The above event was presided over by R W Bro R K Wilson, Provincial Grand Master of Nottinghamshire and attended by delegations from many other Provinces.

The ceremony went smoothly due to the organisation of W. Bro G Wood Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies and the meal afterwards by the efforts of Robin Bailey, General Manager of the Belgrave Rooms and his staff.

There was a large attendance at the ceremony and the meal afterwards was the highest ever recorded at just under 400 dining.

During the meeting, the normal business of the Province was carried out with various reports being accepted and their contributors being thanked for the effort expended in producing these.

Ceremonial honours were received by many Brethren, being too numerous to list but amongst the highlight of these were: W..Bro C D Davis as Provincial Senior Warden W.Bro P G Marshall as Provincial Junior Warden W. Bro. Michael Page – Provincial Orator W Bro D F Brown and W Bro G Robson, were awarded the Provincial Grand Masters “Certificate of Merit” for their outstanding commitment to Masonry in the Province.

The meeting closed by the following address by the Provincial Grand Master:

Brethren, I am delighted to see this Provincial meeting so well attended, and I am grateful to you for supporting it in such great numbers. I particularly wish to thank and congratulate the Provincial Secretary and the Provincial Director of Ceremonies and all their assistants for their meticulous planning and organisation of this Provincial meeting.

Whilst I hope you all enjoy the occasion, this must apply particularly to those I have just appointed or promoted. As you all know, a Provincial Grand rank is like the god Janus, not a retirement gift: it not only looks back on the contribution you have already made to your Lodge and to the Province, but also looks forward to the contribution that is expected of you in the future [and on which any future promotions will depend]. You may remember that I spoke last year of the hopes shared by all Provincial Grand Masters that Grand Lodge would relent by reviewing its experiment to reduce the number of Provincial appointments and promotions that we could make, and which was preventing a proper recognition of the contribution made by our brethren. It is now well known that the recommendations of the Committee established for this purpose have achieved an improvement even on what had existed before 2001. However, please be warned that this will not mean that it has suddenly become easier to obtain a Provincial rank! It should remain a highly cherished ambition for all brethren, and I shall therefore do nothing to devalue it by making large-scale appointments and promotions. Indeed, for the next few years, it will take longer for an existing Provincial officer to be reviewed for a promotion, as we consider those in the backlog that has arisen during the intervening years. And so I congratulate all those whom I have today invested and trust they will enjoy their new ranks and the responsibilities that go with them.

One significant result of the new system is that it has allowed me for the first time to appoint acting Stewards from among those who have completed their year as Immediate Past Master, who demonstrate a particular promise for the future and have the time to involve themselves in the special activities of that office. They will continue to wear the red regalia after their year in acting office, reflecting their commitment to continue to serve the Province in the future in this unique way, and will not normally be considered for a promotion for a further 5 years, to bring them into line with their exact contemporaries. Those whom I appointed last year were, with one exception, drawn from the same vintage as the year’s other appointments, so I am particularly pleased that they have asked to wear the regalia of a Past Steward even though they have today received a promotion, reflecting perhaps what an older and wiser Masonic head than mine once remarked that “once a Steward, always a Steward”.

Over the past 2 years, the General Purposes Committee, under the excellent leadership of W Bro Terry Straw, has demonstrated a desire to be more positive in its contribution to the prosperity of the Province, and I am grateful that it has not only responded to the 13 challenges I set it, but also has asked to devise its own initiatives. Of these, perhaps the most important and far-reaching is a second review of the Quality of Freemasonry Report, the original of which is now 15 years old, and whose recommendations (and those of the first review 7 years ago) are as valid today as they were when they were conceived. Many of those recommendations have been adopted by many of our Lodges, but, if our brotherhood is to progress and prosper, the passage of time demands that our attention must now be directed to other needs.

With the support of the GP Committee, there is action of several fronts, both internal and external. We are beginning to obtain more public recognition of our charitable work, largely as a result of the industry of our Provincial Charity Steward, Almoner, and Publicity Officer; but also from the kindness of one local newspaper photographer, who appreciates what we do and uses his considerable influence to get the publicity he believes we deserve.

