Above
The Pro Grand Master, Lord Northampton
and Provincial Grand Master Robin
Wilson at the celebrations
Below
An ice spectacular provided a fitting
contribution to the big day
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Nottingham’s ice spectacular
The finale of the 2007 Nottinghamshire
Festival on behalf of the New Masonic
Samaritan Fund was celebrated in style
at a spectacular ‘Big Day’ event held at the
National Ice Stadium in Nottingham.
An audience of 1,600, which included
the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire
and the Pro Grand Master, MW Bro
Lord Northampton, watched as Fund Chief
Executive, Richard Douglas, announced
the final total. Thanks to the efforts of the
legendary Robin Hood and his Merry Men,
the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham failed in
his attempt to abscond with the cheque for
the outstanding total of £3,797,392.
The Provincial Grand Master for
Nottinghamshire, RW Bro Robin Wilson,
was eventually able to formally present the
proceeds of the Festival Appeal to NMSF
President VW Bro Hugh Stubbs.
In his response, Hugh Stubbs announced
that the success of the Appeal, led by
W Bro John Reid, had resulted in an
average donation in excess of £1,000
from each member of the Province, the
first time that such a figure had been reached
in any Provincial Festival.
Whilst congratulating all concerned on
this marvellous and generous achievement,
he asked members of the Province to
continue to work as hard to identify all those
who might need support from the Fund.
The ‘Big Day’ celebrations at the
Ice Centre, organised by W Bro Mike
Woodcock and his team, included an ice
display by skaters from the National Ice
Centre Academy and musical entertainment
provided by Donna Bateman (soprano), the
Ransome Band and the combined voices
of the Bestwood, Carlton and Radcliffe-on-Trent Male Voice Choirs. The celebrations
concluded with a duet involving the PGM
and Donna Bateman, as she complained that
‘You don’t bring me flowers anymore!’
Not only has the Province raised the
bar in terms of the level of donations from
individual members, but all PGMs are now
concerned about the need to practice their
own cabaret routines.
The work goes on
Within its current financial year, the NMSF
is likely to allocate grants in support of nearly
600 new applicants at a cost in the region of
£3.75 million. This will be the highest
number of applicants supported within any
given year since the Fund was established in
1990. Despite this increase, many eligible
applicants still have no idea how the NMSF
operates and what support it can provide.
Support is available to fund private
medical treatment for Freemasons, their
wives, widows and dependants, who have
an identified medical need and, faced with a
long wait for treatment via the NHS, are
unable to afford private treatment. The
application process is straightforward and
totally confidential.
Support is available for a wide variety of
surgery and treatments licensed by the NHS.
If you, or someone you know, has seen a
consultant and is now faced with a wait of
longer than three months for surgery (two
months for cardiac), contact the NMSF to
see if they can help.
If you would like to know more about
the work of the Fund, either in support of
a possible application or simply for a daily
advancement in Masonic knowledge, visit
their website at www.nmsf.org or telephone
020 7404 1550 to ask for details, including
the name of the nearest available speaker
who can help you to spread the word.
Supporting those in medical need
26 Great Queen Street
London wc2b 5bl
T: 020 7404 1550
Fax: 020 7404 1544
Email: mail@nmsf.org
Web site: www.nmsf.org
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