Mackworth Club - Virtual Festive Board

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I was invited by the Mackworth Club to an online Festive Board yesterday evening. It was great fun and seemed to work very well. Here is the response I gave to my Toast. Mrs PGM said it was a bit too serious, but I've never had to respond to my toast on Zoom before, so I wasn't sure how easy it was going to be to "bounce" off the audience. Very easy as it turns out!

Worshipful Master, Brethren

Brethren,

WM before I say anything else, I would like to congratulate you and your team for a very fine Virtual Festive Board this evening. We are living in very challenging times at the moment and the ability to adapt to the circumstances and keep a smile on our faces is something we all need to achieve.

Worshipful Master, even though I didn’t have very far to travel this evening, I would like to thank you for the excellent refreshments we received on arrival. The quality of the catering at this evening’s Festive Board has been up to the very high standard we expect of this particular venue, and I can assure you that it is very much appreciated by the whole team.

Although virtual ceremonies are against the rules, it is still very nice to have a get together and a catch up. We, as freemasons, are used to regular social interaction, so being on our own so much is quite a change. We need to make sure that we make the effort to keep in touch and I commend all the members of the Mackworth Club for the magnificent way they have been supporting each other as a group.

















I would also particularly like to thank Rich Holmes and Gareth Evans for their input at our weekly Executive COBRA Video Conference Meetings. Brethren you bring fresh eyes and a different perspective to the table and I thank you most sincerely for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend the meetings.

It seems amazing to me that two months ago many of us were feeling a little hard done by having to come back from Ireland on the Dublin to Holyhead Ferry. I don’t think anyone was talking about Coronavirus then.

Brethren, we have now arrived at the bit of the speech where I tell you what’s going on in the Province and plug our future events and ask you to put them in your diaries.

In these very strange times, it’s not quite so easy for me to predict the future, but I will have a go anyway.
  • We must have a Provincial Meeting – it’s a requirement of my Patent to cause at least one general meeting or communication to be held each year. This will be held as soon as it safe to hold a larger meeting, but it is likely to be restricted to those receiving Appointments and Promotions in the Craft and the Royal Arch, plus the existing Provincial Teams.
  • We will have an outstanding West Wales Grand Charity AGM Meeting to fit in before the end of the year.
  • My current feeling is that we are unlikely to reschedule the Church Service for the Autumn, but this may change depending on how early the restrictions are lifted.
Brethren, I mention these events just to indicate to you all that we will come out the other side of the current problems and our lives and our freemasonry will return to normal. However, we all know that the most important thing for the time being is to keep our families and ourselves safe, obey the government advice and look after one another as best we can.

Brethren, I thank you once again for the very kind way I have been received today and I look forward to your company during 2020 whether it be virtual or in person. Please stay safe.

I thank you Bro Kevin McCarthy for the very kind way you proposed my toast and you Brethren for the very generous way you received it. Diolch yn fawr i chi i gyd

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