News

Brethren, please be aware that Cole Court closes for the summer period on Saturday 22^nd July 2023 and re-opens on September 1^st 2023, hence there will be no LOI or Lodge meetings during that period. Stay well, stay safe.

Park Lane Stables RDA

A fortuitous conversation with our Lodge Visiting Officer advising the Lodge that to mark the 21st Anniversary of the sale of the Princess Alexander Home in Stanmore, which resulted in the founding of the MPRF, with the support of the Pro Provincial Grand Master, R W Bro Peter R A Baker, the Fund Committee have agreed to give each Lodge in the Province the opportunity to apply for a single grant of £500 to donate to a Registered Middlesex charity, or good cause of their choice.

Our Lodge was extremely pleased when advised that our application was granted and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) based at the Park Lane Stables, Richmond was our recipient.

Our Master Brian Cole, Secretary Ian Clabon & Charity Steward Thurstan Davies met with Natalie O’Rourke MBE and her team of volunteers with a number of horses.  They were also privileged to be given the opportunity to observe a very uplifting experience of witnessing first-hand the centre helping a very young man with his personalised and first ever riding experience, he described the transformation and sight of shear joy and happiness of the young rider.

Our Photo with a 23 year old roan appaloosa gelding called “Spotty”

Presentation of the £500 cheque from Dalhousie And Call Sign Lodge No. 865

The Lodge was very pleased to receive the following reply from Natalie.

Dear All,

Just a note to say thank you so much for the very generous donation to our charity.  It really means the world to us and enables us to keep making magic and paying our farrier!!

It was such a pleasure to welcome you all and introduce you to our 2 and 4 legged team.

I think we should definitely think about a summer barbeque too so I will be in touch with a suggested date.

Kindest Regards

Natalie and team

TUESDAY 6th JUNE  Welcome to First Rising – the official newsletter for members of United Grand Lodge of England.  NEWS FROM GRAND LODGE REMINDER ABOUT UPDATED TOAST LISTS FOR CRAFT AND ROYAL ARCH Dear Brethren and Companions,   As a reminder, please find below the updated toast lists for the Craft and the Royal Arch.   CRAFT TOAST LIST The King and the Craft *  The Most Worshipful The Grand Master His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC * The Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master Jonathan Spence, DL   The Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, Sir David Hugh Wootton   The Right Worshipful Assistant Grand Masters David John Medlock, DL Arthur Steven Varley   and the rest of the Grand Officers, Present and Past ROYAL ARCH TOAST LIST The King and Royal Arch Masonry  *  The Most Excellent The First Grand Principal His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC * The Most Excellent Pro First Grand Principal Jonathan Spence, DL   The Most Excellent Second Grand Principal Russell John Race, DL   The Most Excellent Third Grand Principal Gareth Jones, OBE   and the rest of the Grand Officers, Present and Past Adrian Marsh Grand Secretary  CRAFTCAST: THE FREEMASONS PODCAST The one about visiting Lodges   In this light-hearted episode of Craftcast, our usual hosts are joined by guest host Mitch Bryan to discuss one of the cornerstones of a Freemason’s experience: visiting another Lodge. Visiting is an integral part of Freemasonry. It provides an opportunity for Freemasons to connect and exchange ideas, knowledge, and experiences. Our hosts dive into their experiences as visitors and discuss their exposure to diverse perspectives, rituals, and customs practiced by different lodges, both at home and abroad. Together, they reflect on the camaraderie and friendships forged through their visits, and explain why they encourage all Freemasons to embrace the opportunity to visit other Lodges and expand their horizons. Listen to the latest episode of Craftcast – The one about visiting Lodges – here or at the link below! LISTEN HERE  SOLOMON LIVE Freemasonry and the Suffragettes   Freemasonry and the Suffragettes on Solomon Live on Tuesday 13 June at 19:30. For Freemasons, there are four important values that help define their path through life: Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Charity. Author, editor, researcher and Freemason Philippa Lee discusses how these values were put into practice in the early 20th century, by both male and female Freemasons, to advance the cause of women’s suffrage. SAVE YOUR SEAT  FIRST RISING FEEDBACK AND AMENDING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS Did you enjoy this edition of First Rising? We highly value your feedback! Please let us know by emailing: newsletter@ugle.org.uk You can change your First Rising contact email address by clicking here.      FacebookTwitterWebsiteInstagram  Copyright  2023 United Grand Lodge of England You are receiving this because you are a Freemason under the United Grand Lodge of England. Our mailing address is: United Grand Lodge of England Freemasons’ Hall 60 Great Queen Street London, Eng WC2B 5AZ United Kingdom Add us to your address book Update preferences here or unsubscribe here The United Grand Lodge of England, Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5AZ. For more information about The United Grand Lodge of England, please visit our website http://www.ugle.org.uk/. CAUTION: This email is confidential and may be privileged or otherwise protected by law from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, please telephone +44 (0)20 7831 9811 or email the sender immediately and delete this message and any attachments from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy this message or attachments or disclose the message or attachments to any other person. This email and any attachments have been scanned for viruses prior to delivery. The United Grand Lodge of England accepts no liability for any loss or damage which may be caused by viruses or any other malicious code and you are responsible for carrying out your own virus checks before opening the email and any attachment. Where this email is unrelated to the business of UGLE, the opinions expressed in this email are the opinions of the sender and do not necessarily constitute the opinions of UGLE.

