Honey thieves

George Washington, reportedly born 11/2/32 and first President of the United States, was a freemason.

He was initiated into the craft by Scottish tobacco merchants in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Something new to us, in 2007, was that the White House and Capitol Building in Washington DC were built by stonemasons from Edinburgh; confirmation made by their individual, personalised "mason-marks" which are found both on these buildings, and on properties in Edinburgh's prestigious New Town.

We gleaned the above from a BBC radio show called The Mason's Word. Unfortunately, the actual recordings are no longer available, although there is a quantity of written information at the link:

The following passage is taken from the chapter The Mason Word in Billy Kay’s book The Scottish World A journey into the Scottish Diaspora. 

Fredericksburg, Virginia June 29, 2007

Travis Walker: By 1755 it appears that local lodges had tied into a fashion to go back to the old world and get legitimate charters. It appears that the first was Kilwinning Cross Lodge down at Port Royal - they went to the Grand Lodge of Scotland and got a charter in 1755. So by 1758, the Brethren here at Fredericksburg decided that it would be expedient for them to do so as well.

Billy Kay:And that is the actual charter that is upstairs in the room I’ve just seen?

Travis: The original that dates to 1758

Billy: And so was George Washington then, a Scottish freemason?

Travis: I think it could be said that he was a Scottish freemason in that the majority of the individuals that he was meeting with. and who conferred the degrees on him were Scots.

George Washington was not the only great man of the Age of Enlightenment to find inspiration in what Robert Burns called the “mystic tie” which bound him together with major European figures like Goethe, Voltaire and Mozart and major Scottish icons like James Boswell, Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg. And while it may be stretching it to suggest that Mozart and Goethe were Scottish Freemasons like George Washington, there is certainly a strong case for saying that all speculative freemasonry arose out of ancient Scottish traditions, therefore making all freemasons, de facto Scottish freemasons.

Note that we are not too sure who Travis is, although he appears to perhaps be the Master of a lodge. His surname though, resonates.

On the square

Freemasonry, historically, has reproduced itself via colonisation. To illustrate, a historically based fictional short story :

Rab joins the lodge. Rab is a keen brother and soon reaches level 3, that of a Master Mason. Other brothers in the lodge have noticed Rab. One evening, a top-brother approaches him :

"Rab, I have employment you may desire. It's well paid, great conditions, minimal actual work, plenty shagging"

Rab - "sounds great, right up my farm-track"

TB - "Only thing is, it's in the West Indies, on a plantation"

Rab - "No problem, when do I start."

Rab does well in the Indies and TB is happy. Most happy. Indeed, he is so happy that one day Rab receives a telegram : "MORE OF THE ISLAND AND PEOPLE PROCURED. TWO BROTHERS SAILED TODAY TO JOIN YOU".

Rab is ecstatic, to him it's like Robinson Crusoe's footprint.

Rab removes some of  his "employees" from their general duties and drives them to work, clearing a large area of vegetation. The topsoil is then removed and crushed stones pounded down. Sweat appears to assist in this process.

The ship soon  arrives with Rab's "brothers", tobacco and whisky.

Uncannily, the next evening is a full moon. Surprisingly too, it's the eleventh of November. At the stroke of eleven, Rab sets the stone in the North East corner. He has already, most carefully, carved his "mark". Lodge building has begun.

It's March 3rd, 2014.  Rab's structure still stands. Tonight is a special night at Lodge 2121, @ quarter to nine, Brother McBurns will receive his third degree from his father, Brother McBurns.

Journalist

At exactly quarter to nine, Brother McBurns - a black man with a hint of whiteness - does the business.

This week, the Scotsman reported on how twin Beehives (have been) installed at Scottish Parliament. Apparently, it's a first.

Bees build a colony, a hive. Then, perhaps, one day when the bees have had a favourable period in terms of pollen collecting and therefore honey making, a curious decision will be made. A proportion of their collective society will suddenly decide to swarm, abandoning their home and honey-wealth in order to create another colony. Their new colony will consist of the same initial "bloodline", in the same manner as rats and their clans.
 

From today's BBC - Glasgow Commonwealth games uniforms

 cheers