Club Chronicle

2 July 2026: Rtn Peter Kemp: The secret society that is not secret

Our speaker today was our own member and Past President Peter Kemp. As our members know, Peter is a Freemason as well as a Rotarian. Masonry has a similar ethos to Rotary, except that to be a Mason one must be male and prepared to acknowledge a higher force, however that may be envisaged. From what Peter told us, it is also more expensive than Rotary due to the charitable donations members are expected to make.

Peter outlined his Masonic journey. He joined the Springfield Lodge and was inducted successively into the first three degrees: as an apprentice, then as a journeyman and then as a Master Mason. He denied that the phrase “the third degree” has anything to do with these first three degrees in Masonry. That is a popular myth.

He filled a succession of offices in the Lodge before serving as a year as Master. One of the offices is that of Tyler. It is the Tyler’s task sit outside the meeting to stop any strangers entering.

Peter showed us some of this Masonic aprons and his Masonic collar. (See the photograph.) There are a number of orders within Masonry. Peter is a member of an additional two, one of them specifically Christian. There is a practical limit on the number of orders any individual can join. Each order has its own ceremonies, which have to be performed from memory. Each order also has its own regalia.

The Springfield Lodge meets on Tuesday evenings as the Chelmsford Masonic Hall, next to the County Hall. Lodge meetings are followed by dinner in the hotel.

Rotary Young Musician District Final

Report by Anne Moriaty

The District Final took place in Brentwood Cathedral on Saturday 28 February in the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Chelmsford, Cllr Smita Rajesh, and her consort.

The audience were treated to a lovely concert with high standard performances from five vocalists and six instrumentalists. Sadly there could only be two winners going through to the Regional Final and after lengthy deliberations the accolades went to pianist Tailin Liu sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bishops Stortford and vocalist Harry Sunderland sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dunmow.

Our Chelmsford winners, Henrietta Lawrence and Chloe Mahler were worthy runners-up.

I had the honour of giving out the certificates and the Deputy Mayoress presented the winner and runner-up trophies.

Collection for Marie Curie

On 25 February 2026 President Graham, Francis Whitbread, Keith Dabbs, Anne Moriety and Steve, worked as a team at Morrisons Supermarket to collect monies on behalf of the Marie Curie charity. We collected a handsome sum, of which £80 was collected via card payment through the “SumUp” device. We enjoyed the day and special thanks to Francis who made the arrangements and remained all day throughout others’ slots. A photo opportunity could not go amiss.