoken to have said this is a hopelessly impossible task and others have said it is unambitious. It will depend on the current state of your Lodge as to your perspective, some are thriving beyond expectation and others are struggling. 1,000 members would provide on average 40 members for each of the 24 Lodges in the District. I believe 50 would be a better number however 40 members allows you to go beyond just being a Lodge that solely focuses on ritual because everyone is needed to perform any sort of ceremony to having members able to dedicate themselves to charitable, social and education activities. Harvard University once did a study of students and their goals. They found that 70% had no fixed goals, 20% had goals but they were not written down and 10% had goals written down. When they surveyed the students 10 years later, the 70% with no goals on average were well off (justifying their Harvard education), the 20% that had goals that were not written down earned twice the amount as the 70% and the 10% that had goals written down earned 10 times the amount of the 90%. This goes to show the power of setting goals.

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The core tenets of Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth and United Grand Lodge has translated these into modern language as Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Charity. Friendships that I have made over the years has certainly been a deciding factor in my ongoing involvement in Freemasonry and I am looking forward to meeting many of you so we can together make advances in the other three.

Mā te wā, Michael James

+64 21 708 460 ***********************************************************************************************

Introducing W.Bro John Robinson - District Grand Membership Officer Greetings Brethren, may I introduce myself, John Robinson, Past Master of the Lodge of Harmony.

At the November Communications I was appointed District Grand Membership Officer. This is the first time anyone has been appointed to this office and we have an objective to grow the District Membership from the current 650 members to 1000 members by 2030.

The question is HOW DO WE DO THIS and HOW CAN I ASSIST YOU???

As Master at Harmony, we were in dire straits with 14 members. I was told that I would be handing in our Charter, and I asked what did we need to change?

• • • • • • •

What did the Lodge offer candidates What did we need to change to make the Lodge welcoming and enjoyable How would we demonstrate the principals of Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Charity What did we need to change to fit the family demands of young men who finish work and either cook tea or bath the kids How do we communicate effectively – text, Facebook etc Can we advertise for new members How do we make our Lodge relevant in the community

I was really lucky to have Craig Harris and John Leyland with me in the Lodge, and we were able to effect change.

Our membership is now 30 and we have seven potential candidates. Our last meeting was in early August, and we performed a double Initiation – both candidates have proposed friends.

I am putting a small team together that will include Craig Harris and David Leach, we need another couple of enthusiastic people from the Central and Southern areas of the District to join us.

We are calling all Sitting Masters and want to understand: • What Membership Plans do you have in your Lodge?

• What assistance do you require from District to help implement those plans?

We have developed a range of Pathway To Membership documents which are available through the District Secretary, as a resource.

Where will these members come from? If I take the city of New Plymouth, there are 40,000 males with an average age of 40. (Statistics NZ) The question is how we connect with these men. How do we connect with the farming sector?

We want to understand your Membership Plans and work out how we support you achieve those plans. This is an invitation to reach out to any of the Membership Team for assistance.

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Introducing W.Bro Andrew Vincent - District Grand Communication Officer Tell us about your UK Mother Lodge Many DGLNINZ Brethren have a connection to England other than by birth. That connection may be through their parents or grand-parents, or perhaps a Masonic connection through their wife or partner’s family. There are many cases where brethren are keen to have a foot in each camp (Constitution) but on the other hand some of us prefer to remain ‘full English’. In many cases that affinity for sticking to English Constitution lodges is through our experiences as an Initiate and membership of a UK lodge.

In this issue and future issues of Tessellated Tales I invite members of DGLNINZ Lodges that were initiated into a UK lodge to tell us about their Mother Lodge in the UK and inform us of how they came to join a Lodge in the UK. Sudeley Castle Lodge No 8976 E.C. – Cheltenham (Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire) Compared to some Cheltenham lodges, for example Foundation Lodge No 82 (consecrated in 1817), Sudeley Castle Lodge No 8976 is very young - but it had a great start. It is one of 81 lodges in the Province of Gloucestershire. It was consecrated on 14 March 1981 and held its first meeting on 13 April that year with 32 members and 23 visitors in attendance. That first meeting was held in the Sudeley Castle Library while the crush or robing area was the old castle kitchen.

