November the 26th saw our regular meeting held at Hertingfordbury with a packed agenda.

The core of the meeting was the triple Initiation of Andrew, David, and Louie in our true high quality and unique style. This show piece ceremony was conducted in front of more than thirty visitors, many of whom stayed for Festive Board after.

In addition there was a presentation of some items from the Lodge past. W Bro. Marcus Watson, Secretary of the Salisbury Lodge No. 435 (Met) had been approached in error over the regalia to one of our late members, W Bro. Denis Knapton. While he had resigned from Salisbury Lodge in 2008, he passed on up not long after (presumably health was the reason for his decision), his wife had kept his regalia as items of his memory. Early 2021, Denis’s wife went to join her late husband and on looking through her items their daughter found the regalia and realising their importance and felt it was right to pass them on to us, for which purposes she contacted UGLE. By this stage there was just one Salisbury Lodge and so she was put in touch with Marcus. As this was in the latter days of the various Covid related restrictions and lockdowns, it took 18 months before he was able to attend one of our meetings and hand the items over, which include a Master’s Apron and collar, Dress Hertfordshire Provincial Junior Deacon apron and collar, and a full set of Companion Royal Arch regalia, all of which will be put to good use. In addition there is a silver Salisbury Lodge Past Masters jewel, which we will look to combine with our one remaining Union PM jewel to form an appropriate memento to be handed from IPM to IPM.