Page 23 - Essex Mason Issue 84

Special Feature
A YEAR AT HAMILTON COURT

ell I have completed my first year, as the Chairman at Hamilton Court and to say it has been
Weventful would be an understatement! Within the first month I had an emergency call from Sue
(the scheme Manager) saying that one of the residents W.C had overflowed! To cut a very long story
short all the sewers were completely blocked, we called in DynaRod and found that the last manhole
which was all of 10 feet deep and needed clearing, as the saying goes “up to your neck in it!! “This was
quickly followed by having to replace all of Washing Machines and Tumble Dryers.
Last year our Scheme manager Sue Walters decided to retire after 15 years of dedicated service to
Hamilton Court. The position was offered to Mrs Sarah Skinner and we are very pleased to report that
Robert Mathew Sarah has, in the short time she has been with us, has been a very popular choice with her professionalism
Chairman and friendly personality. I attend on a weekly basis to catch up with Sarah on the day-to-day running of
Hamilton Court and we are both very well assisted by the members of the Committee.
Next was a reported problem with the roof leaking into one of the units and after a few attempts of using a ‘drone’ to take pictures,
we had a scaffold erected and we found a split in the lead gulley which now has to be replaced at a large cost.
A few years ago the kitchen was upgraded with new appliances being installed and we are now planning to changing the bathrooms
to ‘wet rooms’. This work can only be carried out when the flats are empty and this would need to be carefully planned, as it would
create a lot of dust and noise.
This year we have held a B.B.Q, evening entertainment with Supper and Singers, Wii bowling and darts, and for the first time a trip
to the dogs, Quiz nights and a St Georges tea with a good old - fashioned sing song. We also tried out a Sunday Soup & Sweet
for residents that were at a loose end over the weekend, this proved a great success. The residents also arrange events such as
Birthday Parties, Fish and Chips evenings.
The scheme has its own Charitable fund the Hamilton Court Charitable Association which relies upon the generosity of Masons
Essex Mason
within the Province, by the way of donations from Lodges, Chapters, Other Orders, The Essex Mason and personal donations. This
Approved
fund enables us to continue along with the tireless work of the committee in enhancing the lives of our residents.
I would like to make a plea to all the Almoners and all the members of the Executive - Please visit us at Hamilton Court to see
the facilities that we provide and if you think they have a member or widow who suffers from loneliness or is struggling with their
situation, please put your name on our waiting list, as believe me, once they move in they will never regret it.

Provincial Grand 'JOGLE'

blog by Geoff Turpin
ollowing the success of the ‘Travelling Gavel’ when a number of Essex masonic cyclists
Fled by W.Bro Trevor Back visited every Masonic centre in the Province covering 300 miles
over 3 days in April 2015 to raise funds for the ‘8 Aid’ initiative, Trevor had another idea, how
about 900 miles in 8 days!!
It turned out his idea this time didn't involve three laps of the Province but cycling the length
of Great Britain, not the slightly more sensible option of Land's End to John O'Groats he
wanted us to do it from John O’Groats to Land's End, (no it’s not downhill) hence Team
‘JOGLE’ was formed and comprised of Trevor Back, Daniel Rosewell, Adrian Deadman and
myself.
So with Travelodge’s, Premier Inns and the like all booked, final preparations were made, the support van set off on the 13th of July for the long drive North.
Trevor Dan and I flew up from Heathrow on the 14th July.
We were completely self-funded, so to avoid the additional costs of getting a driver, Adrian volunteered to drive the van accompanied by his wife Tracey
until Day 5 when Trevor’s wife Somei joined the team and Adrian joined us on the road.
Following the overnight stay in a rather basic hotel in John O’Groats, on beds with mattresses about as thick as a tea bag, (not the greatest nights rest I’ve
had) my confidence was high until the waitress at breakfast that morning who when told what we had planned looked at Trevor, looked at Dan and finally
exclaimed "what even you" when she looked at me!
Thus JOGLE began and became a reality with those 900 miles ahead of us!
Day 1 John O'Groats to Inverness – 122 miles - Not a great start, we got soaked, and had to make do with sandwiches as the café that we planned to
stop at was closed!
Day 2 Inverness to Perth – 122 miles - Another 100 plus miles we had particularly strong headwinds that day and they started with another long climb to
get out of Inverness however, at the end of the day we received a morale boost when a couple of Brethren from the Lodge of Zetland joined us for a drink
or two.
Day 3 Perth to Lockerbie – 111 miles - A day of highs and lows, beautiful views of the bridges over the Firth of Forth as we descended towards Edinburgh,
strong headwinds again made it tough.
Day 4 Lockerbie to Preston – 126 miles - This was the longest day in the saddle, we passed through Gretna Green which saw us finally back into England.
We had now got into a regular routine of 4 refuelling stops at approx. every 30 miles.

Day 5 Preston to Ludlow – 120 miles - This included a few cross border excursions into Wales, great scenery.
Day 6 Ludlow to Taunton – 120 miles - The weather was good which kept us in high spirits as the last two days approached.
Day 7 Taunton to Bodmin – 99 miles - We left Taunton with darkening Skies and heavy rain by the time we reached Exeter the heavy rain had turned into
a deluge and it was also very cold!
Day 8 Bodmin to Lands End – 74 miles - The final day which we knew would be tough because we wanted to be taken back to where we finished day 7.
This meant the first 20 miles just got us back to where we'd spent the night, but we'd did it!!
With a few wrong turns on route we had ridden 895 miles. It was a fantastic shared experience. It was so tough but well worth all the effort. We have raised
in excess of £10,500 for the festival 2022 because of the fantastic support we received from the Masons of Essex as well as family and friends.
Would we do something similar again....... watch this space.

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