GOLE Weekend, Cardiff 26/9/15
Grand Orange Lodge of England
Sessions, Dinner, and Parade
September 2015, Cardiff
In September of each year the Grand Orange Lodge of England visit a city within its jurisdiction, where the local Lodge hosts the Grand Orange Lodge Sessions, Dinner and Parade.
As our Cardiff Lodge was formed only three years ago, it was a great privilege to host the event in the Welsh Capital, which falls within the GOLE jurisdiction.
The weekend started with Grand Lodge Officers and Delegates holding Friday Sessions, where business and issues relating to worldwide Orangeism were discussed.
On the Friday evening a black tie dinner was held, attended by close to one hundred Brethren, Sisters and guests. After a lovely meal, toasts were given, followed by speeches and some presentations – it was the culmination of a very enjoyable evening in a nice relaxed atmosphere.
The Saturday morning commenced with the final stage of the Sessions, which included a presentation by the Grand Chaplain on the Czech Reformer Jan Huss. The real highlight of the weekend was the parade through Cardiff. Held in brilliant sunshine and with Cardiff full of shoppers and rugby fans, it was a sight to behold when the Grand Orange Lodge of England paraded in the city centre. LOL 803 had arranged for Everton & District Pipe band to parade with us and another Lodge brought the Pride of Norris Green Accordian Band with them for this historic parade. On parade with LOL 803, were Brethren and Sisters from Northern Ireland and Scotland, some of whom are regular visitors to our Lodge and events we participate in. The parade started and ended in Cathays Park and made its way along the pedestrianized area of Queen’s Street, then on down St Mary’s & High Street. The parade stopped outside Howells Department store and the Grand Master, Grand Mistress and Worshipful Master of LOL 803, entered the store and laid a bouquet of red and white carnations at the Rawlins White memorial plaque – for more details on Rawlins White click here.
The parade continued on to the War Memorial at Cathays Park, where the Grand Master laid a poppy wreath ‘to the fallen’ on behalf of the Grand Orange Lodge of England. A short service was held in front of the Falklands Island Memorial.
On the Saturday evening, a social event was held in a local venue, where the pipe band provided the entertainment.The weekend was a great success and it is hoped that LOL 803 would benefit through increased membership as a result of the weekend.
The parade was well received by the local public with many people seen smiling and waving as it passed by. It is our hope that this is the first of many such parades within the Principality.
Many thanks to those who have supported us, in the organisation of this parade and in particular our visitors and Everton and District Pipe Band.
