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Stu Thorpe
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Posted 09/08/2010 13:14:05
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I think an important thing to do here is to separate the Festive Board from the Lodge Meeting.
I never get drunk during Lodge - nor do I drink during Lodge. Once the serious aspects of the evening are completed, I like to go to the festive board, and I have to admit, I like to drink freely. I never get so drunk that I can't speak coherently or remember the conversation, but I frequently get home very late and considerably unsteady on my feet.
And do you know what - that's nobody's business but my own!:hehe:
Stuart Thorpe
Forum Moderator
Secretary, Forest of Arden Lodge No 3826
IPZ and Scribe E, Shenstonian Chapter No 5544
Junior Warden, Shenstonian Lodge No 5544
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Gerard J O'Donnell
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Posted 09/08/2010 20:31:20
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There is no requirement to drink alchol in the festive board/harmony or at any other time in Freemasonry. I enjoy a drink in moderation:)regards Gerard PM/PZ SC 1316 and 417
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Cora B
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Posted 17/08/2010 12:55:59
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Hi MBT,I refer to my earlier comments in this thread. I have attended meetings of Lodges under the auspices of Le Droit Humain in various countries, and never once encountered anything so much as even remotely close to being described as 'a booze-up'. Whilst it is completely possible for life partners to embark on the masonic path together where co-freemasonry is concerned, I would say that freemasonry in general makes it very clear that one's obligations to one's family and connections come first. Again, it is to the individual how he or she choses to relate to that and give form to that in his or her life. I hope this is helpful.
Cora
--
International Order of Co-Freemasonry "Le Droit Humain",
British Federation
Lodge Light of Amen-Ra No. 717, Orient of Surbiton
Lodge St Francis No. 817, Orient of Camberley
Mark Lodge Nephthys No. 32, Quarries of Surbiton
HRA Triangle The Hidden Glory, Vault of Surbiton
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sojourner
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Posted 17/08/2010 14:51:30
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Dear MBT,I was initiated into a Lodge under UGLE. There was certainly no noticeable drinking problems there, nor at any Lodge under UGLE that I have encountered. I now live and am very much into Masonry in Scotland. There is more of a tendency to hard drinking in the culture here. I have thus far (after 10 years) not encountered noticeably excessive drinking at any of the many Scottish Lodges and degrees that I frequent. The heaviest drinking that I have seen was during a coach trip to one of Rabbie Burn's former Lodges in Ayreshire. And that was not the falling down making an *** out of yourself type of drinking, rather warm and convivial social drinking amongst friends and Brothers. Without exception, all of the Scottish Lodges take their Masonry very seriously. The ritual is excellent and the reason for being at Lodge is to take part in Masonry, not "escape the wife" or "have a drunken night out with the boys". I have not found that there is any pressure to drink beyond your own inclination. There are many members, myself included, who do not have a single alcoholic drink after a Lodge meeting if they are driving. I also believe that every individual is responsible for their own actions. If a person is prone to heavy drinking, he will drink heavily whether it is at Lodge, a club, a pub, or in his own home. To try and blame a person's alcoholism on his membership of the Masons, or a trainspotters' club, or the local dart's team, or anything else is to try and put the blame on something other than the unfortunate person himself and somehow excuse his addiction as not his fault really. I could not hope to deny, that amongst the thousands who are Freemasons, whether it is under the Grand Lodge of England or Scotland or other Obediences, there must be some who have problems with drink (or drugs or anything else). Those problems are down to individual tendencies and not as a natural or unavoidable resulting influence of their membership. I also believe that alcoholism is a sickness that is deserving of sympathy and help where it can be given.
Roy L."SELUME PROFERRE"
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bod
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Posted 18/08/2010 15:00:05
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MBT, I would respectfully suggest that your sources may be quite inaccurate, and may well be giving a personal view of how they see masonry
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Eldmar
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Posted 18/08/2010 15:39:51
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I wonder if there is an element of misunderstanding, MBT you said you would be joining a Danish Lodge? Most countries have their own typical sense of humour and many people don't get the British sense of humour - an example being American and British comedies. A few times now I have watched a comedy show filmed in America by a fellow who lived in England, his show sunk like a brick in America but had a huge following here in Britain as they simply didn't get the jokes.
