Post by Tony Grimwood on Jul 26, 2007 21:01:51 GMT
wayseer said:
I've been a Steward for a couple of years now during which time we have changed the whole arragement of the S. We have dispensed with tables, other than a couple to put the food on. The drinks are carried by a trolley and the Brethren stand around joking and laughing ... which has two wonderful effects - everyone gets to circulate and meet the visitors which results in a more congenial atmosphere - and, the cleaning up is done in a quarter of the time allowing the Stewrads to join the festivities. We do have chairs about for the more elderly to retire to. We retain the formal setting only for the installation - although at our last Installations things seems to move happily out of hand. But I lay a little wager - this could seriously catch on. But if you want formal stuffy affairs stick with the old drill. (Oh, if you thinking of visiting - bring a story or a song or some poetry.)Damn straight! After the eighteen hour day that my Bro. Steward and I put in at installation a couple of days ago, I'm all for it! We're going to have a word with the boss about this and see if we can do the informal thing for at least some of our regular meetings, for all of the reasons you list above. There are already lodges here that do it that way anyway. I'm sure the WM will be amenable, but the hard bit will be getting it past a couple of senior Brn. who are very big on tradition. Pray for us.
By the way - what effect did the change have on your average expenditure?
Tony