Royal Mail announced yesterday that deliveries to Europe have been suspended temporarily:
Following the announcement from the French government to restrict air, road, ferry and train travel from the UK to France from 24:00 December 20 for 48 hours, Royal Mail has temporarily suspended services to Europe other than to the Republic of Ireland. This is a rapidly moving situation and our distribution agents are monitoring the position constantly. They are working to keep as many international mail services running as is possible given the current restrictions around air, road, ferry and train movements. Items already in transit will be processed. Items ready for dispatch will be held temporarily until mail services resume and they are able to reach the relevant destinations. Delays are also occurring to international destinations outside Europe as air capacity has become limited as a result of flight restrictions. Normal distribution services will recommence as soon as possible once restrictions have been lifted.
Welcome to Konstantin Rubakhin, our most recent Local Secretary for the Baltic area. Konstantin is based in Riga, Latvia, where he is developing a Museum of Freemasonry. He is a graduate from the Department of Journalism at Voronezh State University and from the postgraduate training programme at the Social Philosophy Department of Saint Petersburg State University.
Masonically, Konstantin is a MM of Lodge Renaissance, No. 2, Grand Lodge of Lithuania. He can be contacted at kr@masonicmuseum.eu.
AQC 133 has been printed, bound, and is in transit to Lewis Masonic, who will be packing and mailing this year’s volume. The past few months have been difficult for obvious reasons and we are running around ten days behind our normal schedule. Although copies will be mailed out this side of Christmas, with postal volumes high in mid-December it is possible, if not probable, that subscribers may not receive their copy of AQC until late December or in the New Year. We are sorry for the slight delay.
We have an exciting and varied lecture programme for next year, as well as the publication of our latest QC book – Freemasonry on the Frontier. We will be writing to members in January with more details. In the meantime, we wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year.
Erich Morgan Huhn is a PhD student in History & Culture at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. His research focuses on the historical role of membership as a ‘placing marker’ within society, with a particular interest in the history of Freemasonry in the English-speaking world.
Erich’s upcoming capstone paper will examine the role music has played in Masonic culture. Erich has presented on various Masonic topics, collects rare Masonic texts, and in 2019 published New Jersey’s Masonic Lodges, which provides a photo guide analysis of the development of Masonic architecture from the Colonial period to the present. Erich was raised as a Master Mason in November 2013 and is active within New Jersey Lodge of Research and Education, No. 1786. He has also participated in QC’s North American Conferences, most recently in Alexandria.
Erich can be contacted at erichmhuhn@gmail.com.
Welcome to Arnaud Marquet, our Local Secretary for Northern France. Arnaud lives in Bourlon, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region. He was initiated into freemasonry in 2003 into Lodge Les Pierres Jumelles, No. 515, GLNF, and raised in 2005. He is also a Scottish Mason, a member of Lodge Canongate Kilwining, No. 56, and St David’s University, No. 36, as well as a member of higher and associated orders.
Arnaud is engaged actively in Masonic Research focusing on the relationship between Andrew Ramsay and Francois Fenelon, which is expected to be published in book form next year.
Arnaud can be contacted at arnaud.marquet@aol.com and on 0033 620 531 787.
We are delighted to welcome Henning A. Klövekorn as our new Local Secretary for South Australia and the Northern Territory. Henning was initiated into Lodge Concordia 226 (Grand Lodge of South Australia and Northern Territory) in November 1997, and Raised a year later. Active in other orders, in 2019 he was knighted in Knight Templar and in the Order of Malta.
Henning is currently Deputy Director of the Grand Lodge Community Relations Committee and an active member of the Grand Lodge communications team. Hr is also a Masonic lecturer and writer, and is currently a PhD Candidate (Charles Darwin University) writing a thesis on the colonial experience of Freemasonry in South Australia.
Outside of Freemasonry, Henning was Founder and CEO of a Skytrst, digital governance company, where he developed a business risk software system now used by Adelaide City Council and hundreds of large organisations world-wide. He was previously a Director, Safety, at the Department of Technical and Further Education) and of Schwerpunkt Pty Ltd, and has served on the Council for International Trade & Commerce SA Inc. and German European Chamber of Commerce SA Inc.
Henning can be contacted at henning@klovekorn.com and on +61 (0)439 280 666.
Welcome to Wayne Cowley, our new Local Secretary for South Wales East. Wayne was initiated into Hamlet of Van Lodge No. 8334 in 1999 and is a member of the corresponding Royal Arch Chapter. He has since joined some many other lodges and orders. Wayne has been a member of QCCC since 2006 and attends our meetings in London whenever he is able to do so.
Outside of freemasonry, Wayne was formerly a civil servant at the Welsh Assembly and now works with the Citizens Advice Bureau dealing with employment issues. His interests include running and, being a Welshman, rugby. He can be contacted at 07866 604892 or via email at cowleyw@gmail.com.
Welcome to Andrew Mackay, our new Local Secretary for South Somerset in the UK. Andrew is a Past Master of Parrett and Axe Lodge, No 814, and its corresponding Chapter, meeting in Crewkerne in the Province of Somerset, as well as a member of a number of other masonic bodies, and is active in promoting Freemasonry in Somerset, Devon and Dorset.
Andrew can be contacted at 07973 882537 or via email at aimackay@btinternet.com
The winner of this year’s Norman B. Spencer Essay Prize is Marshall Lim Yu Hui, a member of The Zetland in the East Lodge, No. 508 E.C., and Lodge St. Michael, No. 2933 E.C., Singapore. His winning essay is titled ‘Sovereignty over Pedra Branca – Freemasonry’s unintended involvement in an international dispute between Malaysia and Singapore and a reflection on record keeping in the Craft’.
Welcome to Calin Govor, our new Local Secretary for Romania. An engineer by profession, Calin lives in Floresti, part of the Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area.
Calin was initiated in 2014 and raised in 2015 in Fraternitas Lodge No. 77 in Cluj-Napoca, on the roll of the United National Grand Lodge of Romania. He is also affiliated with Endeavour Virtual Lodge No. 944, and the Victorian Lodge of Research No. 218, both under the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, Australia. Calin is presently Director of Ceremonies at Napoca Felix Lodge No. 454, National Grand Lodge of Romania, having previously served as Treasurer and Secretary.
Calin can be contacted at calingovor@yahoo.com.