Many jokes and throw away comments are made by partners towards their other halves and saying something 'is an escape from the misses' is a common one, I have heard several things where the activity is referred to in this way, pub league football on a Sunday, going to the golf club and by one friend going fishing. I have also heard of going down the allotment or to the garden shed as likewise being an escape. I think that they are in most cases meant to be tongue in cheek and not taken literally.
As for the comment about the alcoholic and abusive person - well you get that in all walks of life, it is extremely unlikely - I couldn't even imagine how - Freemasonry could be responsible for that. Some people simply are more prone to that sort of behaviour, maybe because of their family upbringing, maybe because that person is under a great deal of stress from work and can't cope. Maybe he is desperately unhappy at home and doesn't know what to do about it so he gets drunk and then while drunk he gets aggressive - that's true of many people, you only have to turn on the TV news to here stories of fights on a Friday night or a stabbing or something else alcohol related.
Best wishes
Eldmar.
Pontypridd Lodge 9001.
Caerleon college, 72, Brangwyn college 75, SRIA.
Dunraven Lodge MMM 950, Dunraven RAM Lodge 950.
Ystradyfodwg Chapter 7638.
Merthyr Tydfil Council N0 120 R&SM
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Brother_TJ
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Posted 24/08/2010 18:04:50
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Resorting to our "personal Comforts" from R..to La.. and La..to Re.. is fine, but until I completely retreat back to the Profane aka Comforts, I do not have a drink before, in between, and directly after a Meeting.
.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·. Amethyst Lodge No. 2, Orient of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Isis Lodge No. 3, Orient of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...A.F.H.R.
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postscript
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Posted 28/08/2010 21:34:55
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I think Freemasonry and drinking have had a close association from the beginning, but it is interesting how it has ebbed and flowed with changes in society as a whole. The 18th century was a hard-drinking age and I think there is an exposure of the 1760s that describes how as soon as the lodge was opened the brethren began "drinking promiscuously". In the 19th century however there was a movement towards greater "respectability" and away from lodges meeting in taverns. The temperance movement became very strong and even managed, in Scotland in the early 20th century, to obtain local prohibition by way of local polls which could make a district go "dry", thus destroying the livelihoods of hoteliers and licensed grocers. When the tide moved the other way after the second world war, there was great bitterness in several Scottish lodges I've heard of when it was proposed to obtain a licence for a social club. From my own experience I can say that my late father was a Mason and did not have an easy relationship with alcohol. As his drinking often took place at his lodge's licensed social club, this gave me a rather negative opinion of Freemasonry and probably contributed to my not joining till I was in my forties. Arguably a bar on the premises can give the impression that Masonry is all about drink. It can certainly prove a temptation. And there are certainly Masons who take too much. But the important thing, as my father used to tell me, is what goes on in the lodge room. And there are many Masons who do not drink at all. As for me, I'm finishing a bottle of red wine as I type this. But moderation in all things!
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northern star
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Posted 11/09/2010 16:18:45
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sojourner (17/08/2010)
I also believe that every individual is responsible for their own actions. If a person is prone to heavy drinking, he will drink heavily whether it is at Lodge, a club, a pub, or in his own home. To try and blame a person's alcoholism on his membership of the Masons, or a trainspotters' club, or the local dart's team, or anything else is to try and put the blame on something other than the unfortunate person himself and somehow excuse his addiction as not his fault really. I could not hope to deny, that amongst the thousands who are Freemasons, whether it is under the Grand Lodge of England or Scotland or other Obediences, there must be some who have problems with drink (or drugs or anything else). Those problems are down to individual tendencies and not as a natural or unavoidable resulting influence of their membership. I also believe that alcoholism is a sickness that is deserving of sympathy and help where it can be given. I very much concur with the above. A good example of this can be found in the novel "Hobson's Choice". It is related that Hobson's daughter blames her father's alcoholism on his weekly Mason's meetings, rather than appreciating the fact that he has a very serious, habitual drinking problem. It is obvious to me that if an individual suffers from such an affliction and happens to be a Mason, at some point problems may very well occur. Regards, Northern star.
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