Wyggeston Lodge holds its annual Ladies Festival

On Saturday 30th January 2016, the members of the Wyggeston Lodge gathered at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester for their annual Ladies Festival.

The Master WBro Paul Bodycot and his wife Lyn welcomed the guests in the Holmes Lounge who were then served with a glass of chilled Prosecco. At 6.45pm the guests sat down to a wonderful five-course menu consisting of Prawn Cocktail for starters, mango sorbet, fillet of Beef Medallions for the main course, Spiced Pear in Port served with chocolate ganache for dessert and concluded with cheese and biscuits and a glass of Port.

WBro Tom Bodycot gave a very entertaining Toast to the Ladies describing a historical prospective on local prominent ladies to which Mrs Lyn Bodycot replied on behalf of all the Ladies. The Ladies and Roses Songs was kindly sung by WBro Michael Walker.

Entertainment after dinner was provided by Phat Chance, consisting of male voice duo Andy and Alex, with music from the 60’s to the present day which ensured that plenty of dancing finished the evening off in style.

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Past Master of Wyggeston Lodge celebrates 50 years service to Freemasonry

W.Bro. James Morgan, who is a resident at the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution Care Home Devonshire Court in Oadby, Leicestershire, was presented with a 50 year certificate of service to Freemasonry by V.W.Bro. Peter Kinder, Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Leicestershire and Rutland, on Saturday 12th December 2015.

W.Bro. James, who is aged 91, was Initiated into the Wyggeston Lodge No.3448 in 1961 by the then Master W.Bro. George Moore. W.Bro. James progressed through the offices of the Lodge and was its Master in 1975. He continued membership with the Lodge for 35 years eventually joining the daylight lodge, Ratae Meridian Lodge No.9673 in 2000. He was appointed Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon in the Provincial Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland.

A number of Brethren from the Wyggeston Lodge attended the presentation at Devonshire Court to congratulate W.Bro. James on this wonderful achievement and he was thrilled to see some of his old friends from the Lodge.

Three members are Raised to the degree of a Master Mason

At the meeting of the Wyggeston Lodge on Friday 15th January 2016 held at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester, three  of its members were Raised to degree of a Master Mason.

Bros Peter Bedford, Nathaniel Rawes and Simon Walmsley, who all have a connection  with the University of Leicester either as current or past students, were Raised to the Third Degree in a triple ceremony conducted by the Master, WBro Paul Bodycot.

The Master congratulated them all on reaching the degree of a Master Mason and in recognition of their achievement were presented with an Emulation Ritual book each inscribed with a hand drawn panel documenting the dates of Initiation, Passing and Raising.

Wyggeston Lodge welcomes two new members

At the Christmas meeting of the Wyggeston Lodge held on Friday 18th December 2015 at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester, two new members were welcomed to the Lodge and the Ancient Fraternity.

Bro Edirisinghe, a 22 year old student at the University of Leicester originally enquired about joining the Freemasons back in March 2015 after visiting the Lodge website. The Wyggeston Lodge is the Universities Scheme Lodge for University of Leicester staff, students and alumni.

Lehan was inspired to become a Mason as his Uncle is already a Freemason in his native Sri Lanka. He said: “I want to better serve the people around me and to build my character. I feel that being a part of Freemasonry best achieves these goals.”

As part of a Double Initiation, Bro Edirisinghe was Initiated alongside Bro Jennings who works for the local Council who was proposed by one of the existing members of the Lodge. The Master of the Lodge, WBro Paul Bodycot, was assisted in the Ceremony by several members of the Lodge including some of the junior Brethren who have recently joined themselves.

The Lodge was very pleased to welcome the Master and other members of it’s Daughter Lodge, the Lodge of Welcome No.5664 together with members of Universities Scheme Lodges, Castle of Leicester No.7767 and Salisbury Union Lodge No.767. The Lodge also warmly welcomed the Secretary of the Universities Scheme, WBro Oliver Coddington, a member of Phoenix Lodge No.173.

After the Ceremony, the Christmas Festive Board, which consisted of traditional fare, was a very enjoyable and fun occasion where the two new Brethren were keen to assist in parading the Christmas Pudding whilst those present sang ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’.

