Tonight at our regular meeting we had two firsts. The order of the night was to initiate Matthew Aleixo into Freemasonry , and to welcome Worshipful Brother Nigel Buxton PJGD from Kalamunda Lodge no 262 WAC, all the way from Perth Australia as a visitor to the lodge.
This was a ground breaking visit as Bro Buxton has been left none verbal following some medical issues and communicates using a TTS system ( Text to Speech) to communicate via his laptop, which is known as “Brother Lenovo” a name givemn to it by the MWGM of Western Australia. Special permission was given by UGLE for him to use his machine to communicate with the lodge members ( with some provisions ), the resulting speech was very well received. This is , as far as we are aware, is the first time such a machine has been permitted and used in England and Wales, and is a ground breaking event which might allow other none verbal Brothers to participate fully in our Masonic events in the future.
The First Degree for Mr Matthew Aleixo went well and he too was welcomed into the fold in a very enjoyable evening, in which he performed very well. We look forward to his continued Masonic journey for many years to come.
The evening was closed in good order and enjoyed by everyone attending
Wor Bro Buxton presented his dispensation from UGLE along with his permission for WAC to participate, and he was warmly received and given our usual friendly welcome into the lodge.
The evening was closed in good order and with a fine rendition of the Entered Apprentice song.