View this email in your browser Whether its the friendships, charity, ritual, tradition, self development or the fun of it all, Freemasonry is special to us all. Now it’s your turn to make someone else feel what you already love. We’d like you to join us and attend our events. Why? 1) It should be in every lodges interest who wants to have new unsponsored candidates introduced to them to attend (once at the least). 2) It provides an informative evening and ‘soft landing’ to help members ‘break the ice’ and introduce people they feel may be potential initiates to their own lodges.in an informal and relaxed setting, It will give confidence and a method for those who genuinely feel awkward or it difficult to broach the subject of introductions to masonry.  3) It is highly relevant to the specific responsibilities of Lodge Mentors, Lodge Membership Officers (and Secretaries/W.M.) alike, to see how the process works, and feed this back into their roles and units. 4) It will be of interest to new EA’s and FC’s as well 5) You will enjoy the evening too! Do you know anybody your lodge/chapter could bring along to an event about Freemasonry? Do you have any potential Candidates “in the pipeline”? Our next events are: 27th June 20237.00-9.30pm Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 1HD 11th July 20237.00-9.30pm Harrow District Masonic Centre Northwick Circle, Kenton, Harrow  Middlesex, HA3 0EL Dress code is informal, so come as you are! BOOK HEREWant to get involved yourself?We’re always looking for Entered Apprentices, Fellowcrafts and newly made Master Masons to come along and share their experience with the audience – 2-3 mins short talk. We’re also looking for volunteers who want to be ambassadors for new and potential Freemasons and help organise, support and manage our events. Email daniel.graham@pglm.org.uk if you’re interested.Join the Communications TeamDo something different – make your contribution to Freemasonry in skills you may already have. Familiar with social media, websites, video or writing? Able to use Canva, Mailchimp or other software? Join the team that does the news gathering, editing and distribution behind it. Manage our social media, emails or web pages. Be part of the driving force that wants to make Middlesex look and feel as good as it is, and make for happy, engaged and well informed masons. . Email daniel.graham@pglm.org.uk if you’re interested.Digital Content Uploading news stories to the website. Social Media Experienced users in Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube Video Content ManagerCapturing and editing short video content Virtual Events ManagerCan run and manage online zoom lectures or moderate forums. Events ManagerCan assist in the running of Discover Freemasonry events at masonic centres Email MarketingExperience of using Mailchimp and sending and managing newsletters – content creation and delivery Writers & EditorsAble to put together 100-300 word write ups on masonic meetings, events, lectures as required. Press OfficerAble to build relationships with local journalists,  and with the gravitas and experience to understand how to best present us and garner media coverage. Website ManagerWordPress skills and more technical knowledge in either SEO, development or site maintenance. This email is being sent to all Members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex on behalf of the Provincial Communications Team – Please do not Unsubscribe from this List, otherwise you will receive no further Provincial communications. Copyright (C) 2023 Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex. All rights reserved. Website Link : https://www.pglm.org.uk Email Provincial Office : updates@pglm.org.uk Phone Provincial Office : 020 8891 3300 Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

You don’t have to travel to Queens Street to be acknowledged and fitted out with Regalia when you have W.Bro John Mellor and his collection of Aprons. 

On Wednesday, May 10, 2023 the Lodge was pleased to hear from W.Bro John Mellor that our W.Bro Geoff Hawkins had received a ‘field commission’ by R W.Bro Peter Baker Pro Provincial Grand Master this week who presented the Rank of ‘Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden’.   

Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden PProvSGW

This is very good news for the Lodge and hopefully, Geoff will explain at our next meeting how he was surprised with receiving this Rank at a routine Lodge meeting that Peter Baker just happened to be in attendance!!  Anyone would have thought that it was planned!

The Lodge would like to take this opportunity to thank Stuart Lochtie our VO for his assistance behind the scenes with sorting out the paperwork.

This news story has already been published on another site, which you can read following the link below. Thanks to Stan.Marut@pglm.org.uk

An Unexpected Field Promotion

We all wish Geoff Hawkins hearty congratulations from Dalhousie and Call Sign Lodge No.865. Well deserved.

TWICKENHAM DISTRICT MASONIC
COUNCIL LTD
Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 1HD
Tel: 020-8892-1131

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TDMC NEWSLETTER – MAY 2023

We are pleased to supply you with an update from the TDMC Board to all representatives and
members of Masonic units meeting at Cole Court. This includes details of a number of projects
taking place at the moment and over the summer period not only to enhance the centre but to
make it much more comfortable.

FUNDING OF PROJECTS

Over the last 18 months, all projects to upgrade facilities at Cole Court have been funded entirely
from our own financial resources – thus without any third-party support i.e. loans or donations.
The total amount we have paid out over this period is approximately £176,000, with a further
£120,000 allocated by the Board to be spent to complete the projects below.

We make the point about loans or donations because Board members have been approached
recently by members of units formerly meeting at Staines asking us about “the Staines Money”,
specifically, how much we have received, and what are we spending it on.
Questions such as these appear to arise from an understanding amongst the former Staines units,
that when Staines Masonic Hall closed in 2019, the proceeds of the sale of the property were to
transfer to TDMC for the ongoing good of the Freemasons formerly meeting at Staines.

With the apparent belief of some that these funds have already passed to TDMC, we should state
this is not the case. All funds derived from the sale of Staines Masonic Hall have remained under
the sole control of the Staines Masonic Hall Trust (SMHT).

There is no written evidence that there had been any agreement reached in 2019 or thereafter
regarding the proceeds of the sale of Staines Masonic Hall between TDMC and SMHT. However,
we can confirm that since last August, TDMC has met with SMHT trustees twice to discuss a
possible transfer of funds from SMHT to TDMC for the further enhancement of Cole Court, and the
members therein. There will be a third meeting between us in the very near future to progress
those discussions.

Registered Office: 150 London Road, Twickenham TW1 1HD
Registered in England No. 489194 VAT Registration No. 222 9613 74

TWICKENHAM DISTRICT MASONIC
COUNCIL LTD
Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 1HD
Tel: 020-8892-1131

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Meanwhile, an update on ongoing work to upgrade and enhance Cole Court.

UPGRADED INCOMING POWER SUPPLY

The trenching work to the new transformer in the car park has been completed but, as you will
have noted, nothing has happened subsequently. This is because we have to agree to a legal
document called a “Wayleave” with UK Power Networks to guarantee them access to their cable
and transformer etc. at all times because these are situated on our land. Unfortunately, as is the
usual case, the matter has been delayed with solicitors, we hope to see this matter resolved very
soon.

CENTRAL HEATING

The present boilers are obsolete, and as many of you are aware, have failed on us many times!
Tenders are being prepared for imminent issue to 3 contractors capable of providing us with
considerably more efficient and environmentally friendly replacements. We plan to have them
installed before the autumn.

Meanwhile, leaks from the central heating pipework have been found around the building, with
many radiators hardly providing any heat. This is because, over the years, the heating circuits have
been added to piecemeal with limited consideration of the effects of those additions on the entire
system. Hence the heating circuits both need to be re-planned and areas of pipework replaced, so
that the latter is no longer encased in concrete, but will run above the floor level, where it will be
far more accessible should any leaks occur.

TREES

We are fortunate in having a significant number of mature trees in our grounds but have been
aware that some of them are diseased or in need of attention. Work was planned to complete
some of this work in 2019, but COVID intervened.

Recently we employed a tree surgeon to provide accurate information on the present condition of
the trees and identify work required either to fell any of those that are dead, or to cut others back
to ensure they can flourish. Because of our responsibilities with tree preservation orders, we made
formal application to Richmond Council for the work to proceed (using the tree surgeon’s report
as evidence), and in March permission was granted. That authority to proceed requires that where
trees have had to be cut down, we must re-plant mature indigenous replacements in those
locations.

