The Master, WBro Dipak Chauhan, and all the Brethren of The Wyggeston Lodge extend their Festive Greetings for a wonderful Christmas and prosperous New Year.
The Lodge raises over £300 for local Leicestershire and Rutland charities
At our Lodge meeting on Friday 20th December 2013, the members very generously donated a total of £317 for the following local Leicestershire and Rutland charities:
- Vista – Provides vital services and support to children and adults with sight loss including people with sight loss and learning disabilities, sight loss and dementia and people with dual sensory in Leicestershire and Rutland.
- Rainbows Hospice for Children – Dedicated to meeting the needs of the children and young people from the East Midlands who are affected by life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.
- Teddies for Loving Care – Teddies provided by Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons to children who attend the Accident and Emergency Unit at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Benevolence and Charity are fundamental principles of Freemasonry and since 2004, the members of The Wyggeston Lodge have proudly donated a total of £34,325 to charity.
The Wyggeston Lodge welcomes 4 new members including 3 University of Leicester students
At our Meeting held on Friday 20th December 2013 at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester we welcomed four new members to the Lodge, three of which are students at the University of Leicester recruited through the Universities’ Scheme.
The Quadruple Initiation Ceremony is the second such Ceremony we have conducted in 2013 and was once again held in the magnificent Holmes’ Lodge Room. On this occasion, the Lodge was kindly assisted two members of the Derek Buswell Lodge of Provincial Grand Stewards No.9705 who acted as Assistant Deacons. The Lodge was also very pleased to welcome a number of Brethren from the Hartington Lodge which is the Universities’ Scheme Lodge for Derbyshire and also the Master of our Daughter Lodge, Wyvern Lodge No.6167.
As it was our Christmas Lodge meeting, the Festive Board consisted of traditional Christmas fare including turkey and all the trimmings, Christmas pudding and mince pies. In traditional style the flaming Christmas pudding, was paraded by the Lodge Stewards whilst the members sang ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’. The Christmas Carols continued throughout the evening with a rousing rendition of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’.
The Wyggeston Lodge becomes member of AMULL
The Wyggeston Lodge are proud to announce that they have recently been approved as an Associate Member of the Association of Medical, University and Legal Lodges (AMULL).
AMULL brings together these professional and academic Lodges, and holds an annual festival. The festival also involves wives and other non-Masonic guests and is held at unique venues across England. It consists of an inter-faith service, an interesting and entertaining lecture, and a champagne reception followed by a lunch at the venue. A charity is designated by the host lodge and funds collected at the meal. AMULL also promotes a Bursaries and Scholarships for undergraduates to help them with their studies.
The Wyggeston Lodge, as the UGLE Universities’ Scheme Lodge for the University of Leicester, looks forward to a long and successful membership of the Association.
Lodge of Gratitude Passes two of our Members
Congratulations to Bros Dr Christopher Kent and Samuel MacCuaig were Passed to the Degree of a Fellowcraft in a Double Ceremony kindly conducted by the Lodge of Gratitude No.6514 at their Regular Meeting on Tuesday 17th December 2013 at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester.
The Master of The Wyggeston Lodge, WBro Dipak Chauhan, and other members attended the meeting to support Bros Chris and Sam on this special occasion.
Several Brethren of the Lodge also assisted in the Ceremony namely WBro Robert Jones, who very ably acted as Senior Deacon, WBro Richard Sutton, who stood in as Assistant Director of Ceremonies, and WBro Andy Green and Bro Paul Marvin who performed specific parts of the Ceremony.
The Wyggeston Lodge are extremely grateful for the assistance of the Lodge of Gratitude in Passing two of our members who joined via the Universities’ Scheme. The Ceremony was conducted superbly and was very much enjoyed by all.
Freemasonry Today finds out why University of Leicester students have become Freemasons
The Winter 2013 issue of Freemasonry Today, the Official Journal of the United Grand Lodge of England, reports on the success that our Lodge has had since joining the Universities’ Scheme and introducing Masonry to a new generation of Leicester University students.
