Prior to Wednesday 13th March I agreed a visit to Ashlar House from Horringer W.I. They were interested in the catering venue and knowing more about Freemasonry and asked me about a tour of the premises.
The party of eight members arrived at 10.30 and I showed them the bar and garden and introduced them to Camilla. We then went into one of the dining rooms and they were very impressed with the size and the fact that the partitions opened to make one large area. Whilst in the second area, Camilla had organised tea and coffee for them, and I threw the meeting open for them to ask questions about anything at all in respect of Ashlar House and Freemasonry in general.
They seemed to be so engrossed with this that it was noon before we even went upstairs to visit the temple, they really were so impressed and once again loads of questions were asked. The only one that I wouldn’t answer was their enquiry as to why the two pillars inside the door had B and J on them!
(That shows how interested they were!) A quick glance into the meeting room to see the display of regalia so well presented, and then it was 1pm and time for them to go.
I received two emails from them afterwards, one from the President:
Thank you so much for our visit yesterday to Ashlar House. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say how much we enjoyed the morning and are grateful for the time you spent in telling us about the Masonic organisation and showing us round the lovely Masonic Lodge. It was very informative and interesting and I’m sure your idea of inviting groups into the Lodge is a great way of reaching those who know little about the Masons and might never have considered becoming a member. Lots of pointers here for us in our W.I.
All the feedback was very positive. Thanks again John for your time and a very pleasant visit.
The other from a close neighbour:
What an interesting morning you gave us today in the lovely surroundings. It was good to get an understanding of how the Freemason movement worked and the objectives, as personally I had no idea. I loved your passion and enthusiasm and the story of the young man who on becoming a member was very quiet but gained confidence and friendships and really enjoyed being a Freemason. That’s what it is all about and the charity funding to help other organisations.
Thank you, John, for an insight into Freemasonry and good luck with any future projects.
I have to say that I enjoyed it and do hope that we can get other W.I.s to attend and groups of businesses, or mixed audiences. My belief is that we need to get people talking about Freemasonry and by showing off our magnificent building it is a great way to start!
John Porter
