Feature

It was the 14th February 1884 when brethren first met at the consecration of Granite Lodge, here in Leicester, which I am now proud to call my mother lodge. Over this 137 year period, the world has seen many changes and challenges, and has come through all of them, perhaps not unscathed, but certainly united in a goal of peace and prosperity.

All this history is recorded safely for future generations to learn from. If any of you have visited committee room one at Freemasons’ Hall in Leicester, you may have noticed a very small, locked door in the corner of the room. Behind this door, are the archives and documents of some of our lodges. It is well worth a visit if you are thinking of researching your lodge’s history. In my case, studying the minutes of events which have taken place over the years, is a fascinating use of time for anyone within the lodge. Typical lodge business and social functions are recorded, often with mention of world events such as the death of Queen Victoria and the coronation of Edward VII in 1901, George V taking the throne in 1910, and the notable Edward and Mrs Simpson affair in 1936. The two world wars of 1914 and 1939 are obviously mentioned a multitude of times, along with other conflicts such as Korea and the Falklands.

Why do I mention this? We are all only too aware of the devastating effect the last year has been for many of us. I am sure that in years to come, perhaps our children, or our grandchildren, will be perusing through the lodge archives and reading all about what we did during the time our country stopped to battle an invisible enemy. Of course, I am referring to the coronavirus pandemic. I will certainly be ensuring that our lodge retains within its records, what we were doing whilst we were not meeting. Perhaps this edition should be more challenging to complete than usual. With us not meeting, it would be a safe assumption there is little news to report. On the contrary! You will have noticed from the bulletins, emails, updates to the website, and the plethora of zooms, there is much to talk about. Within this edition we have managed to include some of the important challenges and the successes we have celebrated since the last edition in December 2020. Much has been made of the support Freemasons up and down the country have been giving to their local communities, such as helping those in need or volunteering help to administer the vaccination programme. Within this, the 45th edition, we celebrate those heroes.

And finally, I would like to welcome on board the latest member of the Leicester Square team, Jason Clothier of the Lodge of Gratitude No.6514 and the Tudor Rose Lodge No.5660. Jason has taken a position as Assistant Editor and will help to ensure we always bring you the latest news and events.

Richard Barnett,

Editor Leicester Square

A Message from the Chairman

In the last edition of Leicester Square, I reminded everyone of the rousing message broadcast by our late King George VI in 1945, ”Never give up, never despair.” Since then, we have received two further inspiring messages to see us through the closing stages of lockdown. In her message to the Commonwealth broadcast on the 7th March this year, Her Majesty the Queen said, “The testing times experienced by so many, have led to a deeper appreciation of the mutual support we enjoy by being connected to others. And I hope we shall maintain this renewed sense of closeness and community.” Another very relevant message was seen in the Spring 2021 edition of Freemasonry Today, where the Grand Secretary David Staples said, “It is important that in our eagerness to get back to how things were, we do not forget those lessons we have learnt over the past year or so, the importance of keeping in touch and of making that extra personal effort to ensure that those we know are doing ok and are well supported.” To my mind, those sentiments reflect the true spirit of Freemasonry, namely integrity, respect, friendship and charity. Our nation has been plunged deep into lockdown but true to that spirit, we all have knuckled down “to do our bit” to get through the darkest moments, before encouraging signs of improvement begin to appear in the anticipated change of season from winter to spring, such as bulbs begin shooting up in the garden, lambs appearing in the fields, and the days become lighter. The spirit of Freemasonry has manifested itself in various other ways over the last few months, such as supplying food parcels, giving transport for medical appointments, contacting those living alone, keeping in touch with each other through regular zoom meetings, and raising large amounts of money for charity. That continuing spirit of “never give up” has been boosted by the ever-widening roll-out of vaccinations, which will enable us to return to some form of normality, which I hope is just around the corner. Let us embrace it with renewed energy. With my very best wishes to all our readers.

Jim Williamson,

Lights, Camera, Action!

Leicester’s Grey Friars Lodge have a talent amongst their members who is becoming a household name across the country. With several best-selling books to his name, and guest appearances on TV shows such as “This Morning”, Kwoklyn Wan has now released his own show on Amazon Prime.

We caught up with Kwoklyn who made time for us in his hectic schedule whilst promoting his new show.

RB: Tell me a bit about yourself, where did you grow up and what made you fall in love with cooking? KW: I’m actually Leicester born and bred; my Grandad came to England during the mass migration in the mid to late 1950s after the Chinese Communist Revolution. He decided to call Leicester his home and opened the first Chinese restaurant (Chop Suey House) on Northampton Street in 1962, which was located not far from Freemasons’ Hall in Leicester.