The Candidates Information Programme continues to attract potential members and their wives to discover more about the Craft and stimulate their enthusiasm before he joins. The average age of our recruits remains at 44, a generation younger than most of us who are Leaders. We need to discover from them what they find attractive about the Craft, but, more importantly, what they find unattractive, inconvenient or difficult, so that we may use this information to improve their perception and willingness to remain as members. I hope to receive a Report during the summer from a group of keen members under 45 whom I commissioned last December to investigate this.

Once a man becomes a member, there is much that we can still do to retain his interest and enthusiasm. Most new members are eager to learn as much about our Order as they can, and will respond to the opportunities we can give them to acquire Masonic knowledge. A brand new Mentoring Programme has been adopted by Grand Lodge, which we shall be reviewing this during the summer, so that we may recommend to Lodges what they should consider adopting and ensure that we in this Province obtain the greatest benefit from this massive piece of research.

Sadly, we must recognise that we have not seen the last Lodge which resolves to surrender its Warrant. If closure is truly inevitable, then we should concentrate our efforts to ensure that each of its members joins a Lodge which will become the stronger for the members who find a new home there. However, I remain convinced that, if a Lodge pays the necessary attention to the problem of its reducing activity when that problem is only on the horizon, much can be done to prevent that problem arriving on its doorstep. To this end, I have held a meeting with the Liaison Officers of our smallest Lodges, and others who appear to be at risk, to ask what efforts they are making to recognise the problem, and hopefully inspire them to act now, before it is too late. It is no good simply to turn a blind eye to the danger, or hope that something will turn up. On a similar subject, we are improving the system of reviewing why members resign, by adopting a scheme found to be successful in another Province where one of the Leaders speaks direct to the brother who wishes to resign, to enquire whether the reason has a cause that can be rectified.

Now brethren, there is one project where I wish to enlist the help of every Lodge in the Province: to make the work of our Lodges enjoyable, we must all take full responsibility for the rôle we undertake. If we perform ritual, it is not for our personal benefit or to improve our self esteem: it is to make the ceremony as accurate and intelligible for the candidate as we possibly can. If we try our best and do a good job, the candidate will understand the meaning so much the more. If we are a Secretary, Director of Ceremonies, Almoner or any other Officer, we must accept the responsibility for discharging the rôle to the best of our ability; if we are a Lodge representative on a Provincial committee, we should attend its meetings. Most such officers are assiduous, both those who are not should be moved aside to allow others to step in. These are important rôles, and we hold them for the common good, not merely to have a collar round our neck or in the hope of getting a higher Provincial rank. Anyone who is in office has a job to do; none of us should accept that job unless we are prepared and able to give it of our best. Sometimes, we can become too casual, or believe that we can be excused because we are volunteers; to make that mistake is to spoil what should be one of the most pleasurable activities of our collective lives together.

Two days ago, many of us attended the Annual Investiture of Grand Lodge to see several of our brethren receive a first appointment to or a promotion in Grand Rank. It therefore gives me great pleasure to congratulate W. Bro Barrie Haycox on being appointed PAGDC, and W. Bro Richard Gan who received a promotion to that rank, while my Assistant W. Bro Steve Mather was promoted to PSGD. I am also delighted to report that Grand Lodge has recognised the outstanding work of W. Bro. John Reid in chairing the Executive Committee of our 2007 Festival Appeal by promoting him to PJGD. In addition, we have two holders of acting rank in Grand Lodge, namely W. Bro Richard Howarth as DG Organist, and V.W. Bro. Mike Woodcock, who has been appointed President of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. These are very high and prominent offices, and they both richly deserve the high esteem in which they are held. I am delighted that their first “outing” is to attend this meeting. I congratulate all these brethren and trust they will enjoy their new ranks and the responsibilities that go with them. Finally, brethren, we cannot expect to convince outsiders of the benefits of Masonry unless we ourselves appear convinced, and proud of our membership. Let us demonstrate that we are Freemasons, let us boast of being a Freemason. Why do other organisations wear a badge that is instantly recognisable, whereas, if we wear one at all, it is usually recognisable only to another Freemason? We have nothing to be ashamed of; we have no reason to hide our light under a bushel. Only if we treat our membership as normal for a man who believes in it as a Force for Good, will the public begin to accept that that there is nothing secretive or suspicious about Masonry, but that they too can be proud to embrace it.