Quarterly Communication at Newport

On Wednesday, 13th September over fifty members of the Province of West Wales left the West to travel to the East.

Their destination was the International Conference Centre at Newport, which is next door to the Celtic Manor Resort. The reason for the trip was to see history being made with the United Grand Lodge of England holding its quarterly communication outside of England for the first time..

The meeting was opened by the Pro-Grand Master in the language of Heaven, obviously another first. Just under 1200 Freemasons (from all over the world) were in attendance but were easily accommodated in the magnificent main hall.

The first order of business related to succession planning and involved a change to the statutes stating that ‘the son of a Royal Prince’ could now appoint a Pro-Grand Master. You amateur detectives out there should now be able to have an educated guess as to who will take over when the Duke of Kent relinquishes his position as Grand Master.

There followed three very well-prepared presentations on the successes of the Members Pathway in Wales with our very own Membership Officer W.Bro. Steve Fearn kicking off with a short presentation on the success of the University Scheme in St. Padarn Lodge.

Following the meeting 1,160 Freemasons sat down to dine, with every member being served a three-course meal in a timely manner. Thanks must go to the centre staff for the efficient manner they distributed the food, and thanks to the Stewards who were on hand to provide extra wine and other drinks to the tables. (One minor criticism was that the red wine ran out long before my desire to drink it did.)

The shuttle bus service between the venue and Newport station also worked extremely well and our travelling band of brothers were back in West Wales by early evening, having enjoyed a thoroughly good day out.