The Freemasons of Arenal Deportiva Lodge recently held a Banner Dedication Ceremony in their Lodge in Javea. This is quite an unusual ceremony as it is usually only held when a new Lodge is created. The reason for Arenal Deportiva holding one however, is because two years ago the two Lodges, Arenal and Deportiva decided to merge into one. For this reason, a new banner was thought necessary showing details of both Lodges.

The ceremony was presented by the Provincial Grand Master of Valencia RWBro Michael Shilan and many Masons attended to see a ceremony which many had never seen before. The Provincial Grand Master arrived in full splendour with his escort, consisting of the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, the Provincial Grand Standard Bearer, the Provincial Grand Sword Bearer, the Provincial Grand Chaplain and six Provincial Grand Stewards.

After a brief prayer the Provincial Grand Master unveiled the new banner and dedicated it to the new combined Lodge. The banner was then paraded around the Lodge. The Provincial Grand Chaplain made a short presentation on the use of banners generally and of Masonic banners in particular. WBro Brian Imber, who designed the new banner, then gave a short speech explaining the symbolism and meaning of the various details on the banner.

It was fitting that the previous Provincial Grand Master RWBro Norman Wheatley was at the ceremony as he had conducted the Ceremony of Amalgamation two years previously. It is also quite unusual to have both the past and present Provincial Grand Masters at the same ceremony, particularly one in which both had played such an important part. This was a splendid and unusual ceremony which all present enjoyed enormously.

Recently, Freemasons of Oliva La Safor Lodge celebrated their one hundredth meeting. This was a major milestone for the Lodge and, amazingly, two of the Lodge’s founding Brethren, WBro John Mony and WBro Derek Moseley, were there to celebrate this very special meeting. The meeting was held in Viva España restaurant in Oliva and was a ceremony to raise Bro Robert Monte to the third degree.

The ceremony was conducted in an exemplary fashion by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, WBro Malcolm Burt and all of his Officers and, to further celebrate, the Lodge was honoured by two very special guests. The first being the Provincial Grand Master of Valencia, RWBro Michael Shilan, the other was no less than the Grand Master of Spain, MWBro Oscar de Alfonso Ortega.

Both of these honoured guests were very pleased to be invited along to take part in what was to be a very special evening. It is unusual to have one such high-ranking Officer to attend a meeting and extremely unusual to have two, the first being the highest-ranking Mason in Valencia, the other being the highest-ranking Mason in Spain.

We were particularly lucky to receive a visit from the Grand Master as, only the day before, he had returned from Central America where he had been visiting several countries as the Grand Masonic representative of Spain. Despite being exhausted from his journeys and a twelve-hour flight home he still made time to come and visit the Lodge.

The Grand Master was welcomed with full honours and enjoyed, not only the ceremony itself, but also the Festive Board dinner served afterwards. He stated that he felt Oliva La Safor Lodge to be one of the best in the Province and hoped he might be invited back in the future. A charity raffle was held which raised two hundred and fifty euros which, with other monies raised, will be presented to a local charity in the future. A very special evening which everyone enjoyed immensely. Special thanks must be offered to the Provincial Grand Master and the Grand Master for giving up their valuable time.

On Saturday, 20th October, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia, held their annual Ladies Night at the Hotel Grand Bali, in Benidorm. This is one of the most prestigious Masonic gatherings of the year, held by the Province and run under the auspices of the Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Michael Shilan and his lovely wife Muriel.

It is a time when Freemasons from all over the Province gather together to pay tribute to, and say thank-you to, their long- suffering wives. Throughout the Masonic year most Freemasons attend an enormous number of meetings and many charity functions to raise money for the less privileged and deserving causes. Throughout the year our wives have a lot to put up with. Either through not seeing their husbands for a sufficient amount of time or being asked to help out at various functions.

