I was getting a weeny bit tired of bigoted, caveman-like, all male attitudes to Freemasonry!

so I posted this:

I do believe UGLE respect us co masons, and from a personal point of view, I have deep respect for UGLE bretherin, and still have friends who are from UGLE. My own dear Uncle was an UGLE PM and it was him who inspired me on my journey into Freemasonry...if it was not for him, or indeed, Grand Lodge, I would, more than likely, not be a Freemason today! Afterall! we "all" have a common bond within Masonry as a whole, do we not?
What I DO NOT believe in, is *using* Masonry as a platform for a gloryfied "exclusive boys club" or, for that matter, a nasty backstabbing battle of the sexes!
Surely, its about time, this all stops!
What ever Order we belong to, personally, we ALL labour within the Temple do we not?!

Of late, I have been dismayed to read on other Masonic forums, such bigoted comments as "have you ever met a woman who could keep a secret!" ...at best this is heartbreaking, at worst, it is deeply ignorant. And yet again, I joined a mostly male GL forum and recived a message from the admin to say I was "like a breath of fresh air!" and that I was most welcome. Maybe its just the luck of the draw...?...but isent it about time attitudes need to change?
Whether we call each other "brother or sister" is, surely not that relevent?
Some masons say "I would never recognise a woman as a FM or sit in a Lodge with a woman!" which is fine! Everyone is intitled to their own opinion, and I respect everyones opinion regardless of whether I agree with it or not and to quote Elizabeth 1st "I have no desire to make windows into mens souls"...But please consider the next generation of FM's, who's gentle opinions would be influenced by such comments....think?

I know there is a lot of bretherin here that will be upset by my tupenny worth, and for that I am sorry for any offence I have caused by this post. But I have an odd habit of speaking my mind!
Who ever is "recognised or unrecognised" is NOT the bee-all and end-all of our Masonic Craft.
But if you think it is...well if I were you, I would be thinking very carefully about my place as a freemason!

Oh, and to the mod who asked me not to advertise my blog in a post.
I do not "advertise" my blog...the address to it has been in my signature since I joined!!!!
I was baffled by that one!

Lastly, I would like to offer my respectfull salutations to ALL bretherin!

Your "Brother" in Masonry, Vicky
H.G.W.

REALLY enjoying writing my book at the moment, so updates will be few and far between!

I am now up too chapter 5, and 4,478 words in! (chp5, and not the whole book, that is!)

Sometimes I can be very slow on the uptake...painfully so!
But a little over a week ago, a very good friend finally convinced me, that I do have a story to tell!

I actually began writing age 9 when I penned "The Motorway to London" a story based on one of my many trips I had had in my dads truck...Later aged 15,I began bashing out "The Musical Thing!" on my tiny constallation typewriter. This was a pure fantasy story based around the music of E.L.O. and where their spaceship comes to Earth to play a sublime music to cure all the badness in the world.
Daft I know, but these tiny journeys into writing gave me an appitite for the sheer joy of putting a story down on paper!
Saying all this though I have to overcome the shackles of an awfull education (changed schools no less than 5 times) with my very poor spelling and grammer, holding me back. I have concluded I need a very patient and VERY understanding editor.
The good news is, I have an absolutly wonderfull literary agent!
For his supreem patience and dilligent hard work, I feel very honoured and privledged!
I sooooo WISH he can find me a publisher!!
But wait....there is somthing I must do first....
GET WRITING!!
Yesterday I tickled out "A rare night off" on my laptop. Its a very rough start, but a start all the same. I spent most of the morning writing and by the time I had finished my fingers ached.
My story is the TRUE story of my life, with part one based on my backpacking trip around south east Asia!

This is my original backpacker diary which needs to be translated from tired, drunken scribble, to somthing more reader friendly.

