Well made it through the first meeting without a hitch! R.W.M. Ewan Robertson had a big night in prospect, what with it being the first meeting of the new season and the labours of the closed season still underway right up to the very last minute.

I think it’s worth pointing out that the work carried out since May has been massive by any standard, the amount of time dedicated by Lodge members since then has been in excess of 460 hours, an interesting fact is that this would have taken 2 tradesmen on the job non stop, six weeks to complete! If you take that thought out just a wee bit further and consider how much that might have cost basing £25.00 on a tradesman’s hour, you come up with an incredible £11,500. These numbers do not include the time spent working away from the lodge by numerous brethren who gave freely of their time in addition to this so it’s a very safe sum to associate with the potential cost such work may have incurred.

Anyway setting aside the big numbers, the lasting legacy will undoubtedly be our magnificent new Temple, quite radically different from it’s previous form and  providing many new benefits to our brethren and visitors alike.

The new design is much sharper in finish with dado height wood paneling surrounding the entire room. The remaining walls have been re-plastered and painted giving a clean crisp backdrop to the less cluttered wall space which features quite prominently a high tech flat screen monitor on which a presentation of the Lodges history is screen in the half hour or so before the business of the meeting gets underway. The presentation itself details key information dating back to our consecration in 1919 and features an impressive photographic archive covering in particular the Lodges last 20 years. This presentation is being produced on DVD and will be available to purchase from the lodge for the modest sum of £5.00.
 
One of the key features of Lodge St. Olaf has been the squared flooring of the temple which was laid in 1987, this floor has been renovated and brought up to a high standard of finish providing once again an impressive focal point for the working of our degrees. As if this was not enough, the temple has been further adorned with the addition of a brand new fitted carpet which adds warmth and lustre to the overall effect.

The Temple now has an uncluttered and modern feel to it, however one very traditional adornment has been added in the form of a stained glass window depicting the lodges distinctive logo set atop the square and compasses and a Pair of Scottish thistles. The window was designed and constructed by Bro. Gordon Mackay P.M.

I trust that from reading this you will have some notion of the excitement and anticipation pumping through the veins of the many brethren who had been involved in the process, add to that the fact that the vast majority of them were yet to carry out the work of the evening which was to be a first degree then you might excuse them the odd slip up in their work, this however was not to be the case! The R.W.M. had expressed his deep desire that the degree work should be of the highest caliber, and he was not disappointed! The work was more akin to a final meeting of the season, and was as polished and impressive as the new surroundings it was carried out in which gave a strong indication of the sort of business we can all look forward to in the coming season.

The R.W.M. thanked individually all those involved in the refurbishment programme as well as all of those involved in the excellent ceremony of the evening and closed the Lodge accordingly.

The next meeting will be on Thursday the 20th October when the business of the evening will be a 3rd Degree, we look forward to seeing you then.