A Trip out

Last night, 11 brethren from Lyndhurst Lodge No. 8012 made their annual pilgrimage into the wild and mysterious depths of Totton to see Knightwood Lodge No. 7813 in action. I had briefly entertained the idea that we might outnumber the Knightwood boys, but thankfully they had clearly been warned we were coming, and the room filled out nicely with around 40 brethren in total.

We were there to witness the Initiation of Bro. Peter Lawrence, and despite a last-minute reshuffle that seemed to involve several Officers being moved around like pieces on a particularly anxious chessboard, they didn’t do too badly at all. In fact, considering the circumstances, it was carried out with admirable composure and only the occasional look that suggested someone was mentally checking page numbers of their ritual book.

There was, admittedly, a slight hiccup when it came to attaching the apron to Bro. Peter. What followed was a period of intense fiddling, adjusting, re-adjusting, and what may technically qualify as haberdashery. For a moment I wasn’t sure whether Bro. Peter was in a Freemasons’ lodge or being measured up in the menswear department of Grace Brothers. I half expected the D.C. to appear with a tape measure and announce in a falsetto voice, “The brother is being attended to.”

I’ll do a separate review of the meal under the ‘Square Meal’ section of the website, as that deserves its own careful consideration.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, a splendid start to the masonic season, and a reassuring reminder that even when the apron fights back, brotherly love and good humour will usually prevail.