In general, our wives do so without thought or complaint, sometimes at a huge cost to themselves and always taking valuable time and effort. This meeting is our way of saying thank-you for all their help and support. I think most Masons would agree that without the constant support of their better halves they would not be able to do as much, or enjoy their Masonic tasks to the same extent.
The meeting opened at 1815, with a cava and canape selection. Later at 1915 a four-course meal was taken by all. Music was supplied, in the first instance, by the ever-popular WBro Ian Henry who played and sang a huge variety of music in his usual excellent manner. Later, local group, Black Glitter, took over and played many songs designed to entice the by now replete diners onto the dance floor. They succeeded!

For the slightly more formal aspects of the evening, the Master of Ceremonies, WBro Clifford Gingell, presided over the proceedings with his usual style. The loyal toast to HM King Felipe VI was given by RWBro Michael Shilan, the toast to the Ladies was given by WBro William Russell in his inimitable style and the Ladies song was rendered in excellent manner despite the singer, RWBro Jeff Hyde, having an awful cold. Mrs Muriel Shilan then responded to the toast with an eloquent and witty speech which was appreciated and enjoyed by all, particularly the Ladies.

A grand charity raffle was held which raised the magnificent sum of one thousand five hundred and eighty euros. This money, along with other monies raised throughout the year, will be used, by the Province, to sponsor under-privileged children to go to a summer school in Guadalest. This has now become an annual event having been supported for the last four years. Each year we have managed to support more children than the last and this year we managed to sponsor a record forty-two children to visit the school and for the coming year we hope to beat the record yet again. This was an immensely successful evening and I believe most of the Masons, Ladies and guests thoroughly enjoyed it.

John said that he and his wife Denise chose A.F.A. as his charity for my year as Master of Old Tower Lodge as it is a organisation close to our hearts, having watched my mother suffer with this illness many years ago.

During my year we raised money for this well deserving charity by arranging various money raising functions  including Denise’s Ladies Night which was extremely well supported. As a result I have been able to donate just under 2.200 euro’s to the A.F.A in Torrevieja. This has enabled them to purchase 15 high back chairs for their patients comfort and 2 new I Pads to improve their technical capabilities.

Local Freemasons from Dama De Elche Lodge N0163 recently presented a cheque for one thousand nine hundred euros, to the Paul Cunningham Nurses. This money was raised by various charity events held throughout the Master’s Year, including the annual Lodge Ladies Night, hosted by Worshipful Master Nigel Sanders, a visit to the Nan Kin Restaurant, an evening meal held at La Cocheca  and a fish and chips supper held at Quesada.

Recently, Freemason’s from Dama de Elche Lodge made a special trip to visit the children and staff of the Elche Children’s Home. The reason for this visit was to make a very welcome donation of nine hundred and fifty euros, raised by the Lodge through various fundraising activities. The cheque was presented by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, WBro Nigel Sanders and the Charity Steward, WBro Trevor Bagnall.
This donation will cover the cost of purchasing one thousand litres of fuel oil, which will provide hot water and heating for the children over the winter period. This has now become something of an annual event as the Lodge has now provided fuel oil for the past few years. The cheque presented is part of the part of the Masters various fundraising efforts over his year in office.

Recently, local Freemason’s Lodge, Dama de Elche, held their annual Summer Dining and Disco evening which has now become a regular event. It was held at the Raco d’ Anna Restaurant  in Elche. This restaurant has both an excellent reputation and beautiful gardens which makes it an ideal venue for the meeting as proved by the arrival of more than sixty Masons, wives and guests. The weather was just about perfect, hot and sunny but with a gentle cooling breeze.

The guests were all welcomed personally by WBro Nigel Saunders, the Worshipful Master of the Lodge for this year along with his lovely wife, Lynne. As well as a very good dinner, entertainment was provided by Bro Colin Pearce who provided an excellent disco which soon had the guests dancing.

There was also a raffle which raised a very creditable three hundred Euros with all proceeds being donated to the two charities chosen, for this year, by the Master. They are the Elche children’s home and the Paul Cunningham Nurses, both of whom do a fantastic job. The money will be presented at a later date.

Everyone agreed that this was a fantastic night which was enjoyed by all.

