PGM's Grand Tour Fri 6th June

Dear Friend of The Festival,

As a previous supporter of the Nottinghamshire 2029 Festival, we are delighted to share with you an early opportunity to support an upcoming and rather unique fundraising event for the Nottinghamshire 2029 Festival.

On Friday 6th June, the Provincial Grand Master, Rt W Bro Philip Graham Marshall, will undertake an ambitious challenge: to visit every Masonic Hall in the Province of Nottinghamshire in a single day—using only his Senior Citizen travel pass.

No driver.

No convoy.

Just public transport, sheer determination and Ann.

This journey is not just a test of timetables and travel apps; it’s a dedicated effort to raise funds for our Festival, which supports the invaluable work of the Masonic Charitable Foundation.

We are inviting members, lodged and other supporters to sponsor this challenge and help us move closer to our Festival target. Every contribution, large or small, will make a genuine difference.

To add a little fun, we are also running a “Guess the Time” competition:

• 🥇 1st Prize: A meal for four at The Corinthian Restaurant

• 🥈 2nd Prize: A luxury hamper

All proceeds go directly to the Festival fund, and your support would mean a great deal.

To sponsor the challenge and submit your time guess, please visit:

👉 www.bit.ly/pgmtour (all lowercase)

Or simply scan the QR code below with your phones camera and follow the link.

On behalf of the MCF and the Nottinghamshire Festival 2029 Committee, thank you for your continued support and for helping us make a meaningful impact.

Kind regards,

The Nottinghamshire Festival 2029 Team

This is how the PGM will look before he starts his Grand Tour !

This article will be updated on the day of the Grand Tour as the PGM and Ann make their way around the Province

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Update

A Reflection on the Grand Tour

A cool and rainy morning supported the start of our Grand Tour of the halls of the Province of Nottinghamshire. However, armed with umbrellas, food provisions and medical supplies for most eventualities, we caught our first bus just after 9.30 am and the clock started to tick.

It took us 3 hours to get out of the environs of Nottingham having visited Chilwell, Goldsmith Street and West Bridgford.

Newark was next followed by Retford and Worksop.

It seemed that the next leg to Mansfield would be a challenge as there was no direct bus out of Worksop and the service going south was not very regular.

However, a very pleasant and engaging employee came up with a plan which allowed us the opportunity of escaping earlier than planned.

We were met at Mansfield Masonic Hall by a welcoming party which was a surprise as we had only encountered 2 people on our journey thus far. We think the word had got out that we were in the area!

The day would not have been complete without a celebratory beverage which was provided by the very handy public house next door to the hall.

Thanks to all who donated money and who had a guess at the time. All is revealed in the table below.

Philip and Ann

Transport (incl waiting time and walking to and from venues) Time Down Time

Rainbow 1 from Kimberley 0937 hours

Tram from Theatre Royal to Chilwell MH 1012 hours

Arrive Chilwell MH 1045 hours

Depart Chilwell MH 1049 hours

4 minutes

Indigo bus from Chilwell to Nottingham 1053 hours

Arrive Goldsmith Street 1129 hours

Depart Goldsmith Street 1135 hours

6 minutes

No 7 City bus from Market Square to West Bridgford 1144 hours

Arrive WBMH 1202 hours

Depart WBMH 1211 hours

9 minutes

No 90 bus from Victoria Embankment to Newark 1235 hours

Arrive Newark MH 1400 hours

Depart Newark MH 1409 hours

9 minutes

No 37 bus from Newark to Retford 1453 hours

Arrive Retford MH 1615 hours

Depart Retford MH 1623 hours

8 minutes

Refreshment break 55 minutes

No 43 bus from Retford to Worksop 1718 hours

Arrive Worksop MH 1755 hours

Depart Worksop MH 1758 hours

3 minutes

No 209 bus from Worksop to Warsop 1816 hours

Chocolate purchase 7 minutes

No 11 bus from Warsop to Mansfield 1919 hours

Arrive Mansfield bus station 1937 hours

Arrive Mansfield Masonic Hall 1955 hours

Start time 0937 hours

Finish time 1955 hours

Total time travelling = 10 hours 18 minutes

Less down time of 101 minutes = 1 hour 41 minutes

Grand Travel Time = 8 hours 37 minutes

7 June 2025

The winners of the competition will be announced later this week but the link to donate monies for the Grand Tour will remain open a little longer with funds going to the 2029 Festival

Current total is £1430 but more donations are arriving as we speak

To sponsor Philip’s effort, visit www.bit.ly/pgmtour (all lower case) , or scan the QR code below