FORWARD - RW BRO SIMON DUCKWORTH OBE DL PJGW DEPUTY METROPOLITAN GRAND MASTER

When I look back over the last six months, I suspect that many of us share a sense of surreality; the world as we knew it seems to have changed, and not for the better.
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EDITORIAL

Dear readers, welcome to the 42nd edition of arena Magazine.
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PRESERVE THE HISTORIC COMBINE THE MODERN

Sir Michael Snyder has always liked building things. An accountancy firm, which he built from very small to quite large (Moore Kingston Smith, which is now a top 15 UK Accountancy Firm), as an Elected ...
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AN EPIC DELIVERY - LONDON MASONS DELIVER 37 600 FACE VISORS

Back in the middle of April 2020, barely a month into the Masonic Suspension and the nationwide social Lockdown, a time when the Thursday Evening 8pm Clap for NHS Workers was the highlight of our coll ...
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THE MEN AT THE TOP - WBRO J R SOPER - PSGD METROPOLITAN GRAND INSPECTOR

"Oui” is French for “yes”, as readers will know. For our Metropolitan Grand Inspector, W Bro Julian Soper PSGD this, he tells me, was about the limit of his French when his boss asked him whether he s ...
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THE LATEST FROM THE CONNAUGHT CLUB

The ups and downs due COVID-19 continue to have an impact on masonry in general, and for us on the committee planning events for the members of the Connaught Club.
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BROTHERS ACROSS BORDERS HOW BOWES PARK HELPED A STRANDED BROTHER

WBro Ian Armstrong, of Bowes Park Lodge No 3119, woke up on March 23rd, checked his email inbox, and found himself confused to have received an email from Germany.
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FORMULA 1 THEMED LODGE ANYONE

Formula One is the absolute pinnacle of motorsport. This year, despite the Covid-19 modified season, F1 is celebrating its 70th anniversary.
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AUTISTIC CHILDREN ACCESS TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT THANKS TO LONDON MASONIC GRANT

London Masons through the Masonic Charitable Foundation have helped fund a new Assistive Technologist for the Ambitious about Autism charity who enable young people with complex autism to communicate ...
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AN ALDERSGATE STORY

It was the first, socially distanced, Metropolitan Royal Arch meeting after the Coronavirus lockdown, in an unusually hushed Freemasons' Hall. And this was not any ordinary meeting. It was the rescue ...
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10 000 MEALS & COUNTING - ACTION FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN EALING AND ACTON

The initiative backed by Dr Rupa Huq MP, Local MP for Ealing Central and Acton, promising 800 free hot meals a week provided by London Masons during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has now passed 10, ...
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RESTARTING - AN INSPECTOR’S EYE VIEW

With some trepidation, I approached Freemason’s Hall around 4.15 pm on 1st September. This was the restart of Freemasonry; one of the first meetings since March. Would the plans put in place be effect ...
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THE MEN AT THE TOP - W BRO ROBERT LAKIC - METGINSP PJGD

W Bro Robert Lakic grew up in Shepherd s Bush, London after his parents arrived in the United Kingdom after the Second World War.
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LOCKDOWN LOWDOWN

Having retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2019, my new career as an artist was coming on nicely and I had begun to see regular sales of my artwork.
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MUSEUM OF FREEMASONRY - THE GOOD FROM THE BAD

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Museum along with Freemasons’ Hall closed its doors to the public in mid-March.
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THE MASONIC CRAFT BEER SOCIETY - CELEBRATING THE ‘OTHER’ CRAFT

It was like creating a door that was already open. Many Freemasons enjoy a drink together before, during and after a festive board; but when Freemasonry was suspended, and the country was put into loc ...
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A JOURNEY FROM SCOTTISH MASONRY

I came across ‘Freemasons Without Borders’ through Facebook and have enjoyed listening to the talks each week but nothing on Scottish Freemasonry!
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CHARITY UPDATE - LONDON FREEMASONS SUPPORT THE WIMBLEDON GUILD DURING LOCKDOWN

A donation of £4,000 from the London Freemasons’ Charity is being used during the Coronavirus pandemic to assist the work of the Wimbledon Guild, a local charity supporting people in the London Boroug ...
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CHARITY UPDATE - LONDON SEARCH & RESCUE AWARDED A £5,000 GRANT

Around 150 people a day are reported missing in London, putting a huge strain on the resources of the Metropolitan Police. London Search & Rescue is a specially trained voluntary organisation set up 3 ...
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CHARITY UPDATE - A THEATRE TRIP FOR EVERY CHILD

In November 2019 the London Freemasons’ Charity gave a grant of £4,500 to The Albany Arts Centre, Deptford, in support of their ‘A Theatre Trip for Every Child’ initiative.
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CHARITY UPDATE - A SENSORY GARDEN TO IMPROVE LIVES

In these difficult times of Covid-19 restrictions, many are facing loneliness, uncertainty and depression. Freemasons are no less affected than the rest of the population, so the facilities provided a ...
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SOLOMON - NEW WAYS TO INTERACT

Since its successful launch more than eighteen months ago, the volume of content on Solomon has expanded and continues to increase across all of the modules.
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THE HEART OF A FREEMASON NEVER CLOSES

As the whole world fell in the grip of an invisible threat, many were forced to shield themselves from relatives, friends, neighbours, and brothers.
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FUNNY WHAT PARKS OUT FRONT!

Pictured is one of the London Fire Brigade response vehicles donated by Metropolitan Grand Lodge.
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W BRO LES HUTCHINSON TAKES THE HELM AT THE MCF

London Freemason W Bro Les Hutchinson PSGD will be the Masonic Charitable Foundation’s new Chief Executive and the man responsible for the next chapter in the story of Freemasonry’s central charities ...
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THE KENT CLUB UPDATE

So the lockdown is now a thing of the past and we are, as I write, in the traditional Masonic holiday month of August having just had the hottest day of the year so far.
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A NEW DAWN - LED BY HELIO LODGE

The brethren of Helio Lodge No 3900 felt it was particularly important to keep fellowship and fraternity together during the COVID Pandemic by staying in close contact via the Lodge's WhatsApp group.
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FREEMASONS IN WAITING - BRADLEY GUDGER

Every year Metropolitan Grand Lodge receives over a thousand enquiries from men and women who are interested in becoming Freemasons.
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A YOUNGER MASON SPEAKS

I did not know it, but Freemasonry had always been following me around. When I decided I wanted to learn about Freemasonry, the series of coincidences that followed were frankly unbelievable.
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THE OLD BRENTWOODS STAY SAFE AND MIND THE GAP

10am, Saturday 18th July 2020; just hours after the general suspension of activity ended, ten members of the Old Brentwoods Lodge 5342, including the Worshipful Master, Secretary and Director of Cerem ...
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TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

As weeks turn into months, it seems the terminology is wearing thin as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to headline in the media.
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