Right Worshipful, Very Worshipful and Brethren all,

It is with equal measures of pride and humility that I address you.

I am proud to be Master of this unique lodge with its truly international membership.

I am humbled to see the number of you here today who have travelled near and far to join in this celebratory weekend.

I need only to reflect to March 2020 when the world was engulfed in a pandemic. Just a few days before I should have been installed, the UK went into lockdown and I was receiving messages from people all over the world apologising for being unable to get to Manchester.

For the first time in my memory, English freemasonry was suspended along with many other constitutions throughout the world.

Then, to put it nicely, my health took a turn for the worse which resulted in long spells in hospital in 2020 and 2021. I am pleased to say that is all behind me but I am still proud and grateful, as a freemason, to see the care, concern and support offered by my fellow freemasons with email and phone calls from many parts of the globe.

As we move to the present day, I am here, healthier and happy, and looking forward to fulfilling my responsibilities as your Worshipful Master of this Lodge which has just celebrated its 25th Anniversary.

As a Lodge, I wonder if our founders ever thought that technology bring us to where we are now, and that ‘new d email thingy, would be considered, by the younger generation, as obsolete/Jurassic with the advances that have been made and the various media and electronic communication systems that exist today.

I commend to you the presentation created by Worshipful BrotherRob Allen cataloguing the first 25 years of our history which premiered at our Sunday evening Zoom meeting last week. It is well worth watching and extend my personal thanks not only to Rob, but to all those members of Internet Lodge who contributed in any shape, way or form.

In selecting my team of officers, I have tried, wherever possible, to reflect the international flavour of our membership but would hope that the membership understand that some roles of necessity have to be filled by UK based masons.

Looking to my year, I am very much of the opinion with the lodge, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it, but this must not be to the detriment of advancement of freemasonry in the future.

Circumstances have dictated a need to change my original manifesto plans but I am delighted to inform you that in my year and god willing my successors year we are going to be ‘making masons’. We will be doing a third degree ceremony in August and potentially a first degree in October.

I am happy in my year to follow the format of this weekend with a Thursday Welcome for the early arrivals, a Friday Night Get Together, a Saturday Night Ladies Evening/Social and a Sunday Lunch for those still in the area or with late in the day flights.

I am also looking forward to meeting up with some of you in Cyprus this May and thank those who have expressed an interest in attending. Additional details of the itinerary will be on the website.

In closing, I express mine and I am sure the Lodge’s gratitude to those officers that have stood down from their roles today but have served the lodge well. And thanks to those newly appointed officers for your commitment in the future.

Thank you all for your attendance and time and may the Great Architect who designs our lives ever guide you on a path of happiness.