What's Occurring?

E Comp Michael Vincent Eckley, Past Grand Standard Bearer   On Thursday 30th April 2020, The Most Excellent the First Grand Principal, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent was pleased to appoint Excellent Companion Michael Vincent Eckley to the rank of Past Grand Standard Bearer in Supreme Grand Chapter. W Bro Mike was Initiated in St Teilo Lodge no 4755 in 1998. He progressed through the offices and served as Master of the Lodge in 2007. Since leaving the Chair W Bro Mike has served the Lodge as Assistant Director of Ceremonies, Director of Ceremonies and he is currently the Lodge Mentor. W Bro Mike is also a member of Kensington Lodge of Installed Master no 3667 in West Wales and Albert Edward Court Lodge of Research no 9908 & Lodge of Benevolence no 7305 in the Province of South Wales. In the Province, W Bro Mike was appointed as Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in 2013, serving in that role for two years. W Bro Mike was promoted to Provincial Gran...

Today should have been the Annual Investiture of the United Grand Lodge of England. I thought it would be appropriate to highlight the two members of the Province who would have been honoured in London this afternoon. For obvious reasons they aren't wearing their new regalia in the photos. W Bro Ryland L James, Past Senior Grand Deacon On Wednesday 29th April 2020, The Most Worshipful the Grand Master, His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent was pleased to promote W Bro Ryland Lewis James to the rank of Past Senior Grand Deacon. W Bro Ryland was Initiated in St Peter’s Lodge no 476 in 1999 and served as Master of that Lodge in 2006. He is currently Assistant Director of Ceremonies. In the Province he was appointed to the rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon in 2010 and promoted to Provincial Grand Charity Steward in 2016. W Bro Ryland served the Province as Secretary and Treasurer to the West Wales Masonic Charities Association until 2019. He was appointed as Assis...

The Grand Temple The Annual Investiture Meeting of the United Grand Lodge of England is always held on the last Wednesday in May. Worthy brethren from every corner of the globe are recognised for their hard work and are appointed and promoted in Grand Lodge. It is a great opportunity for brethren to meet and discuss freemasonry and there are meetings for Provincial & District Rulers and the Secretariat. As Provincial Grand Master I attend the Pro Grand Master's Business Meeting on Tuesday afternoon, which is followed by a dinner. On Wednesday morning I attend the Provincial Grand Master's Forum Meeting. The actual Investiture Meeting is on Wednesday afternoon. With Supreme Grand Chapter being held on Thursday morning. It is a very intense but enjoyable three days! The Deputy Provincial Grand Masters have their own meeting on Tuesday evening. The Provincial Grand Secretaries / Scribes meet on Wednesday morning and their meeting is followed by a luncheon. In ...

Summer Squash au Gratin This is another quick, easy, and effective recipe. The balance between the different vegetables isn’t important. It works well with any vegetables which have a bit of body about them. It’s a good way to use up vegetables if you’ve over bought and they’re thinking about turning. The other ingredients are from the store cupboard. Ingredients 1 Onion (diced) 3 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped) 2 Large Courgettes (diced) 2 Small Aubergines (diced) 1 Large Potato (par boiled and diced) 1 400g Tin Tomatoes (opened) 2 Stock Cubes (your favourite) (unwrapped) Olive Oil (don’t be shy, it adds to the flavour and is good for you). Salt and Pepper (to taste) Paprika Finely grated cheese (for the topping) Method 1.        Pre-heat the oven to 200 o C. 2.        Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are soft. 3.        Add the dice...

What a very uplfiting poem from one of the all time greats!

A few days ago I posted a lovely video of a lady doing yoga with her dog. It was clear that the two of them had a deep and special bond, both with each other and yoga. Sadly, I don't have a dog. I have cat called Astrid, known to her friends as "Astrid Scissor Paws." I don't think she would take too kindly to yoga and the A&E Departent have enough to do without sewing me back together, so I have been working on my own routine.

Russell Square from our Hotel Room It is a great privilege to be the Provincial Grand Master and Grand Superintendent for the Province of West Wales. The job comes with a lot of responsibilities, most of them extremely enjoyable. One of the regular features during the year is representing the Province at various events in London. Freemasons Hall in Great Queen Street, which joins Holborn to Covent Garden, is a spectacular venue and I have tried to give a flavour of the building in previous blog posts. I was incredibly lucky to be appointed as Assistant Grand Pursuivant at the UGLE Annual Investiture Meeting in April 2016. I have already written about some of my memories of my year in office as Assistant Grand Pursuivant, which finished at the Annual Investiture Meeting in April 2017. I thought that was the end of my time as an Acting Grand Officer, so when I was appointed as Provincial Grand Master Designate in early 2019, nobody was more surprised than me.  My I...