On Friday 29th, it was time to visit a lodge in nearby Airdrie. New Monkland Montrose Lodge No. 88 gave a spectacular installation with visiting brethren coming from all over the United Kingdom to see the incoming Right Worshipful Master Bro John Gray go into the chair.
Visiting for the first time, New Monkland Montrose Lodge did itself proud and gave a hearty and fraternal scottish welcome to W.Bro Andrew from our lodge (St. Andrews no 4056). After the lodge had closed, the brethren went to harmony with plenty of singing and many a good drams of whiskey shared with a fantastic evening that ran into the wee hours of the morning.
(Needless to say, the next morning W. Bro Andrew with a grin on his face had to have one very large Scottish fry-up and a few ibuprofen to remedy over the night before).
On Saturday 30th, it was time to visit an old lodge acquaintance in Scotland. In Warwickshire, there's a tradition that’s been going strong for over 20 years: the annual Lodge of St. Bryde No. 579 installation, It’s a masonic road trip where lodge members from all over Warwickshire travel & gather to watch a Scottish lodge do the ceremony of installation in Uddingston (outside of Glasgow).
Warwickshire brethren took the trip up north to give our fraternal support to Bro. James Jack who has always been a good and loyal friend to brethren in Warwickshire, and with Bro. James leaving the chair and Bro. Duncan Mulholland going into the chair as Right Worshipful Master, it was an event no one wanted to miss.
After the ceremony was done, it was time for the festive board and harmony, with everyone renewing old friendships and sharing stories of their travels.
Interesting Facts
A unique aspect of a Scottish lodge during its installation is the procedure that is followed.
In the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the ceremony of installation is always conducted directly within the lodge by the outgoing WM.
Conversely, in the Grand Lodge of Scotland, two installing masters are always involved in conducting the entire ceremony, with one acting temporarily as a Substitute Master and the other handling the Inner Workings (Installation of the RWM), which takes place outside the main lodge room.
The Substitute Master will open in the three degrees and invest all lodge officers who have not yet been invested. The other installing master will take all installed masters and past masters outside the lodge for the investiture of the new Right Worshipful Master in a separate room.
Scottish Lodges can choose their own apron designs and colors. Aprons typically display a marking for the lodge office held by the brother, along with a sash showing the lodge name and office, so in affect aprons indicate what lodge office a brother holds.
For example; A scottish mason may wear a apron with treasurer marking and rosettes & a Past Master jewel alongside their sash.
In Scotland, Past Master jewels can be worn outside their lodges, indicating a brother has gone through the chair, unlike in UGLE, where they are only worn in the specific lodge where the brother passed the chair and for that lodge's meetings alone.
A peculiar thing you will hear in this blog is the word harmony; in UGLE, after the main meeting is over, a festive board is held, then the toasts are done, and afterwards, the lodge finishes for the evening.
In Scotland, harmony occurs normally after a lodge closes; however, for the installation, harmony comes after the festiveboard.
So what exactly is harmony? It is best can be described as a evening of singing, drinking drams of whiskey & sipping pints of Tennants and jovial laughter and comedy which only the socttish can do so well with their humour.
Once everything wraps up for the evening, everyone normally sings a roaring rendition of "Auld Lang Syne," and then slowly brethren head off to home and heath.
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