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· The 2009 RMBI Festival has just topped £3 million for Gift Aid, Regular Payment Promises and Tax Refunds with £2.25 paid over to the RMBI. The number of individual Craft Masons in the Province is now about 6,650 that’s £450 per member and with a final push from Lodges & Chapters, I hope to see the total reach at least £3.5 million. There is still £750,000 in Middlesex Lodge and Chapter Relief Chests which was donated by members for charity but is being hoarded for no apparent reason! · Our Provincial Grand Master, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, will be visiting Cole Court on Wednesday to meet the Masters, MEZs & Charity Stewards of the Lodges and Chapters who have achieved Grand Patron status for the Festival. · Dates for Diaries: - 1. Light Blues Club AGM on 11th March at the Concorde Club. 2. The Craft AGM on Tuesday May 13th at FMH. 3. Great Cockrow Railway at Chertsey on Saturday 7th June. 4. The Annual Royal Arch AGM at the Concorde Club on Wednesday 18th June. 5. Hampton Court Flower Show 9/13th July. · We welcome Lodge of Orleans No.7955 and Chiswick Chapter No.2012, who have both transferred from London to Middlesex and are now meeting at Harrow. · The Middlesex Provincial Mentoring Scheme devised by Robert Bethel’s team has been used by a sample group of 40 Lodges since last October. The feedback from them has been very positive. The Mentoring Scheme will now be launched to all our Lodges and there is a Workshop/Seminar on 12th April 2008 at Cole Court to which every Lodge is invited. A general guide and 3 booklets have been produced to be presented to candidates after each of the 3 degrees. They will be available after 12th April from the Provincial office and are free, so please ensure that your Lodge has a representative at the conference. · In the Royal Arch, Paul Huggins will become an Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals to replace Clive Morgan who is retiring - thank you Clive. We are also looking for an additional 5 Visiting Officers specifically for the Royal Arch. If you have a passion for Chapter, the ambition and the time, please speak to Roger Croome, Mike Higginbotham or Jack Flint. · Grand Lodge is seeking approval next week for every Province to appoint an Orator and Michael Karn will be ours. Some short papers, lasting about 10 minutes, followed by a Q & A will be especially useful for Lodges with no work. Mike will need a small panel of about 4 experienced Masons to join him. · Michael Blackwood will retire as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master in May. He was Provincial Treasurer in 1983 and then appointed Treasurer again from 1998 to 2002 for both Craft & Royal Arch and became an APGM in 2004 - thank you Michael. · Richard Hardaker is retiring as Provincial Almoner, an office which he took on in 2001 until the present, and Martin Hickman-Ashby will be appointed Provincial Almoner on 13th May at the Annual Meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge · I am pleased to announce that Richard Hardaker will be appointed as Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Group 7 to replace Michael Blackwood · We have a redesigned Provincial web site at: www.middlesexfreemasons.org.uk |
