Now that’s an Installation banquet!
26 July 24
From the very start the Installation showed every sign of being a success.
The Masonic Centre at Kelso was really heaving well before Lodge Barham tyled for their Installation in May. Everybody was in the anteroom: visiting brethren, ladies, guests, Grand Lodge and Lodge Barham officers and brethren who were wondering if they had just one more minute to brush up on the ritual.
Eventually the lodge tyled and visiting fraternals were admitted while Grand Lodge went out into the evening sunlight for the traditional photographs, which were taken in the golden twilight while the chair legs and ladies’ high heels sank slowly into the soft turf.
Right on time, the Grand Lodge delegation entered the lodge room, were warmly welcomed and witnessed an excellent ceremony where RW Bro Brian Harvey was reinstalled into the Chair of King Solomon by RW Bro Bob Cooke.
The representative of the Grand Master, RW Bro John Jacobson OAM OStJ, Chairman of Operations, assisted by the Grand Director of Ceremonies, VW Bro Jano Toussanian GP enjoyed every minute of the ceremony. After the installation, everybody repaired to Abercrombie House, a very grand Victorian pile on the outskirts of Bathurst, where the installation banquet was served in the (very) grand ballroom. The room was 100 years old and was utterly luxurious with a sprung dance floor and 30-foot-high ceilings. It was a banquet for the ages: a candlelit dinner, interesting speeches, hilarious anecdotes, together with fine food and fine wine.
Lodge Barham looks forward to the next 12 months and both brethren and guests wonder how the lodge can top the 2024 installation!
