26 October 2026 · 18:00 · Brockenhurst Masonic Centre
Forest Villages Lodge No. 9405
A smattering of Taylors Workings at the BMC
- Order
- Craft
- Venue
- Grigg Lane, Brockenhurst
- Music
- Usual Craft music 8/10
Yesterday evening, 26 brethren and visitors converged on the Brockenhurst Masonic Centre to see Forest Villages Lodge No. 9405 back in action. Under the leadership of the WM, W. Bro. Mark Robinson, the task was to initiate Mr. Mathew Slipper, which they accomplished admirably. There were a few vacancies among the Officers, but these were filled so discreetly that, had I not mentioned them, nobody need ever have known.
The proceedings began on a sombre note, with W. Bro. Lee Marsh delivering a moving eulogy following the recent passing of his father-in-law, W. Bro. Bryan Barnard. W. Bro. Alan Robinson combined the duties of Secretary and Junior Deacon, and still had enough breath left to present the Working Tools. The Charge was delivered effortlessly by W. Bro. Andy Gay, while W. Bro. ARF was granted temporary release from behind the organ console to present the Mode of Preparation. A brief excursion from the (wrong) musical notes to the (not so wrong) spoken ones.
Our local APGM, W. Bro. Chris Lockwood, attended in an unofficial capacity, although “unofficial” clearly did not mean “off duty”. He presented the Welcome to Freemasonry booklet to our new Brother Mathew, then accompanied him on a guided tour of the Lodge Officers, explaining their roles and what they are supposed to do. A useful introduction as the titles alone do not necessarily give the game away. He also presented a Solomon lapel pin to the WM. There was presumably a perfectly good reason for this, which I understand had something to do with ‘homework’.
Forest Villages uses Taylors Workings, which, to my ear, sounds much like Emulation, but with a few slightly different words and gesticulations. Whether every variation of the ritual is deliberate I shall leave tactfully unanswered. My own contribution to accuracy begins with correcting “Woking Tools” to “Working Tools” before anyone sets off for Surrey.
Then it was down to dinner, reviewed separately under ‘A Square Meal’. Having dealt with the Working Tools, attention could now turn to the Working Utensils.
