On Monday,12th December it was the Royal Ark Mariners annual investiture meeting at Great Queen Street, London. 16 brethren met up at 9:45 at Piccadilly train station to catch the 10:15 to Euston and on this day the trains were running nearly on time.
Within 20 minutes of leaving Piccadilly station our Grand Steward of the year WBro Steven Lord handed out the breakfast feast along with a Gin and Tonic or a whisky or three to set us up for the day. On arriving safely at Euston station we set off to Grand Lodge in somewhat mild weather conditions.
The timing of this year’s investiture was perfect as on arrival we were soon sat down in Grand Lodge along with many distinguished guests from around the world. The proceedings started with 112 brethren being invested with Royal Ark Mariner Grand Rank which included 3 brethren from East Lancashire. WBros Kevin M Reaney, APGM, Roger Fielding and Brendan Harte.
After the proceedings were concluded we managed to get to the bar in a relaxed atmosphere. The timing of the meal was moved forward giving us plenty of time to enjoy our 3-course meal in the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms with over 400 brethren.
It was that time to move off back to Euston station to catch the 6:33 train but sadly it was running late by 45 minutes. Fortunately, the train arrived and we all returned to Piccadilly station after being served by the Grand Steward with one or more G and T’s. An excellent day all around and many congratulations to those who received Grand Rank today