Also at the meeting, the Universities Scheme Travelling Loving Cup was claimed by the members of the Castle of Leicester Lodge No.7767. Read more here.

The Universities Scheme Loving Cup is claimed by Castle of Leicester Lodge

The Universities Scheme Loving Cup, was claimed for the very first time from the inaugural holders, the Wyggeston Lodge No.3448, by Castle of Leicester Lodge No.7767 at their meeting on Friday 18th December 2015.

The DKW Cup, named after the founding President of the Universities Scheme, RWBro David K Williamson PAGM PGStwd presented it to the Wyggeston Lodge at the Scheme Conference which was held in Leicester in November 2015. The initial idea for a Universities Scheme Travelling Loving Cup came from WBro Dr Andy Green, a member of the Wyggeston Lodge, to encourage visiting between Scheme Lodges.

The Ceremony of the Loving Cup, which is traditional with Livery Companies of the City of London, is said to date back to Saxon times before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and to derive from the assassination, by command of Elfrida, of King Edward the Martyr whilst drinking at Corfe Castle. The practice has been adopted by other associations, including some masonic lodges, and can be considered as an expression of sharing, coupled with mutual protection, reinforcing the ancient masonic bond we have with each other.

During the Festive Board the DKW Cup, filled with Champagne and bitters, was passed around the Brethren according to ancient procedures. Afterwards it was offered up for claiming by Scheme Lodge and despite several Scheme Lodges being represented, including Salisbury Union Lodge No.767 and Phoenix Lodge No.173, it was Castle of Leicester Lodge No.7767 who had the most number of members visiting with a total of nine Brethren. Regional Co-ordinator for the Scheme WBro Daniel Hayward PPSGD claimed the Cup behalf of the Lodge.

The Wyggeston Lodge are very proud to have been the very first holders of the DKW Cup and wishes it well on its journey around the Scheme Lodges.

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The next meeting of Castle of Leicester Lodge No. 7767 when the DKW Cup can be claimed by a Scheme Lodge is on Tuesday 9th February 2016 in Leicester.

Past Master of Wyggeston Lodge installs his brother into the Master’s chair 

Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Master of the Lodge was not able to attend the Installation meeting of Wyggeston Lodge No.3448 on Friday 20th November 2015 to install his successor. It was therefore agreed that WBro Thomas A Bodycot should have the pleasure of installing his younger brother, Bro Paul L Bodycot, into the Master’s chair.

The meeting was held in the Holmes Lodge Room, Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester where members of the Lodge, together with many visitors, witnessed an emotionally charged installation ceremony. The new Master, WBro Paul Boydcot was Initiated into the Wyggeston Lodge in 2006 after being Proposed by his older brother and has steadily progressed through the offices of the Lodge to the highest honour the Lodge can confer on any of its members. Amongst the guests was the Master’s nephew who had recently joined Freemasonry and is a member of Peace Lodge No.2269 meeting in the Province of West Lancashire.

Bro Peter Clarke with the bottle of Port
Bro Peter Clarke with the large bottle of Port

The celebrations continued at the Festive Board with a four course dinner including the now infamous mixed grill. Additionally, the cheese and biscuits was supplemented with an extremely large (4.5 litres) 20 year old bottle of port which was a kind gift of one of our Scheme Initiates, Bro Peter Clarke.

The Wyggeston Lodge also had on display the Universities Scheme Travelling Loving Cup, the DKW Cup, which was presented to the Lodge at the Universities Scheme Conference. However, no other Scheme Lodge was represented in sufficient numbers in order to claim the cup which will be available for claiming at the next meeting on 18th December 2015.

Wyggeston Lodge are first holders of the DKW Cup

The Wyggeston Lodge, the Universities Scheme Lodge for the University of Leicester, have been honoured as the very first Lodge to hold the Universities Scheme’s Travelling Loving Cup that was presented by the past President, RWBro David Kenneth Williamson PAGM to promote inter-lodge visiting within the Scheme.

The DKW Cup was commissioned by the Past Assistant Grand Master, based on a original idea from the Wyggeston Lodge Secretary, WBro Andy Green and was made by A R Wentworth (Sheffield) Limited, through the Worshipful Company of Pewterers. The DKW Cup was presented to the Lodge at the recent Universities Scheme conference which was held in Leicester.

