Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire><br /> <h1 class=Information for Lodge Officers
May 2003
A Guide for Directors of Ceremonies

5. THE SOCIAL BOARD

•  Planning and Pacing

•  The Social Board, like the Lodge meeting itself, requires planning and discipline if it is to be successful. It is the DC who has principal charge of discipline so he should ensure that acceptable standards are maintained at the Social Board. The Social Board should always be conducted by the DC. Social Boards should be relaxed and happy affairs, so the DC's duties in this respect are unlikely to be onerous, but Masonic decorum must continue to prevail.

•  A great deal of time is lost at many Dinners and Installation Dinners, causing the proceedings to drag on to a very late hour, by having a formal break between the meal and speeches. As many of you will appreciate, a formally announced break of 10 minutes will last at least twice as long and it is very difficult to get all the Brethren back to start the formal proceedings.

•  The secret of avoiding this protracted break is to “persuade” the staff to serve the coffee immediately they have served the pudding and not start clearing until the coffee has been served.

•  You are in charge and a quiet word with the Head Waiter or Waitress beforehand telling them what you plan to do will enable them to organise their work and staff accordingly to fit in with you.

•  Lodge DCs should remember that the demands on the time of Distinguished Guests are very considerable, so you should ensure that the Social Board is conducted efficiently and with a degree of momentum which will enable you to bid them good night at a reasonable hour. The RWPGM does not, however, favour his Representatives, or other Senior Officers, retiring before the end of proceedings so long as they are not unnecessarily protracted.

•  Also, many of the young people who are coming into Freemasonry nowadays are under considerable pressure in their employment and so the programme should not be allowed to slow down. Aim to try to finish by 10 p.m. then those who need to get away can do so, but those with time to spare can stay. It is always better to have your Brethren and guests rise from the table wanting more, than to have them thinking “thank goodness that's over!”

•  The DC should take responsibility for ensuring that those proposing toasts as well as those responding have been given as much warning as possible. It is helpful, indeed it is highly desirable, to prepare your dinner notes well beforehand. These should include a full list of all wine taking you are going to have.

•  There is no disgrace in working from a list, in fact most of the ProvDepGDC's work in this way as a matter of course, and it helps to avoid any embarrassment. Your dinner notes should also include the names of all those who are proposing and responding to toasts.

•  Have everyone seated at least three minutes before dinner is due to be served with your ADC standing behind the Master's chair ready to gavel when you indicate to him that your entry procession is ready.

•  Keep the entry procession as short as possible and, if you can, limit it to the Master and Guest of Honour. If an APGM or a Past APGM is present, he should of course be included in the procession. The Master will “accompany” an APGM or Past APGM into dinner, but he will be “accompanied by” an Officer of UGLE or Warden of the year. He will also be “accompanied by” all others in the procession.

•  Risqué or doubtful stories have no place at the Social Board.

•  It saves a considerable amount of time at an Installation if the musical Brethren can be ready to move to their respective places immediately the applause starts at the conclusion of the toast to the Master. If the pianist can be ready to strike the first chord of the Master's song as soon as the applause has ceased there is then no need to announce the Master's song and the singer will then immediately lead into this next and very important item.

•  If there is a raffle, a good time to draw the raffle prize is following the Master's response to his toast.

 

•  Seating

•  The DC, normally in liaison with the Lodge secretary, is responsible for the seating plan in the Social Board and should see that suitable arrangements have been made for the principal guests. See Appendix 7, in particular concerning the possible use of round tables.

•  If formal seating is used (i.e. top table) Officers of UGLE are usually seated to the right of the WM, in order of seniority. Holders of Provincial Rank can also be seated on the right.

•  To the WM's left the order of seating should be the IPM, Chaplain, [Treasurer and Secretary if there is room], DC and Past Masters of the Lodge. These Brethren can sit among the Brethren if such is the Lodge custom, or if they wish to sit with their guests.