Registered Office: 150 London Road, Twickenham TW1 1HD
Registered in England No. 489194 VAT Registration No. 222 9613 74

TWICKENHAM DISTRICT MASONIC
COUNCIL LTD
Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 1HD
Tel: 020-8892-1131

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The work will involve felling (and replacement) of 9 horse chestnut trees that are dead or dying,
and to cut back a further 12 trees of various types (ash, sycamore, cherry, lime etc.). This work will
th th, th
take place on 12 , 13 and 19 June during daytimes, at which time there will be restricted
access to the car park for safety reasons. There will also be an intentional time lapse of a few
months between the felling and replanting of the trees.

GRASS REINFORCEMENT

We can all see that the lawn has been adversely affected during the recent wet weather and
vehicles parking upon it (film company) or when the marquee is placed on it for rugby events.

The Board realises this spoils the beauty and appearance of our grounds, so we have authorised
the purchase and installation of a grass reinforcement product (“Gridforce”) on large areas of the
lawn. Gridforce is a widely used and well-respected product comprising a very sturdy plastic mesh
that is rolled into the grass using specialist techniques. Whilst initially the Gridforce will be visible,
as soon as the grass grows, the reinforcement will no longer be easily seen.
Meanwhile, we have amended our contracts with third party companies that use the grass area
that specifically forbids them from driving heavy goods vehicles onto any grassed area.

TIDY-UP OF AREAS ADJACENT TO AND BEHIND THE PROVICIAL OFFICE

We intend to reduce the number of freight containers at the end and rear of our property and to
clear the site to remove redundant structures. In the process of doing which, we plan to provide
additional car parking spaces adjacent to the Provincial Office.

Speaking of car parking spaces, we will also be introducing some extra disabled parking areas at
the front of the building.

PORTRAITS OF THE KING (DINING ROOMS AND PUBLIC AREAS)

Now that the Coronation has taken place, we shall be replacing the portraits of the late Queen
Elizabeth II with those of His Majesty King Charles III in those rooms where Royal portraits are
displayed.

We are confirming with Grand Lodge (and the Province) as to whether an official portrait will be
provided by them for our use, or whether we will be required to source our own. The question has
already been asked, and as soon as we have the answer, we will proceed accordingly.

Registered Office: 150 London Road, Twickenham TW1 1HD
Registered in England No. 489194 VAT Registration No. 222 9613 74

TWICKENHAM DISTRICT MASONIC
COUNCIL LTD
Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, Middlesex TW1 1HD
Tel: 020-8892-1131

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NAMING OF TEMPLES

The Board has made the decision to name the existing Temples rather than have them numbered.
The Norman Moore Temple will, of course, remain the same, the other Temples will be named as
follows:
Number 2 Temple to become The Roger Croome Temple.
Number 3 Temple to become The Staines Temple (as the first Masonic Hall in Middlesex was
located in Staines)
Number 4 Temple to become The King Charles III Temple.
The Shakespeare Suite to become The Winston Churchill Room.
Consideration will also be given to the possible naming of the L.o.I. rooms.

That’s all for now, any questions or clarifications relating to this newsletter are welcomed and
should be addressed to Chris Albrow, Company Secretary, TDMCL.

Chris Albrow
TDMC Secretary
chris.albrow@tdmcl.co.uk

MONDAY 15th MAY
 Welcome to First Rising – the official newsletter for members of United Grand Lodge of England.

NEWS FROM GRAND LODGE LAUNCH OF A NEW ROYAL ARCH BOOKLET We are delighted to announce the new ‘Discover More’ booklet for the Royal Arch.  Please click below to view the booklet.

READ MORE

PRO FIRST GRAND PRINCIPAL – ADDRESS TO SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER

You can read the Pro First Grand Principal’s speech from Supreme Grand Chapter via the link below.

https://ugle.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a19ebddb1f56f7e5d85e4ab82&id=1ab36f44b7&e=8144251e64

SOLOMON LIVE
Meet the Assistant Grand Master David Medlock, DL 

https://mcusercontent.com/a19ebddb1f56f7e5d85e4ab82/images/87590654-a109-219a-0ce8-382e328261e3.png

https://email.freemasonscharity.org.uk/748P-ENDT-EC1C68C4FEA1676CV63SK4B5402B4FB4E6828/cr.aspx

For more information, please click the link above