The Loving Cup is a tradition within Livery Companies of the City of London and creates a sense of fraternity and togetherness. To encourage visiting between the 66 Scheme Lodges, the cup I can be claimed by any visiting Scheme Lodge with four or more members present at a Lodge meeting.

The Wyggeston Lodge fears they will not hold onto the cup for long as there are several Scheme Lodges anxious to claim it at their next meeting in December.

WBro Andy Green said: “We are thrilled and honoured to be the first holders of the DKW Cup and look forward to ceremoniously passing it around the Festive Board when it is claimed.”

Two new members join the Wyggeston Lodge

At the meeting of Wyggeston Lodge on Friday 16th October 2015 at Freemasons Hall, Leicester, two new members were welcomed into the Fraternity.

Bros John Williams and Rob Morris were Initiated in a Double Ceremony by the Master of the Lodge in the ornate Holmes Lodge Room where the Lodge was Consecrated in 1910. Bro John is an postgraduate student at the University of Leicester and joined via the Universities Scheme. Bro Rob is an HGV driver with a national firm. The new Brethren were warmly welcomed into the Lodge and both thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

This takes the number of new members Initiated into the Lodge in the last year to 9 making a total of 48 members in the Lodge.

Wyggeston Lodge attends Freshers’ Fair at University of Leicester

Members of the Wyggeston Lodge of Freemasons, once again attended Freshers’ Fair at the University of Leicester on Monday 28th September 2015. This was the fourth year in a row that the Lodge has attended the fair and yet again it was a busy but very rewarding day. Lodge members met many students who were interested in finding out more about our ancient fraternity and keen to learn how they could join. Approximately 800 leaflets about the Lodge were distributed to students during the day.

The Wyggeston Lodge is designated United Grand Lodge of England Universities Scheme Lodge for the University of Leicester and joined the national scheme in 2011. Since then, the Lodge has seen a large influx of student members who have become Freemasons whilst studying at the University.

It is hoped that those students interested in finding out more will come along to a free tour of Freemasons’ Hall in Leicester in the next few weeks to see inside the wonderful Headquarters of the Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons and where senior Freemasons will be on hand to answer any questions.

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Wyggeston Lodge support children’s cancer trust to provide free holidays for families

The Wyggeston Lodge of Freemasons, which meet in Leicester, together with the Leicestershire and Rutland Masonic Charity Association have generously donated £2,112 to the Harley Staples Cancer Trust to provide a years rent for ‘Harley’s Caravan’ allowing families with children suffering from cancer to spend quality time together at the seaside and away from hospital.

The Harley Staples Cancer Trust, based in Blaby, Leicestershire, was set up by parents Jamie and Katherine Staples in loving memory of their inspirational boy Harley who at just 8 years old lost his battle with a rare leukaemia, B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Burkitt type, in 2009.

The aim of the trust is to put a smile on the face of any child or young person with cancer and help to create memories for these children and their families to cherish forever. They are currently fundraising to buy a holiday house in rural Leicestershire for children and young people to use for free all year round. Additionally, they provide free holidays for children and young people up to the age of 24 at their brand new caravan based at Ivy Farm Holiday Park, Overstrand, Norfolk. Families can take a holiday for a week between March and October which is in easy reach of the coast.

The donation was presented to Jamie Staples at an Award Ceremony held at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester on Saturday 26th September 2015 by members of the Lodge, including WBro Dipak Chauhan (Charity Steward), Bro Paul Bodycot (Senior Warden), WBro Kelvin Johnson, and Head of the Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons, RWBro David Hagger.

Upon receiving the donation, Jamie Staples said “A massive thank you to all the Freemasons for this donation which will cover the ground rent for Harley’s Caravan next year. We have had 25 families stay in it this year and we now don’t have to worry about the rent for next year as it is now sorted.’

The Master of the Wyggeston Lodge, Jamie Mollart, said “We think it is a great cause and that they should be very proud of everything they have achieved. It’s incredible and generous what they’re doing in the face of their personal tragedy and they are an example of how you can turn something so awful into something positive.”