NEWS AND VIEWS
GREEN-FINGERED GUIDES WIN TOP PRIZE
Organisers Peter Smith and Stuart Ross at one of the display cabinets
FREEMASONRY EXPLAINED IN YORKSHIRE Thanks to a donation to Harrogate’s Royal Hall, a masonic exhibition has returned a portrait of Henry Lascelles to Yorkshire The Royal Hall at Harrogate has provided a superb home for the annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Yorkshire, West Riding since 1937, although its masonic links go back to the Royal Hall’s origins. A Restoration Trust was formed to raise funds for the building and the Province made a generous donation. The trustees offered the Province the long-term use of two display cabinets, with the aim of hosting a permanent public exhibition of Freemasonry in a non-masonic context. While researching a wish list of artefacts for the display, the Province became aware of a portrait of Henry
The Earl of Harewood on display
George Charles Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, PGM of Yorkshire, West Riding 1926-1942, Pro Grand Master 1935-1942 and Grand Master 1942-1947. The portrait was commissioned by the Province in 1937 and presented to the Earl to be hung in Freemasons’ Hall, London. Interested in bringing the painting back to Yorkshire for the first time since it was commissioned, the Province approached the Board of General Purposes, which agreed to the loan for an initial period of five years. A Masonic Experience: Freemasonry Explained opened in December at the Bradford Industrial Museum.
Gardening Guides have won the top prize in an annual competition organised by Buckinghamshire masons that rewards youngsters who work hard in their local communities. Members of 4th Taplow and Hitcham Guides won the £2,500 for producing planters for the elderly at a Burnham care home. The runners-up received £1,000, three other groups were awarded £500 each, and sponsoring lodges received £500 each for a charity of their choice. The teams were invited to visit their local masonic centres, while the sponsoring lodges visited their chosen projects, providing an additional way to promote Freemasonry in the community. Girl Guide winners with Beaconsfield Mayor Cllr Sandy Saunders and APGM Mike Stimson
PRESS TALK COMES TO BEACONSFIELD Bowen Lodge, No. 2816, which meets at Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, has hosted the 2013 Prestonian Lecture, ‘As we were seen: The Press & Freemasonry.’ Given by journalist and academic Paul Calderwood, the lecture was an historical account of Freemasonry’s relationship with the press over nearly three centuries. The event raised around £900 for various charities, including the National Autistic Society. The 2013 Prestonian lecturer Paul Calderwood (centre), with Bucks PGM Gordon Robertson (left) and Bowen WM Tim Arnold
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