The first part of my life was spent in Beaumont Leys. At the time Dad was running a Cantonese restaurant on Humberstone Gate named the Bamboo House. As a family we would spend weekends and our school holidays at the restaurant, running up and down the stairs from the storeroom and hiding under the restaurant tables, listening to Abba on full volume and enjoying the atmosphere. Unlike other children on our estate who were playing in the parks and on the fields surrounding our house, the restaurant was our playground. We would play, eat great food, and even sleep on a couple of chairs in the restaurant, lined up to create a bed until it was closing time. It wasn’t unfamiliar to be eating T-Bone steaks at 2.30am in the morning, as this was Mum and Dad’s dinner time, and we would all sit and eat together before all of the children would go to bed full, happy, and very content. I guess my passion for cooking came from these experiences; food was playing such a huge part of a very happy childhood. I think I was always destined to share what I had learnt and at the same time re-live my childhood day in and day out. RB: Who have been your biggest influencers in the kitchen?

KW: Though Dad worked front of house greeting and serving his guests, and, may I add, was the greatest of all time, he was also my biggest influence in the kitchen. The restaurant was a small family-run business, so often Dad would be in the kitchen too, and even though we had head chefs and other chefs, when Dad was in the kitchen, they all knew who the boss was. On the rare occasion when the restaurant was closed, dad would recreate huge banquets at home and I was always fascinated as I watched him methodically prepare each element for the feast ahead.

RB: When and why did you decide to join Freemasonry? KW: Growing up I had always been fascinated by Freemasonry. Our next-door neighbour was a Freemason, and once a month I’d see him leave the house with his briefcase, wearing his dinner jacket and would sit and wonder what the night had instore for him. After a very close friend of mine joined a lodge in Northampton about six years ago, I began to investigate Freemasonry here in Leicester. I contacted our old neighbour and he pointed me towards the online joining information. RB: What position do you hold in the Lodge, and where would you like to see yourself going within Freemasonry? KW: I am currently a Steward and was due to move to Inner Guard in October 2020. Unfortunately, as we have not been able to meet this season due to the COVID pandemic, I have not officially been invested yet. Once I have progressed through the chair in my own Lodge, I would like to look at some of the side degrees available, and then time allowing I think I would like to have an active role in the Province.

RB: You have had several books out now, how difficult were they to write and what do you put their success down too? KW: My first book ‘Chinese Takeaway Cookbook’, has been by far my best seller. It took me two weeks to write as all I had to do was recall all the amazing dishes we were serving in the restaurant. I think it has been so successful because it teaches the reader how to recreate their favourite Chinese takeaway dishes at home with complete authenticity. The second book, ‘Veggie Chinese Takeaway Cookbook’, took slightly longer to write, around three months in total, as I had to redevelop many of the recipes. I had to ensure that after substituting ingredients that contained meat and fish, the reader was still able to recreate that authentic Chinese takeaway taste completely meat free. My last published book which was released in January this year is all about using minimal ingredients named ‘Chinese Takeaway in 5’. In this book I teach the reader about making authentic Chinese takeaway food using only a handful of ingredients. This really is no fuss cooking and is flying off the shelves due to the simplicity of the recipes. RB: When was your first ever appearance on TV? KW: I have been on and off the screens ever since my twenties. My first appearance was on BBC South. They were filming a piece for the evening news about new security cameras that had been installed across the town, and at the time I was working part-time as a security officer. Since then, I’ve been on ‘Celebrity Five Minutes to a Fortune’, ‘Celebrity Deal or No Deal’, ‘Gok’s Teens’, ITV’s ‘This Morning’, Channel 4’s ‘Steph’s Packed Lunch’, and presented a show on BBC’s ‘Inside Out’. RB: You now have your own show on Amazon Prime; how did that come about? KW: Over the years I’ve been quite a prolific writer, writing no less than five books and six different TV shows. During the UK’s first lockdown I was contacted by an Amazon Prime TV network and asked if I would write a show for their channel. I had already started writing a concept, and after a few weeks ‘Kwoklyn’s Chinese Takeaway Kitchen’ was born. Filming took place here in Leicester during the second lockdown, thankfully as we were making a TV show, we were allowed to continue filming. RB: Can you tell me about the show, what can people expect to see? KW: ‘Kwoklyn’s Chinese Takeaway Kitchen’ unlocks the trade-secrets behind the kitchen door. Teaching the viewer that with a little bit of preparation and with the right combination of ingredients you can create authentic Chinese takeaway dishes at home. RB: So what’s next and where do you see the next move for your cookery passion? KW: This is not commonly known, however, I have just completed a new book, and about to start writing another, plus we have begun work on a new series for Amazon Prime, and planning series two of ‘Chinese Takeaway Kitchen’.

