On 12th January 2008, 38 members and guests attended the annual Ceremony
of Investiture at Peterborough – one of the best attended occasions
in the history of the Order. Many members arrived well before the ceremony
to meet up with friends old and new, and once again ten members from the Conclave
of St Martin at Sees stayed the previous evening at a local hotel, and enjoyed a wonderful meal at a nearby restaurant.
At 11am, the Grand Master’s procession entered the Chapel, where the
guests and 2 Postulants awaited, and for the first time at an Investiture
we were treated to processional music and hymns from our new Grand Director of Music.
The Grand Master used his introduction in the Business section to talk
about the Charitable aims of the Order. In the past we have donated money
to local charities, but he would now like to concentrate fundraising on a single national charity, with
everybody giving this their full support. He has done some careful research,
and proposed that we adopt the charity Whizz-kidz. This was agreed by
the meeting. Full details of this charity can be found in the link on
the News page.
Following the Investing of the Postulants and the promoting of five existing
members, the Grand Master made his Appointments of Grand Officers, and
five members also received promotions in the Meritorious Order of St Mark.
Congratulations to all those who received awards.
After the formalities had been completed, we retired into the adjoining
dining area for lunch, where everybody had the chance to get to know each
other or renew old acquaintances. After the dinner, a raffle was held which raised £120 towards our new
Charitable objective (see separate item on News page). We then heard a
short, passionate speech from Chevalier Arnold Baker. Last year his doctor
had told him that because of his weight his life expectancy was extremely short. He had undergone
a major operation to staple his stomach, and with the grace of God and
the support of his friends he said that he now stood before us some nine
stone lighter, and a different man! He wanted to share his story to show
what modern medicine and traditional prayer could do.
Photographs of the event can be viewed in the Gallery.
A meeting of the Grand Council was held after the dinner, the
main agenda items being as follows:
Regalia suppliers - we have been obtaining these through a local supplier,
but the Grand Master is not entirely happy at the service. We will perservere
for the time being to see if they can improve their service. In the meantime, the Custodian of Insignia
has for sale Order ties and Paperweights. These can be viewed and ordered
through the link in the News pages.
Constitution - the Grand Chancellor has almost completed the new Constitution
and as soon as it is available a copy will be posted on the website.
Ritual update - the Grand Marshal has now revised the ritual and it will be re-printed in good time for the next Investiture.
Venue - although there had been some discussions last year about changing
the venue, it was unanimously decided to stay at Peterborough for the
time being, where we are well looked after in comfortable surroundings, so you can now put Saturday 17th
January 2009 in your diaries so that you do not miss it!
New Conclave - Chevalier David Donachie has built a castle on his land
in Scotland and is in the process of having a Chapel built in the grounds.
It is his intention to try and form a new Conclave in Scotland with that as the base. The Grand Master promised that
we would go up to consecrate the new Conclave when it was complete.
Any other business - the Grand Herald asked that Officers try to let him
have news, photos and event details so that there would be continuing
stories to publish both on the website and in the Members' Newsletter
Subscriptions - the Grand Master said that the Order was costing more
to run with our various new initiatives and he proposed an increase in
subscriptions to cover this. With effect from July, therefore, subscriptions will rise to £20 per annum. The proposal
was seconded by Chevalier Charles Holloway.
The Grand Steward made an observation that it had been difficult getting
money from everybody attending the dinner, particularly when they said
they would pay on the day and did not then turn up. The Grand Master made a declaration that in future all
payments for dinner must be received in advance, and anybody not conforming to this would not receive a meal.
The Grand Master thanked everybody for attending and declared the meeting closed.
New members
Richard Hugh Thomas - KSR
Helen Neaves-Wilde - DSR
Promotions
Alan Blackstone - KCSR
Ian Burnett - KCSR
Julian Gunnell - KCSR
Charles Holloway - KCSR
Leslie Grout - KCSR
Arnold Baker - KCSR
Margaret Gunnell - DCSR
Promotions in St Mark
Terence Bowler - KSM
Steven Turner - KSM
Kenneth Bamber - KSM
Dianne Uttley -DSM
Lesley Doe – DSM