•  At an Installation, the representative of the RWPGM sits on the right of the Master: on his right are seated the GOs in order of seniority.

 

•  Toasts

•  The introduction to a toast is a matter of considerable importance and is often neglected. For example, the IPM when proposing a toast to the Master in the presence of an APGM, should open his proposition as follows: “WM, Worshipful Brother Assistant PGM and Brethren”. Provided he mentions the Senior person listening to that toast, there is no need for him to continue to mention Officers of UGLE and Officers of Provincial Grand Lodge. He should not however, include in his introduction the recipient of the toast. See Appendix 9 for further details.

•  A further example would be a Provincial Officer responding to toast Number 5; the preamble in this case would be merely “Worshipful Master and Brethren”.

•  The DC should stand behind the WM for all announcements. The ADC should stand behind the Wardens when they are proposing their toasts and remind them that they should mention any Distinguished Guest in their preamble.

•  The gavel should be placed in front of the WM who will sound it when the DC requests him to do so. The DC should never use the gavel, only the WM has that right, either in Lodge or at the Social Board.

•  It is not unreasonable to return thanks and take the first two toasts once the cheese has been served. By doing this, those Brethren who wish to smoke or go to the Bar and get a drink for their guest can do so, whilst the cheese is being eaten and the staff are clearing the tables. Thus you can create a natural break at this time enabling those dining to refresh their glasses and the staff to clear simultaneously. As soon as the staff have gone, you can then proceed immediately with the speech programme, your ADC having assisted you by getting the diners back from the bar before the staff have left.

•  The DC's announcement of the loyal toast is “Brethren – pray silence for the WM who will propose the loyal toast. We will sing the first verse of the National Anthem after which we will honour the toast – upstanding Brethren”.

•  If your Lodge has a toast to Absent Brethren, this can be slotted in where appropriate according to the hour, but it should never be taken before toast Number 2, neither should it ever be taken between the proposition and response to a toast. If the Lodge has a tradition that this Toast takes place at a specific time (say 9 O'clock) but Toast no. 2 has not been proposed, the DC could honour Absent Brethren as an extra wine taking at the appropriate time, as follows: “Let us remember Absent Brethren”

•  On most occasions the guest of honour will be an Officer of UGLE and he will respond to toast Number 3 and at an Installation 3, 4 and 5. Good manners require that the toast should be coupled with him personally and a very brief introduction be given to him. So often this is not thought about in advance and consequently the Brethren have no idea who is going to respond, neither do they know anything about him; this is most discourteous.

•  A brief pen portrait is not difficult to prepare if you have any doubts contact should be made with the District Chairman or District Secretary well in advance to obtain the information necessary to prepare this brief introduction which should be written down and given to the proposer of toast Number 3 well in advance and not just before he rises to propose the toast.

•  If at an Installation an Acting Warden is the representative and a GO is present, then this Officer should be invited to respond formally to toast Number 3 and, very briefly, he should indicate to the Brethren present that on this occasion the formal response of the evening will be by the acting Warden of the Year present (named) followed by a very brief introduction of him, so that when in due time he rises to respond, all present will know a little about him.

 

5.4 Taking Wine

•  During the course of the meal, wine will be taken on a number of occasions, but keep it to a minimum, more than five or six would be excessive. See suggestions at Appendix 8.

•  Wine taking should be taken in a single group where possible and must be limited to a Masonic context.

•  Wine taking should be taken following either soup or fish course, prior to the main course.

•  The Master will sound the gavel when you ask him, after which you will make the announcement. It should not be necessary to sound the gavel more than once.

•  After the Master has taken wine with the principal guest, if an Assistant or Past Assistant PGM is the principal guest, he must always be invited to take wine with all the Brethren present and this will be the last of the Wine Taking.

•  At an Installation, the Officer of UGLE who is representing or a Warden of the Year who may be representing should not be invited to take wine with all the Brethren present.

 

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