As an aside, Sudeley Castle remains the only private castle in England to have a queen buried within the grounds Queen Katherine Parr, the last and surviving wife of King Henry VIII – who lived and died in the castle. Henry himself, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I and Richard III have all played a part in Sudeley’s story.

King Charles 1st found refuge here during the Civil War, when his nephew Prince Rupert established headquarters at the Castle.

Getting back to the story - the castle library was so narrow that in order to allow room for perambulations, the Tracing Boards were placed in the fireplace opposite the Junior Warden. It was a quaint setting for Lodge meetings, with famous paintings on the walls and old leather-bound books scattered about. An antique clock chimed on the hour and a lifelike wax figure stood in one corner. At the first Raising Ceremony those present discovered that the light switches also controlled the illumination of the more valuable paintings on the walls, which when switched off set off a silent alarm in the local police station. Needless to say that for a while Third Degree ceremonies had to remain well lit.

Unfortunately three years later in 1984 the current owners wished to return the castle to a private residence and Sudeley Castle Lodge needed to find a new home.

The Sudeley Castle Lodge story continues alongside that of UK Prince of Wales Lodge No 951 and Holy Royal Arch Chapter No 951 in the village of Stow-on-the-Wold. The only clue to the presence of a Masonic Hall in Stow is a square & compasses carved in 1898 and mounted above the front door.

Prince of Wales Lodge No 951 was consecrated in 1863 and first met at the Unicorn Hotel in Sheep Street in Stow.

Seven years later it moved to a room in the newly built Victoria Brewery. The Prince of Wales Lodge called the brewery home until 1894, when it moved to a building – now the Stow Masonic Hall in Church Street.

Sudeley Castle Library – note the fireplace

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Masonic Hall – Stow-on-the-Wold In 1613, one of the school masters by the name of Mr Farmer is thought to have installed the present front door (above which appears the square and compasses carved into a Keystone-shaped block of stone).

Square & Compasses in the shape of a Keystone

Turning the clock back 427 years to 1594, Richard Shepham, a wealthy London merchant, rebuilt and restored a former school and its connected alms houses.

It continued as a school, known as Shepham’s Grammar School ‘for the instruction of boys and children in the Latin tongue and other polite literature and science’.

The Grammar School ceased to operate in 1848, when the assistant headmaster left it to start a private school.

Following its closure the school building was used as a private residence until 1889 when the UK Charity Commission ordered the building to be sold. In 1892, the local press reported that the building had fallen into a poor state of repair, prompting action by members of Prince of Wales Lodge, which took possession in 1893 and set up ‘The Stow-on-the-Wold Masonic Hall Company Limited’.

Shepham’s Grammar School - Latin inscription On the front of the building is a Latin inscription which translates as “A scholastic foundation for poor children rebuilt by Richard Shepham, citizen and merchant of London AD1594”. Shepham, in his will of 1604, left £36 per annum for the perpetual funding, government and maintenance of the school and alms houses.

By 1920, members of the Lodge became concerned about the considerable dilapidation of the building and demanded remedial action. In 1921, the trustees acquired the freehold of the building for £300, raised by the issue of debenture shares to lodge members. The Prince of Wales Lodge is still the owner of the building to this day and its members continue to meet here, though they are now joined by members of Sudeley Castle Lodge, who in memory of their beginnings in the library at Sudeley Castle, still locate their Tracing Boards on the pavement directly opposite the Junior Warden’s pedestal where the fireplace would have stood.

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Note the position of the Tracing Boards on the pavement.

The Temple and refectory have recently been refurbished as shown in the accompanying image taken while the face-covering mandate was in force in the UK. Sudeley Castle Lodge Officers – Pandemic dress 2021 After that convoluted story, my association with Sudeley Castle Lodge is really quite straight-forward and came about through a neighbour in the village of Dumbleton while I was on a NZ government posting to the UK. In conversation my neighbour and proposer, W.Bro Peter Hogg learned that my father had been a member of Prince of Wales Lodge No 1338 in New Zealand and mentioned that he was a member of Sudeley Castle Lodge, and also of UK Prince of Wales Royal Arch Chapter.

