Stonecutters Update - 4 November 2024
2024 started with a conveyor belt like series of storms, bringing very dangerous road conditions to the South West of England. A few of our members managed to travel to The Green Dragon for our first Natter Night of the year, however, most members were unable to safely travel due to the flash floods caused by the storms. The Chapter Officers all managed to attend their planning meeting, the results of which were announced at our next Natter Night, ready to set the scene for 2024.
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Although the weather curtailed our riding, it did not impacted our Freemasonry. On 25 January, members of the Stonecutters visited New Temple Lodge No. 8435 in Swindon, to see one of our Masonic Cornerstones, "Princess" being passed to the Second Degree. On 26 January, members of the Stonecutters visited Highworth Royal Arch Chapter No. 9009 to see "Spanner" being exhalted into Royal Arch Freemasonry, while the non-Royal Arch Freemasons and our partners met for our monthly quiz night.
The Stonecutters held our Annual Easter Egg Run on Saturday 9th March, where we delivered Easter Eggs to Julia's House Children's Hospice in Devizes. It was great to see all our friends at Julia's House. The following weekend, four of our members travelled to Duncarron Medieval Fort, the home of the Branded Widows Son. The were privileged to be nominated to be Branded as Widows Sons during the Annual Branding Ceremony which is run by Widows Sons Scotland. The weather at Duncarron was very cold and wet, but that did not detract from the ceremony itself.
The Chapter assembled in the early hours of 24th March to meet up with members of our daughter Chapter, the Quarrymen (from Dorset) for a ride to Loomies Motorcycle Cafe. When we arrived, we were met by members of most Widows Sons Chapters that are based in the South of England. We had a great catch up over a bacon and egg butty and a tea or coffee. Finally, our Immediate Past President, "Ozzy" presented a cheque for £150 to the Dan Payne Memorial Fund which is a small, local cancer support charity.
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On Sunday 21 April 2024, the Stonecutters met at Devizes Masonic Hall for our "Great Provincial Rideout." We visited every Masonic Hall that is currently in use. We stopped at each Masonic Hall to take a group photograph as "proof" of our visit. The route was approximately 160 miles long and with photo stops, breaks and fuel stops took seven hours. The "Great Provincial Rideout" was in support of the Wiltshire 2028 Festival Appeal and raised £510 by the day. Kind donations can still be made at http://tinyurl.com/stonecutter-2024 .
May was quite a blur of a month due to good weather facilitating more rides and quite a lot of masonic activity amongst our members. We started the month with the Raising (Ceremony of the Third Degree) for one of our Cornerstones, "Bambi" which coincided with the 20th Anniversary of the Widows Sons Masonic Bikers Association in England and Wales. We also rode on Bank Holiday for our lunch and while we were at it we patched "Standown!" as a Widows Son.
One of our members was installed as Master of his Lodge, while another was Proclaimed in office for a second term. Our Royal Arch Masons also attended Provincial Grand Chapter and we had a member Installed, our Secretary was Exalted (joined the Royal Arch) and a further six Stonecutters became joining members of St Alhelm Chapter No 2888. We also rode to visit Weymouth Veterans Hub with our daughter Chapter, the Quarrymen. In all, a very busy month.
In early June, the Stonecutters rode from Salisbury to Bournemouth for the annual Classics at the Knole show, which is a charity event held at Bournemouth Masonic Hall. It was quite a unique day which saw members of Southern, Stonecutters and Quarrymen Chapters all come together for the day.
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Over the weekend of 21 - 23 June, members of the Stonecutters (who also represented Harry C Preator Lodge No 8204 and Broade Forde Lodge No 8547 made their way to Great Yarmouth to "Race the Sun". The riders rose before sunrise which marks the start of the "race", the aim of which is to make it to Lands End before sunset. At 0445hrs, the bikes departed from Great Yarmouth and made their way via Cambridge to Milton Keynes before dropping onto the A303 and A30 with the occasional rest and fuel stop enroute.
The riders arrived at Lands End approximately three and a half hours before sunset. Finally, having parked their bikes away at their rest stop for the evening, a few relaxing and well earned beers were consumed. Via their endeavours, £350 was raised in support of Teddies for Loving Care, who provide teddies to young children admitted into hospital through the Emergency Department.
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On 24 June, members assembled at Swindon in the late afternoon and rode to Cassington Bike Night near Oxford. It turned out that several thousand other bikers had the same idea; however, a great evening was had by all.
Over the weekend of 19 - 21 July 24, the WSMBA celebrated their 20th Anniversary at Newton Abbot Rugby Club during the WSMBA National Rally. The rally was organised by the Stonecutters, Wyvern, Pilgrims, Quarrymen and Brycgstow Chapters of the WSMBA. This year Widows Sons Chapters from Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands and Portugal travelled some considerable distances to attend. Our visitors thoroughly contributed to the overall enjoyment of the weekend and are more than welcome to ride with us again.
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On Saturday there was a rather damp but successful organised rideout which was followed by a meeting of the Widows Sons Lodge No. 10011 which was held by dispensation, with over 300 visitors. After the Lodge meeting, our President patched a Cornerstone and also patched "Bambi" as a Widows Son. We also thoroughly toasted our own fifth anniversary of chartering. Several charities including DocBike UK Devon, Mental Health Motorbike, Lifelites, the Royal British Legion, Chris Jones who was fundraising for the Masonic Charitable Foundation and Strongmen. All charities in attendance were presented with a cheque for £1000 by the WSMBA. A great weekend was had by all and we are now looking forwards to next years rally.
Our Vice President, "Spanner" held his annual VP's Ride Out and BBQ on 18 Aug 24. 20 bikes met at Chiseldon to ensure our tanks were full and while we were waiting, to also have that first coffee of the day while we listened to our pre-ride brief. Our convoy of 20 bikes then headed to the CLassic Motor Hub at Bibury for a walk around and another coffee before we set off to head for the BBQ element of the day in Swindon. Upon arrival at Swindon, many of us were met by our wives/partners ready for our BBQ. On the afternoon, the BBQ and raffle raised £750 which will subsequently be donated to our supported charities. The President was also able to patch three new Cornerstones into the Chapter.
We held an impromptu breakfast on Sunday 25 Aug 24 at Choppers Cafe near Burbage. Our ride was the journey to the cafe and back home again; although everybody who attended really enjoyed their breakfast, a brew and a good bit of banter before we went our seperate ways for the remainder of the Bank Holiday weekend.
