Gerard Lodge Ladies Festival April/May 2011

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Lizzie & Gils

Text Box: Gerard Lodge 8999 Ladies Festival Celebration held in The Templar Castle & Convent of Christ, TOMAR, PORTUGAL  APRIL / MAY 2011   During my tenure as Senior Warden, it was mentioned to me that I should start thinking about the activities, including Ladies Night, which would be needed to be organised during my forthcoming year as WM.  Speaking to my wife, several suggestions were mooted e.g. Medieval Night @ Caldicot Castle, River Boat Trip etc. “Castle” rang a bell & so she suggested Tomar Castle in Portugal which was the headquarters of the Templar Knights built way back in the 12th Century (a place we were both familiar with) & which resonated in many respects to some Freemason’s Lodges.  A weekend event seemed to be a good idea – post Easter & taking into account the 1st May Bank Holiday as well. But we did realise that doing a Ladies Festival abroad was a risk, we were told it had never been done before, but if we could pull it off, it would be one to remember. And so it started!! How to get there?  Flights out of Bristol via “Easyjet” - Out on Thursday/Friday, back on Monday (as it was a Bank Holiday). If anyone wanted to extend the trip, this would be an option for them. But in the main, we would plan to do a long weekend without anyone having to take time off from work etc. and leave travel details to the individuals.  Accommodation?   We knew several friends with houses etc who could help.  Hotel accommodation within Tomar itself was good, clean & reasonably priced - around 40 to 45 Euros per room with Breakfast. Transportation from Lisbon Airport?  This could be arranged using a coach or individual Car Hire. Also the train service is clean, on time and very efficient. Castle Availability?   We would need to write to the Directora for permission to hold the Ladies Festival Evening in the Castle and enquire about Menus & Prices.  Things were beginning to hot up...... Next, came discussions about organising an itinerary in and around Tomar, taking in places of interest (Historical Centre, Vineyard Trip etc).  It was all becoming a headache & I was getting scared and starting to have doubts about becoming Master at all, what with organising not just this event - but the Sunday Lunch for H4H, the Quiz night and looking at river trips etc as well.  I needed some help. So my next action was to speak to my soon to be IPM, Bob Ross (What a stalwart) and the elders and members of the Lodge,  like David Sage, Tony Joiner, Peter Hayman, Paul Jeffries, Mike Gagg, Bob Griffiths, Sam Mayer, Denis Bradbeer and Gary Bowden. Oh yes go for it, say they. So I sent a message out to all the Lodge members to ask for opinions which resulted in a full programme of social events for the Lodge, including the Ladies Festival in Portugal.  First pass amongst the Brethren of Gerard Lodge brought a very positive response – so the wheels were set in motion for the Ladies Festival Night................... Now the worries began with the questions forming a tsunami.  Could we make the numbers?  Could we get support from other Lodges? Could we get support from any of our Friends in the UK?  Could we get support from our Portuguese friends? Would we upset anyone, by holding the Ladies Festival in Portugal?  Could we cover the costs? Would the exchange rate help or hinder us. Could we raise any money for this year’s Charity H4H?  All these questions were milling around and needed answering, but the call had been made we would do our best to make it a success. Dates were set, links to Hotels & Villa hire were sent out to those who were interested in going & it was left to everyone to make their own flight arrangements.  Many booked the “Easyjet” flight out of Bristol on Thursday night arriving Lisbon 21.30hrs and amazingly everybody arrived. We had an extremely interesting coach ride to Tomar!! And Bob Ross still wants words with the driver should he ever find him again.  Some of the hair-pin bends caused a few choice words - but we all arrived safely and none-the-worse-for-wear. The next day being Friday and the British Royal Family provided us with an extra day off and a spectacular Royal Wedding watched by most of the Portuguese as well as many of the ladies on their weekend away, whilst the men explored the local sites, café’s/pubs and market.  In the afternoon we all met at the Plaça de Republica, where the Land-Train was waiting with our guide - João Fiandeiro Santos, President of the Portuguese Association of Cultural Tourism - an extremely knowledgeable person not only on the local area and its history but also the Knights Templar Order There followed a tour of the local sites and lots of interesting titbits’ imparted to everyone about the local area and on the forthcoming ‘Festival of the Tabuleiros’ (Festival of the Trays) which is being held in Tomar from 2nd to 9th July this year (a 4 yearly event & not to be missed).  We met the Festival Butler who briefly explained the event, its purpose and origins which go back to pagan times with religious elements later added. A  short walk followed to the Synagogue - one of the oldest in Europe, then on the Land-Train for those places further afield, like the Santa Maria do Olival Church (a Knights Templar Church built in 1160), and the aqueduct which was built in 1638 and runs for 7.5Km to supply the Convent/Castle with water. (You just would not get planning permission for it nowadays). A Castle Tour was planned, but the heavens opened and so this was shelved and the Land-Train returned to the square and deposited everyone into one of the local cafes.  Naturally after coffee, the odd beer or wine the heavens cleared for beautiful sunshine........Several of us met up at one of the local Restaurants in the evening for a meal.  We found ourselves amongst several local Portuguese who encouraged us to celebrate someone’s birthday with them, which we did, of course, like good friendly Mason’s would. The next day, Saturday, a tour of the Vineyard had been arranged for the morning and we again hopped on the Land-Train for a trip out into the countryside to “Casal das Freiras” Vineyard, where a short tour of the grounds introduced the group to the beautiful property that was once run by the Nuns and Friars who supplied the Convent in Tomar with farm produce and wine.  The Owner, Vidal, gave an introduction into the process of making wine and the various processes involved in bringing the finished product to the customer. Moving on into the Farm Museum, we learned about the Olive pressing processes and how the machinery was used in times gone by. Naturally a wine tasting session followed accompanied by plates of nibbles to help wash it down.  We had provided Vidal previously with our own Gerard Wine Labels and he had arranged for his 2 best types of wines to be suitably labelled and put into presentation packs for purchase at an extremely good rate – which many people took advantage of........... And so full and happy, the Land-Train took us all back to Tomar for some relaxation before being picked up again for the evening trip to the Castle for the Ladies Festival.  João Fiandeiro Santos, our expert on Templar Knights/Tomar History from the Castle and the Tourist Office was on hand as always to smooth the way. (The Land-Train did take a minor detour around the town at the request of the caterer to delay arrival by 15 minutes or so, however the driver decided that as the tour the previous day had been cut short, it should be made up for.  But the drive past the local MacDonald’s caused cries of “I bet Norman knew about this and we are having hamburgers instead”.   (How could they think such a thing!!!).

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