The full article can be read by clicking the front page above or here: http://www.freemasonrytoday.com/news/initiatives/universities/item/1185-universities-scheme-wyggeston-lodge-3448-university-of-leicester
Freemasons assist with FareShare Neighbourhood Food Collection
The Master of The Wyggeston Lodge, WBro Dipak Chauhan, and other members of the Lodge volunteered for the FareShare Neighbourhood Food Collection on Sunday 1st December 2013. Customers in the Tesco store at Narborough Road, Leicester were asked to donate items of non-perishable food as they entered.
FareShare is a unique charity fighting hunger and its underlying causes by redistributing surplus food to hundreds of local charities across the UK including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs and luncheon clubs for the elderly. FareShare Leicester supports a total of 54 charities including ADAPT (Supported housing young people), Contact Project (Youth project), Faith in people with HIV (HIV drop-in centre), Josephs Storehouse (Food parcels and rehab) and Healthy Living Centre (Support Centre).
The shoppers at Narborough Road were extremely generous and the donations of tinned food, rice, pasta, tea, coffee and cereals came flooding in and within a short space of time two supermarket trollies were completely filled. Tesco have kindly agreed to add 30% of the total given, based on the estimated value/weight of the food donated.
Members are Appointed Officers at Provincial Grand Lodge
Our congratulations go to WBro Alan R Davis who received his first Appointment as an active Provincial Grand Charity Steward at the Annual Communication of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Leicestershire and Rutland on Friday 29th November 2013. This reflects the dedication and hard work that WBro Alan has given to The Wyggeston Lodge since joining in 1991 and becoming the Master in 2007.
Our Secretary, WBro Andy R Green, was also Appointed the Provincial Training Officer by the Provincial Grand Master at the same meeting.
Several members of the Lodge attended the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting to support our Brethren in achieving such high recognition within the Province.
Emergency Meeting held to Pass 3 Leicester University student members
An Emergency Meeting of the Wyggeston Lodge No.3448 was held on Tuesday 26th November 2013 to Pass, to the Second Degree, three University of Leicester student members. This Ceremony was due to take place at our Regular Meeting in October but due to a power cut at Freemasons’ Hall, Leicester, we were unable to conduct it (see story here).
Bros Yusif Nelson, Valentin Tartacuta and Peter Clarke, who all joined the Lodge in February 2013, were Passed to the Degree of a Fellowcraft by the Immediate Past Master, WBro Tom Bodycot, by the kind invitation of the newly Installed Master, WBro Dipak Chauhan.
Members attend the University Lodges’ Ball
Members of The Wyggeston Lodge, and their partners, travelled to London on Saturday 23rd November 2013 to attend the University Lodges’ Ball held at Armoury House of the Honourable Artillery Company. For many years the tradition of the Masonic Ball in Oxford and Cambridge was one of the highlights of the University social calendar. Unfortunately it has not been held for the past 60 years. 
The current Ball was held to commemorate the Grand Ball held by Apollo Lodge in 1863 at Christ Church to celebrate the wedding of the Prince of Wales (later Grand Master and King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, who both attended. The revived Ball was held to support of the Royal College of Surgeons and Combat Stress, the veterans’ mental health charity.
The evening began with a Champagne reception accompanied by a string quartet. A Pre-Ball Banquet was then enjoyed by approximately 400 diners which consisted of a roulade of Scottish salmon, oven braised lamb shank and classic hot chocolate fondant.
After dinner, guests enjoyed a wide range of entertainment including Romany, Diva of Magic, Rockall Ceilidh, Oxford University Big Band, The Mariachis (from the Doritos Advert). The evening concluded with a disco and a silent disco until 2am.
Members of the Lodge, who are students at the University of Leicester, were joined by other Freemasons from the Province of Leicestershire and Rutland and the Universities’ Scheme Lodges and was a most enjoyable evening.
