Tuesday 12th to Thursday 14th July 2016 saw the 158th Annual Great Yorkshire Show at the Harrogate Show ground.
For over 15 years Brethren from both The Province of West Riding and the Province of North & East Ridings, joined forces to fly the flag and spread the word to the Great British public.
Our Province has mutually shared the stand with North & East Ridings which is manned by volunteer members under the Chairmanship of W.Bro. Andy Brown (Rokeby Lodge No. 6301) and gratefully supported by the Rulers of the 2 Provinces who were available over the 3 days to answer any questions and dispel any myths that the attending public may have.
Record crowds attended the Show, and were welcomed not only by glorious sunshine but also the Presence of HRH The Princess Royal who attended on the second day of the show, maybe the rumour spread to London that our PGM RWBro. David Pratt had offered to buy the Bacon Butties.
This year’s stand again saw the pull up display boards created by W.Bro. David Clough (Craven Lodge), with an additional display showing the recent grants made to both Tadcaster and the Calder Valley, following the Christmas time floods.
The stand however is not used as a recruitment exercise for our organisation, the primary objective is to raise awareness , answer questions and dispel myths, but we are happy to say, that a number of interested gentlemen did however request for further information which is currently being dealt with through the appropriate Provincial channels.
The stand always has a free ‘name the TLC Teddy’ competition, and the TLC teddy bear always attracts attention. This year, keeping a watchful eye over the stand was a 5 foot tall TLC Teddy promoting the amazing achievement that our Province given away 100,000 teddies to the hospitals throughout the Province. It is amazing how so many people recognised the teddies and knew someone who had actually received one, and how well the gesture is accepted.
We were very fortunate this year to have with us the charity Support Dogs from Sheffield and also the White Knights Blood Bikes, both of which were successful recipients of major grants from the 2016 Provincial Grand Masters Fund.
The Support Dogs charity received £14,000.00 towards the purchase of a new van, and the White Knights received £ 20,000.00 for a new motorcycle. Both organisations, are well worthy of the funding, and their assistance and support over the days at the show was very much appreciated.
During their time on the stand they were able to not only promote their own organisations, but reinforce the Charitable Arm of Freemasonry, and the wonderful words that they had to say about us makes all the great work we do worthwhile.
Support Dogs brought along with them ‘Cass’, who was a fully trained golden Labrador, who was able to notify her guardian of impending seizures, with 30 minutes notice allowing time for appropriate preparations to be made, a beautiful dog, who really did attract attention.
The White Knights brought along with them one of their response Motor cycles which is used to transport blood between hospitals for transplants, again the White Knights are another very worthwhile cause, with the riders all being volunteers.
The Chairman of the Great Yorkshire Show organising Committee W.Bro. Andy Brown would like to take this opportunity to thank the Rulers for their continued support, along with all of the Committee members, from both Provinces, and stand volunteers for their contribution and hard work and who give up their time freely to attend the show during their allocated days.
Discussions are already in place for the 2017 Great Yorkshire Show , this also being the Tercentenary Celebration of our wonderful organisation, and we look forward to your continued support.