Given the family association he thought it appropriate that I join his lodge and Chapter where I was Initiated and Exalted in 2011. Two membership interviews later, the rest is history and I continue to support and stay in touch with Sudeley Castle Lodge where I have maintained my membership since departing the UK in 2013.

How do you make your daily advancement in masonic knowledge?

Solomon is an online library of resources and materials designed for everyone to learn more about Freemasonry, every day – from the story of the Forget-Me-Not and famous masons like Sir Winston Churchill, to the origins of tracing boards and the history of our ceremonies (it’s just a click away: https://solomon.ugle.org.uk) Filled with quizzes, short nuggets, longer papers, interactive walk-throughs, audiobooks and videos to help you gain a deeper understanding of your Freemasonry, whatever level of experience you have. You can take a virtual walk through the layout of lodge room and its symbols, sit back, and listen to audiobooks on many topics, and enjoy quizzes which range from the tracing boards to the jewels worn by lodge officers. Many lodges and chapters are also using Solomon to add an educational and fun element to their meetings, whether in person (when we can) or virtually.

W.Bro Andrew Vincent, DGCO

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A Message from W.Bro Roger Johnstone - District Grand Almoner At the District Grand Master's Zoom meeting with the sitting Masters and First Principals, the participants requested me to circulate the following information and message in order for us all to assist each other in dealing with this massive surge in COVID numbers.

An emphasis to all brethren the need to keep a close eye on each other’s health and welfare, also not to be shy in requesting for, or offering assistance, where it may be needed. Instances of this could be, for example, requesting help in getting groceries etc dropped off when having to self-isolate; or if a brother or family member is hospitalised for any reason away from his hometown requesting or offering visits or, if needed, accommodation for a family member.

Visit the Government's COVID-19 website which has a wealth of useful information which I strongly recommend that you all make yourselves familiar with. The home page can be found at https://covid19.govt.nz/ and has links to further detailed information.

Amongst the foremost of these is welfare support and help if you have COVID-19 or are self-isolating at https://covid19.govt.nz/isolation-and-care/help-when-you-are-self-isolating/#requesting-help, alternatively you can use the Freephone number 0800 512 337.

Financial support is also available at https://covid19.govt.nz/isolation-and-care/financial-support/ with the Freephone number 0800 40 80 40.

If you or your immediate family catch COVID, please let your Lodge Almoner, Secretary or Master know in order that a) they are aware of it and b) they can pass the numbers to District in order that the DGM can get a good gauge on how the District is being affected.

Thank you all for your cooperation with this, and keep safe out there.

Roger H Johnstone District Grand Almoner

If you would like to contribute to the next issue of Tessellated Tales, please email your article to steveglew@xtra.co.nz before 30th May 2022

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A Tale of Two Cities …….. and Four printers It all started in December 2020 with a bit of an odd email from Andrew Vincent. He had four large multifunction printers, brand new, and would the District or a Charity like one?

Easy question, easy answer – “yes please”!

So, all we had to do was get them from Wellington to Auckland and then distribute them. Easy as, you might think. As it happened, with all involved busy elsewhere, it proved a little challenging.

Fast forward to January 2022 (well, actually, a very slow forward as there were lots of COVID related delays) and we agree to meet in Taupo and swap loads. Graham Martin and I headed south with a small truck and a load of furniture and regalia for Newton Mark Lodge which was re-locating to the Wellington region as a Combined Services Lodge. At the same time Andrew was heading north with a large furniture trailer with the four printers.

We met up and successfully swapped the loads over, being very thankful for pallet trucks and hydraulic tail lifts – at 90kg each those printers were heavy!

Back up to Auckland and we put the printers into storage until we could arrange the deliveries.

After what seemed like a million phone calls trying to co-ordinate everything so we could do the deliveries all on the same day, we were finally able to load the printers back onto a truck and deliver them.

The District having decided they didn’t need a new printer, all four were given to charity – to Age Concern, Asthma New Zealand, Deaf Aotearoa and Auckland City Mission with a big thanks to Andrew Vincent for making it all possible.

Tony Mansfield Prince of Wales Lodge

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Letter of thanks from Auckland City Mission

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