As some of my readers will know, since two hospital stays last year for my tummy ulcer and associated hernia, I have been on a rather restrictive "Doctors Orders" diet...and because my silly brain does not consider this a weightloss diet I had kind of convinced myself that I was not on a diet at all, so I barely noticed the blubber falliing off my old bones...untill today!!
I was sorting out my holliday clothes, you see, for our forthcoming Gypsy (Vardo) caravan holiday, so I was faffing about trying on my favorite comfy old jeans!! Size 10 Wranglers which I have had for well over 20 years, and for the first time since before 2000 I can actually fit in them, and I am chuft to buggery about it!!!
I kid you not!! I am typing this with a huge grin on my face!!....and I have not even weighed myself yet, but I estimate I have lost more than 2 stone!
Well to be honest when your Doctor says keep eating rubbish and you will have a potentially fatal burst ulcer...or eat healthily, you kind of sit up and listen to him, or her in my case. My whole eating plan was reviewed and several "trigger foods" were isolated. Mine being fresh oranges and cooked tomatos, both which I love, but they had to go...also on the "NO" list was my beloved Port and my passion for spicey food and even pasta. It appears I can't have starch for some reason, and even have to watch how many potatos I eat...I got around this through by switching to Smash mash (nice with grated cheese and chopped spring onions) as its not too starchy, but took some getting used too. I swapped the Port for ultra dry white wine which DID take a lot of getting used to, but I eventually did and I hate sweet drinks now. And even coffee was restricted to 2 cups a day! Pure torture for me!!! However, I love my cuppa and tea is unlimited. Infact my Dr suggested drinking more tea! so I do....its not all been plain sailing though as I have had several attacks of reflux after being a bit naughty on my diet over Christmas, while eating clementines of all things! and New Years eve me and mum shared a bottle of Malibu and believe me, my ulcer made me pay for that too!! But these days I have got more carefull, and diligent at what I munch on. Breakfast is poached egg on toast and fresh fruit, normally and for main meals I havn been eating a lot of fresh fish, of which a favorite of mine is Haddock which I make a yummy mushroom and chive sauce for. My precious suppers have had an overhaul too! Suppers became popular in Tudor times as a "Sup" as it was known then. My supper theses days is fresh fruit, cheese and a little smoked Salmon which I love, sometimes with crusty bread if I am feeling naughty!!
Despite all this though, I am still an advocate for larger ladies, who look so much more lovely than the puney rakes that parade on the catwalk. Thin women just look ill to me! and I have absolutly no desire to follow them. Infact if I was a man I would rather have a curvey lady than a skinny one any day. Afterall, screen goddess Marilyn Monroe was a UK size 14 and she was absolutly gorgeous in my opinion...what a REAL woman should look like!!
But if any lovely ladies are reading this and want to loose a bit without really trying, ask your Doctor about a starch and suger restricted diet??....But please bare in mind the weight loss is SLOW!! I have been hard at this for 6 months, but its sooo worth sticking too!!
These days I feel terrific!!
Just suffering very deep Lodge withdrawal at the moment , which hopefully will be cured next week!!

love Vix x

...and this is the choker necklace I commisioned, with my hero, Edgar Allen Poe set in a cameo!!
You can't see it on the piccie but there is even a silver clasp with a Raven!

I adore it!!

and wore it for the first time at our night at the Opera at Covent Garden!

Another life ambition achieved!!!

Last thursday Derek and I had the most amazing evening at the epic perfomance of Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden!

We were getting ready from about 4pm as Derek had booked our early evening train tickets to Euston. As previously mentioned I was wearing me blue satin "Miss Sixty" dress trousers and blue, lacey "Dark Angel" corset top, with the added bonus of a gorgeous black lace chocker with a cameo of Edgar Allen Poe which was made for me by a gothic jewellery expert. Derek said I looked fanastic! but he looked better I thought, in his pin-stripe suit and red bow tie I bought him for Christmas.
This photo, which I took during the interval does not really do him justice as its fuzzy and dark, so I had to put it though a couple of filters in Corel to brighten i up a bit. He looked so yummy he was almost edible!!



In a way, I was very glad I had researched the dress code for Covent Garden as there isent one!! I concluded I would have looked a right wally in my ball gown as everyone was dressed VERY casually. Even young students were in scruffy jeans!! and I only saw one young lady in a black strapless ballgown and she kind of stuck out like a sore thumb...so I was relieved we were not over dressed! However, when we disembarked the train at Euston a compleate stranger came up to us (a middle aged woman) and said "You two look very smart!! Have a lovely evening!!" which I thought was a lovely compliment!!
Anyway, as I have previously mentioned neither of us have attended covent garden before so this was a huge treat!! We have seen many operas together including La Bohiem, Carmen, Aieda and my favorite the Magic Flute. When we first started courting, almost 20 years ago now, he was clean amazed that I liked Opera and one of our first dates was to the Magic Flute at Northamptons Derngate! (we have also seen it twice since!) and Dereks next Operatic ambition is to see Wagners Ring Cycle too!
We arrived early and opted for a drink in the bar, before the theatre doors were open, to kill time. It was quiet at first but was soon buzzing with folks all looking forward to Don Giovanni....Ah yes! I feel I must explain a bit of the story here:
Don Giovanni is a noble with a man-servent called Leoporello who is always very put out because he has to arrange his masters many romantic liasons with a string of ladies. During the begining of the first act Don Giovanni is caught in the act by the father of one lady friend and they have a firght and Don Giovanni kills him. It dosent sound it, but its basicly a comedy, with many funny moments! But towards the end of the second act the plot turns into a very errie ghost story. The dead father comes back to haunt Don G. and beggs him to repent his lustfull ways. When D.G. repeatdly says "NO!" He is dragged off to hell by demons, to suffer for all eternety. The whole opera is a very heavy lesson in virtue and morality, somthing which we Freemasons hold dear! (Mozart himself was a Master Mason)
By the end I was blubbing like a baby at the sheer power of the beautifull music and trembling!! I clapped so hard I thought my hands would fall off!!
It was a sublime evening!!
And one thing is sure...this will not be a one off visit to the R.O.H!!
Derek is already planning the next one!!