Our annual meeting was held on Thursday 14th December, 2017. It was the installation of WBro Martin Nicholson.

The representative on the evening was WBro Michael Graham Junior, ably assisted by WBro Richard Davison, who was his Director of Ceremonies for the night. They both received a very warm welcome from the brethren, albeit a very cold one in the temple. Our heating is still broken!

Starting the night as Master, I duly opened the lodge for the final time. As WBro Martin is a Past Master, the short version of the Installation ceremony was performed. I still had plenty of work to do, though, as no sooner had I been  invested with the collar of IPM, I took on the role of Director of Ceremonies for the rest of the night, also being invested into that office.

Our new Master appointed and invested his officers impeccably, and we are fortunate to have Brothers in the positions of Senior Warden, Senior Deacon, Junior Deacon, Inner Guard, and Assistant Secretary. If the winds are favourable, we should have a good run of new Masters in our coming years.

We also have two candidates lined up for 2018, the first being initiated in January. We certainly hope to have some heating by then as a number of brethren said they weren't coming back in the cold!

We had a great time at the festive board. Toasts aplenty and a very special raffle prize; a painting of HMS Adelaide by WBro Jim Harker that he had kindly donated. We were honoured to have both him and his son, Jim junior, with us for the evening. It raised a magnificent sum of £200.

After the formalties were over, a good number of us retired to the bar, which was ever so slightly warmer. We must have caught the bar steward, Ronnie, in a good mood, as he didn't kick us out until after 2:00...

So, it's all change once again and our new officers are raring to go. Here's hoping for a great 12 months!

Also, as it's the last entry I'll be making this year, here's wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy new year.

Until the next time.

RWR