News

Annual Meeting 2017

Details: Published: Tuesday, 28 November 2017 15:04

On the dot of 11.00 the first procession – the Past District Grand Prefects (the self-styled “decrepits”!) - entered the Grand Temple, followed shortly by RW Bro Colin Woodcock to enthusiastic applause accompanied by his Officers of District Grand Council.

After the Council was opened, the District Grand Secretary then proceeded to call the roll of District Grand Officers, and reported that every one of the District's Councils were represented at the meeting.

The District Grand Prefect then warmly welcomed all the official visitors, who were duly saluted.

The various reports were delivered, elections held and officers appointed and invested with both the District Grand Prefect and his Deputy spending a few minutes thanking each of those receiving preferment for their work in supporting the District.

Having welcomed the new members of the Allied Masonic Degrees, the District Grand Prefect then proceeded to deliver his address which can be read here.

After the District Grand Lodge was closed, the brethren headed to the bar before going to the Festive Board. During the dinner, the Allied Keep Calm mugs in support of Shelter (which the DGP had announced in his address earlier) were snapped up by many of those present and raised £780. Coupled with the proceeds of an auction held at the Autumn Social Event, the total raised amounted to a terrific £885. A great start to an important AMD initiative being spearheaded by the London District.

Special thanks must go to the District Secretariat and the Executive team for another excellent Annual Meeting!

GALLERY

DGP’s Address to District Grand Council – 18th November 2017

Details: Published: Saturday, 18 November 2017 20:23

DGP’s Address to District Grand Council

GALLERY AMD SHELTER MUG

Distinguished guests, brethren all, I have already made so many ‘welcomes’ here but let me, once again welcome you all to our District Meeting. I do appreciate the support you have all given by making the effort to be here today, our numbers are up this year, yet again, and it certainly enhances any meeting to have good numbers.

colin w It continues, for me, to be an enormous privilege to hold the office of District Grand Prefect for London and I am conscious of this every time that I visit a council or when I represent you in other Districts. Between Steven, myself and the Wardens of the year we have visited widely across the District and on every occasion we have been met with all we would expect from this Order – good Companionship, well worked ceremonies and an enthusiasm and commitment to the Allied Masonic Degrees.

Before I go too much further I must thank those who make such an effort to ensure that everything in our District goes smoothly and efficiently.

Today we see the stepping down of two stalwarts of the District, Philip Freedman as DC and Doug Hopton as Treasurer, I cannot thank them enough for their commitment, loyalty and dedication to this District and our Order, we welcome Mike Adkins and Gordon Trew to take over those roles, both are highly experience and very well respected Masons and we are fortunate that they are dedicating their efforts to us in such important positions.

Autumn Dinner 2017

Details: Published: Friday, 03 November 2017 10:36

amd dinner 2007

This year’s Autumn Dinner event started with a talk and tour of the Bank of England Museum. Members of AMD London and their family and friends were treated to an informative and interesting talk by a very engaging Bank of England staff member. The talk covered the foundation of the Bank in 1694, some of the architectural features of the Bank’s building, and the role of the Bank of England today. Along the way, we learnt some interesting facts: that there are 400,000 bars of gold stored in the underground vaults below the Bank; the £20 note is the most popular; and that the forerunners of banknotes were the handwritten receipts given by goldsmiths in exchange for deposits of coin.

After the talk everyone had time to wander around the Museum and even try their hand at lifting a real bar of gold (weight 12.5kg)!
Then it was off to the City University Club for pre-dinner drinks and followed by an excellent meal.

Both in the bar beforehand and in the dining room, there was a constant buzz of conversation and laughter as everyone enjoyed each other’s company. At the end of dinner, the District Grand Prefect gave us a sneak preview of a major charity initiative the District will launch at the Annual Meeting on 18 November. He then proceeded to auction a set of BoE-monogrammed cuff buttons, which he had been given by a member of the Bank’s staff that evening, and which raised a whopping £105 for the District’s chosen charity - Shelter.

The District Grand Prefect then concluded the evening by thanking the organising team, and the CUC staff for their hospitality, and wished everyone a safe journey home.

Message from the District Grand Prefect - September 2017

Details: Published: Friday, 01 September 2017 07:35

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District Grand Prefect - September 2017

Greetings everyone. September has arrived and so far it has rained most of the time, the Euro refuses to budge above £1:10, Waterloo is virtually shut with a broken train compounding the closure of platforms and the rest of the central London stations are closed for ‘improvement’ and Donald Trump excels himself in poor use of social media – let’s see if we can do better here. I cannot do much about the weather, the trains, the exchange rate or even about The Donald but I can tell you some news from our District as we head into the new masonic season.

Earlier this year the District was proud to receive the Grand Master when he Consecrated our new Council – Goose & Gridiron No 275, it was a fantastic event and we held its first proper meeting in May and the next is on 21st October when we will be conducting the St Lawrence Degree and an Installation, please join us if you can and spend a pleasant Saturday morning with good friends.

The date of November 2nd has been selected for the next social event for members, and partners etc, as well as prospective candidates and to cater for everyone this will an evening function. Please support us again as these get togethers have proved to be enormously successful and have always been a sell out. On this occasion we are organising a visit to the Bank of England museum followed by dinner at the City University Club in Cornhill. I am sure an excellent treat is in store but, unfortunately, no free samples!!