Richard Barnett,

How do you entertain hundreds of Freemasons, their families and friends, all of different age groups? We put this question to Paul Grant-Reason of Wiclif Lodge No.3078, who is well versed in putting on a great show.

RB: How did you decide the entertainment business was what you wanted to make a career out of?

PGR: I, like most kids who grew up in the 70s, had simpler choices in life than those of kids today. It was play on your bike, play football, or play an instrument. I started taking guitar lessons at the age of twelve, and that pretty much took over my life for the next few years.

After leaving school, I took a job as a live sound engineer for a professional cabaret band. This was a big learning experience and made me realise you could make a living from live music, if you did it right. A couple of years later I formed a duo with an old school friend, and he suggested I should start singing. It worked out well for me, and I have never looked back since.

Music has taken me on many adventures. In recent years we started our own company, with the aim of bringing what we have learned to a younger generation. Children today have so many more choices than when I was young, and with choice comes distraction. Happily, there is still a lot of seriously talented people out there, and our job is to harness that talent and provide a direction to make a living from what they love.

RB: How did you become involved in Freemasonry?

PGR: My late grandfather, and my father-in-law were both Freemasons, both of whom I greatly admired. Due to my work, I was always working weekends, which meant that I had lost touch with many friends socially over the years. Through the entertainment business, I met Mark Pierpoint at a charity garden party which myself and my wife had performed at. This event was in support of charities by Freemasons. Mark explained to me a little more about Freemasonry, and I began to see the great work and charitable giving undertaken by the fraternity. With lodge meetings being held on a Wednesday at Wiclif Lodge, it seemed like a great way of reconnecting socially with like-minded people, whilst still being able to make my living at weekends.

RB: Where do you play most of your gigs, and how does this fit in with Freemasonry?

PGR: The main bulk of our business comes from the holiday park market, both at home and abroad. In addition to this we have always been involved with large sporting events, and just about every kind of private event you could imagine. For me personally it’s meant every sort of gig, from a small conservatory for somebody’s birthday party, to 75,000 people at the Dubai Rugby Sevens.

Since I have been connected with Freemasonry, we’ve had the pleasure of providing entertainment for many events such as ladies nights and gala events. And as we also perform for Warner holidays, we are very much used to catering for a varied, but generally more mature audience. Most of our acts have two shows, with one being aimed squarely at a mature audience. Having that background has helped us hit that sweet spot for masonic functions, so the entertainment is suitable and exciting for all the age groups present.

RB: How has the pandemic affected your business?

PGR: The pandemic has pretty much written off live entertainment for the last year. Fortunately for us, holiday parks were able to put in place social distancing at the end of last summer. This gave us a bit of respite and normality for a couple of months. It has, of course, been a very tough year financially, for us as a company, and the many people that work through us. It is a very sad and regrettable situation, but we are very aware of people’s safety and the well-being of the community, which must come first.

RB: Hopefully we can now see a bit of light at the end of the long dark tunnel, what are your plans for when you can return to some sort of normality?

PGR: With the vaccine rollout, it seems that the dimmer switch on the light at the end of the tunnel is gradually being turned up! We have invested in studio facilities so we can record or live stream audition and promotional material for our acts. We are lucky that the companies we work for have space, and the captive audience to put entertainment on safely. Some sort of social distancing will probably still be required as things open up, and our job is to make sure that we can comply with these regulations and keep safe. As a limited company, the furlough scheme has been something of a lifeline, but of course it can never replace all the lost bookings. Sadly, we’ve lost a few people who have permanently left the industry, but for those of us left it is definitely onwards and upwards.

We are really looking forward to getting back to normal, both as a company, and personally. Being able to see grandparents and loved ones is something that we have all really missed. With two small children it’s been hard to keep them amused for a year. But I am glad for the time we’ve been able to spend with them away from work. We have started to advertise again, such as placing a full page advert in FMT, as we strongly believe we can provide an unparalleled quality of entertainment for lodges nationwide. We have really enjoyed working for freemasons around Leicestershire & Rutland; these functions are a perfect blend of tradition and fun.