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Activities with the national and local
media all fulfil Bernard Levin’s advice
of keeping Freemasonry in the public
consciousness, but a more direct way of
influencing public attitudes is by inviting
them into, and to use for non-Masonic
purposes, our Masonic buildings.
In the last few issues of MQ we have
reported on various non-Masonic events
at Freemasons’ Hall. In addition to bringing
income to Grand Lodge, these events are
a major opportunity to let the public see
our buildings and have an opportunity of
asking questions.
Filming for television or feature films
involves a lot of standing around for the actors
and technicians. They get curious about the
building, we are on hand to answer their
questions and usually pass on to them the
square booklets and copies of MQ Magazine.
When next somebody says anything to them
about Freemasonry, they will have something
positive to say about it. Some of the film
shoots have even produced candidates.
The fashion shows, film premiere parties
and other events have not only introduced
a lot of people to Freemasons’ Hall who
would not otherwise have visited, but have
also generated press coverage.
The recent Julien Macdonald fashion
show, which always gets heavy media
attention, not only got Freemasons’ Hall
mentioned on all the major television news
channels, but also in all the reports in the
next morning’s papers and in the fashion
and gossip magazines.
The coverage by Sky and GMTV
included stunning visuals of Freemasons’ Hall
all clearly identified. Nothing was said about
Freemasonry, but coverage like this gradually
gets it over to the public that there is another
side to what they have previously been told.
Bernard Levin warned that destroying
myths and changing public opinion was a
long term job. He was certainly right. But
a lot of hard work has been done by a lot
of people over the last 20 years and the signs
are there that attitudes have changed.
The best example of that is in the local
media where, on occasion, the Information
Officer has not had to act when someone
(usually a local politician) has had a go at
Freemasonry in the local press because a local
non-Mason (often one who has attended an
open day) has written in to challenge what the
detractor had said. That certainly is a change!
John Hamill is Director of Communications
at the United Grand Lodge of England
Julien Macdonald
and Paris Hilton at
the fashion show
spectacular in the
Grand Temple
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A FAVOURITE LOCATION
Charlotte Clark, a director of Inca
Productions, which staged the Julien
Macdonald fashion event at Freemasons’
Hall, speaks about her love for the
building as a spectacular venue:
Inca Productions has a very long history
with Freemasons’ Hall. I first came
through the doors to the Grand Temple
in 1999 and apparently was the second
woman through the doors after Princess
Diana. I was instantly seduced, smitten
and star struck by the space. Having
worked in events for over 15 years now,
it is very rare to be rendered speechless
by a location, I was instantly star-struck.
The Grand Temple had the same
effect on Julien Macdonald when we
showed him the space for the first time.
As creative director of Givenchy, he
has had the opportunity to show his
collections in some of the most beautiful
venues in the world – he was the first
designer to show in the Grand Palais
after its refurbishment – in his opinion
the Grand Temple is his favourite
location to date.
Working in Freemasons’ Hall is a joy
from beginning to end. From an event
producer’s point of view it does not get
much better. The space is never ending,
your events team are a joy and nothing
appears to be too much trouble. We
were even allowed to use a glitter bomb
that sent showers of gold into the air
and tumbling down onto a sea of
supermodels.
One of my favourite memories of
Julien’s show was walking out of the
Grand temple doors with Paris Hilton
after the event. She climbed into her
limo, rolled down the window and
pointed to the building, smiled and
drawled, ‘that’s hot.’ Freemasons’ Hall
is now officially London’s hottest venue.
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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