Above
Yasha Beresiner, one of MQ’s regular
contributors, with his wife Zmira
at the Gala Dinner
Below
The Grand Masters and Pro Grand
Master with the full members of
Quatuor Coronati Lodge who spoke
at the Conference
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There was a great diversity of subjects, but there was a
certain frustration that with three sessions running in parallel
each day, choosing which to attend was difficult and
Murphy’s law often operated – two speakers or subjects
you wanted to hear being presented at the same time!
To be fair, however, the conference organisers, Supersonic
Events Limited, did a tremendous job of organising over
200 people within the limited confines of Freemasons’ Hall,
running sessions to time and ensuring that coffee and lunch
breaks kept the body going whilst the mind was being feasted.
As with all conferences, equally important to the formal
sessions was the opportunity of meeting old and making
new friends and having the opportunity to sit down, or more
often stand with a drink in hand, to discuss pet theories, new
insights and new information provided in many of the formal
presentations. It was certainly to the benefit of both the
academics and the Masonic researchers to have this great
opportunity of meeting together and comparing notes.
The social side was as well planned as the formal sessions,
including a gala dinner followed by a traditional ceilidh at
the stunning Royal Museum of Scotland.
The Conference had been preceded on the Thursday
evening at the Freemasons’ Hall by the final of the Scottish
Youth Orchestra’s Young Musician of the Year Competition.
Three very talented young musicians – two violinists and
a clarinettist – played two pieces each and quite how the
adjudicators were able to sort them out into first, second and
third places, so well had each played, remains a mystery to
the delighted audience. The three Patrons of the conference
presented the prizes.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland is to be congratulated on
promoting and supporting this first major conference. The
organisers and the Local Organising Committee (Robert
Cooper, Curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, James
Daniel, former Grand Secretary of England, and Professor
Andrew Prescott, formerly of the Centre for Research into
Freemasonry, Sheffield University), learned a great deal
about running such a major event and are not daunted
by the prospect of future Conferences. Indeed, thought
is already being given to having a second conference in
2009 to tie in with the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns!
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