Senior Freemasons of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia were recently invited to the Red Cross Headquarters in Alicante to attend a presentation, both to thank them for their donation of a support vehicle and also to demonstrate what had been done with that support vehicle which had been presented to them almost three years ago. The meeting was arranged by Snr Pedro Dominguez Crego and the Red Cross team who is responsible for alliances and European residents and also for International cooperation. The senior Masons in attendance were RWBro Michael Shilan, the Provincial Grand Master, WBro David Watts, the Provincial Grand Secretary and WBro Trevor Bagnall the Provincial Grand Charity Steward.

The presentation came about because, over a three-year period, the Province of Valencia held a Province wide festival to raise money for the Red Cross and eventually donated a fully fitted ambulance and two fully fitted support vehicles. One of these support vehicles was donated to the Red cross in Alicante and Snr Dominguez and the team felt they would like to thank the Masons for their generosity in providing it and to show what had been achieved by their team since it was presented.

The result was an extremely well-presented meeting at their headquarters in Alicante. Snr Dominguez and his team started by explaining the wide areas in which they were trying to help the less fortunate people of the Vega Baja and other areas. of which, sadly, there are many. They try to help a wide variety of people including the homeless, immigrants, those facing natural disasters such as fires, very relevant when at present there are so many of these, and virtually every other misfortune you could think of. Until this vehicle was presented most of the help offered had to be given at the headquarters. They had often wished they could afford to obtain some form of vehicle but simply did not have the money. They were extremely proud to be the chosen recipients of the support vehicle which has changed their lives, and many others, for the better.

They have since been able to provide help to hundreds of people and are now able to travel to them to offer help. The specially fitted out vehicle is fitted with hot water tanks and showers to allow people to have a shower when needed which before the donation was almost impossible. The vehicle is also able to provide a place where sometimes desperate people are able to meet and be helped. This help takes a large number of forms. It can be help with obtaining food and medical help, obtaining paperwork such as ID cards, help with personal hygiene, even such mundane things as chiropody. It allows them to be proactive rather than reactive. In some cases, it helps just to have someone to talk to and to be offered hope. In some cases, they speak to foreign consulates to help the people return to their home country.

Originally the vehicle was used in 2015 to help people in the Guardamar, Seguro and Orihuela areas. However, by 2017 this area was extended to include Rojales, Santa Pola and Fulgencia. From thirty interventions in 2015 the numbers helped by 2017 had risen to over three thousand! They are hoping to increase these numbers even more in the future. The team are able to converse in several languages which help many homeless people by no means all of which are Spanish. Some are very reclusive having lived on the streets, in some cases for many years, and would probably not have approached the Red Cross directly. Now however, the Red Cross are able to approach them which has enabled much more help to be given than previously.

The team now follow set but different routes every day each week so the people needing help know where to find them. When the people get to know and trust the team real help can be given. Almost all of this work, is done by volunteers and much is paid for by donations from various sources including the Freemasons. We were extremely impressed by the scope and breadth of the help offered and were extremely pleased to be invited by the team to be shown just what can be done with a little help and determination. Our thanks must go to Snr Dominguez and the team and also to the hundreds of Masons around the Province of Valencia who made all this possible.

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia recently held a Grand Golf Tournament to raise money to send under privileged children to the Summer School in Guadalest. This was held at the Serena Golf centre and was attended by fifty-six golf lovers who were keen to play and, at the same time, help needy children to be able to attend a summer school. The Provincial Grand Master, Right Worshipful Brother Michael Shilan and his deputy, Very WBro Rodney Bignell, were both in attendance to support this worthy day’s efforts. Provincial Charity Steward, WBro Trevor Bagnall was also there and took part in the match.

As well as the golf tournament, of which more later, there were several competitions to raise more money. One was to guess how many balls would be lost over the day and one lucky chap, Mick Billings, got the number exactly right by forecasting two hundred and twelve. There was also an auction which raised a further seven hundred and forty-five euros. The prizes, consisting of having green fees paid, were donated by golf courses in Alicante, Elche, Bonalba, La Serena, Las Colinas and Vistabella. Many thanks to all of them for their wonderful support.

