25th Annivesary Dinner On the first Saturday evening of September, the Lodge hosted a 25th Anniversary Dinner to celebrate the first 25 years of Masonic activity since the Lodge was constituted. The dinner was attended by over 70 guests, which included Brethren from other Lodges, our own members and wives/partners, and friends. The evening was a wonderful success, with a most entertaining programme preceded by a lovely rendition of ‘Pokarekare Ana’ by Mrs Wynne Hyatt, and interspersed with meal courses, ’Piping in and Address to the Haggis’, English Morris dancing, and Irish dancing – in all, a most enjoyable programme which was enthusiastically received by all. We were honoured by the presence of the first Master of the Lodge, W. Bro. Royce Hall, who later proposed the Toast to the Lodge, and a good number of other Charter Members   Visit to Eketahuna On 19 July, I visited Eketahuna Lodge (see photo) with Bro. Hadyn Nicholls for a third degree ceremony attended by the Grand Master, M. W. Bro.Barry McLaggan, along with approximately 65 other Brethren from Grand Lodge and various lodges from throughout the Wellington and Hawke’s Bay regions. This was my first visit to the Eketahuna lodge room. The working was of a high standard, and it was certainly a memorable event for the candidate (from the Waihenga St John’s Lodge in Martinborough) to have his third degree not only in the Eketahuna lodge room with its well known opening in the floor (or ‘contraption’ as one calls it) but also in front of the Grand Master and many Grand Lodge officers. The Grand Master reported that the Craft is in good shape in New Zealand and noted that the duty of each Lodge is to look after its members. - David Ryan   Secret Monitor Bro. Nicholls also reports as follows on the Secret Monitor. I was installed in the chair of the Secret Monitor on 21 June after being introduced to the Order by the late Bill Parr. This was quite an honour for me and I hope to learn a great deal from this about how to take on further responsibility in our own Lodge. It was a most enjoyable event and we had around 40 people there. Our Conclave, as it is called, is the Aotearoa Conclave No. 1 and is full of Lodge members who you quite often see ‘around the traps’, maybe some with a lot of spare time possibly. This was a long day for me as we had our solstice dinner afterwards which, like the installation, was catered by Graham Walkinshaw. I made the error of eating too much at the installation only to face more of his wonderful food at the dinner. Needless to say, I was rather full come 10pm that evening. - Hadyn Nicholls Lodge Zetland’s Installation On 23 April, nine Homewood Brethren turned out to do the stewarding for W Bro Craig Nunnerley’s Installation at Lodge Zetland. It was a big night with over 100 to cater for. The Grand Master, M W Bro Barry McLaggan, was in attendance with more than 40 Grand Lodge Officers and about 15 visiting Masters with a large number of accompanying Brethren. The Grand Master impressed us all with his friendly down-to-earth approach and his positive and encouraging remarks about the Craft, its work and its future. Sincere thanks to the Homewood Brethren who assisted. - John Nimmo Social report By Celina Ryan (wife of Bro David Ryan) As a born and bred Mexican, I was a bit sceptical about the FEDS dinner at the Flying Burrito Brothers in April. I hadn’t been there before and I doubted that the food would be authentically Mexican. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The menu had an extensive range of typical Mexican food – just reading the names of the food made my mouth water. When the food finally arrived, I was not disappointed. It was almost perfect. No Mexican restaurant in New Zealand can be 100% faithful to the true Mexican style and ingredients – most Mexican cuisine cooked the traditional way would be too hot for New Zealanders. However, the food at the Flying Burrito Brothers was superb and I am keen to return. Despite the fact that the restaurant was full, the service was good and the food was brought out to us without much delay. Even some of the waiters and at least one cook at the restaurant are Mexicans! The 14 brethren of Lodge Homewood and partners had a good time. Thanks to Bro Frank Hyatt for organising yet another successful social event.