A number of prizes were also donated by local businesses in the form of bottles of spirits etc. There were also two autographed items in the auction: a polo shirt signed by Darren Clarke – Ryder Cup Captain
and a golf glove signed by Padraig Harrington – Ryder Cup winner
Sponsorship was also offered by the following companies:
Boats & Barcos, Torrevieja
JR’s Country Club, Ciudad Quesada
Easy Insurance SL, Torrevieja
Caroline’s Embroidery Workshop
Alicante Lettings, Donna Pepa

As a result of all the activities on the day a magnificent total of more than two thousand eight hundred euros were raised.

The day was largely organised by WBro John Harvey and Bro Mike Wyatt who did most of the donkey work. A lot of help and support was also given by Mr John O’Brian, who represented the Spanish Golf Federation, and also managed to obtain some of the free green fees.
All attendees also had a fantastic lunch and the overall view was that it had been a magnificent event for all concerned.

On a final note, preparations are already in progress for a tournament next year, probably at Bonalba Golf, with a date yet to be confirmed.

Winners of the various events

Spanish Federated
John O’Brien and Denis McCormack -first place
Bill Martin and Eric Owens – 2nd place
Brent Hollings and John Dodds – 3rd place

Non-Federated
Rebecca McGeehan and Yvette McGeehan – first place
Paul Burletson and Steve Cardwell – 2nd place – Old Tower No. 49
Martin Gedney & Mike Billins – 3rd place

Nearest the pins
3rd: Mick the Grip
9th: Mike Billins
15th: Andy Trefry
17th: Andy Trefry

Recently, two senior Masons from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia, plus a third from the Grand Lodge of Spain, visited the Masonic summer school in Guadalest. This school has been funded by Freemasons in Spain for the past three years and is designed so that disadvantaged and underprivileged children are able to visit the school for ten days and learn about subjects they would normally not be able to study.

Every place is fully funded by the Masons so the children’s parents or carers do not have to pay a cent towards the cost. This year we have funded a record, forty-two children in total. Twenty-two of these children have come from the El Preventorio children’s home in Gandia, eleven from the Red Cross in Javea and others from around the region.
The funding has been donated entirely by local Masons, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia and the Grand Lodge of Spain who are delighted to be able to send so many children to the school who otherwise would be unable to attend. It should be noted that this is not a holiday, though it must appear so to the children. This is an educational trip where all students are expected to learn about subjects which will be totally new to most of them.
The basic curriculum encourages brotherhood and companionship. It teaches the children to get on with each other, to help and care for each other and for the older children to help and mentor the younger ones. Educational subjects include country walking, swimming, cycling, canoeing, archery, rock-climbing, quad biking, astronomy, music, drama and improvisation among many others.

Local volunteers visit to teach these subjects and the lessons are largely given by volunteers. The mentors who guide the children are little more than children themselves with ages ranging from eighteen to twenty-five. Some are former students who enjoyed the experience so much they have chosen to return and encourage other youngsters to take part. A great way for them to put something back for the chance that they were given!

The three Masons who visited were the Provincial Grand Master of Valencia, RWBro Michael Shilan, the Provincial Charity Steward WBro Trevor Bagnall and, for the first time, a representative from the Grand Lodge of Spain, RWBro Barrie Mansell who is an Assistant Grand Master but was attending as the District Grand Master of Mark Masons. They were all incredibly impressed by the work undertaken by the school which is run by Snr Juan Carlos Ortuño who built the entire centre himself.

It is obvious from the faces of the children how much they enjoy this brief respite from their normal lives and it creates a memory which will stay with them for ever.
The Provincial Grand Master said that he felt the school was an incredibly worthwhile undertaking and has made the centre one of his Provincial charities for this year. He is proud and happy that, through the selfless work of all the Masons both locally and nationally, so many children could participate and he wanted to offer a brief word of thanks to all the Masons throughout Spain who have made this possible.