Meet New Brethren with a Travelling Cup Raid
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Pictured are W Bro Tim Spriggs together with W Bro Angelo Zito of St Ambrose Lodge No 1891 and W Bro Ranvir Singh Sandhar of Huguenot Lodge No 2140 with the Travelling Cup
If you ever wondered how to get two completely different Lodges who have absolutely no common interests or members to build a permanent relationship – read on…
In 2018, RW Bro Chris Haywood came up with the idea of incentivising Lodges in his Inspectorate to visit one another. He acquired an impressive silver trophy to be displayed at Lodge Meetings and threw down the gauntlet to the Lodges he was responsible for to compete to be the custodians of the Cup by awarding it to a Lodge and then encouraging rival Lodges to “raid” the holders.
That was the theory; and as we can now testify, it was a brilliant initiative that has forged long-lasting friendships between Lodges that otherwise may never have had the opportunity to meet. Meetings are boosted and Festive Boards are even more enjoyable.
This was further developed when W Bro Glen McDonald took over the Inspectorate; and it is now thriving under the guidance of W Bro Tim Spriggs.
“Raiding” has turned into a great experience for both the Raiding Lodge and the Lodge holding the Trophy. The Raiding delegation are processed into the meeting – usually after the minutes – and are ‘reluctantly’ presented with the Inspectorate Cup, often in the presence of the Metropolitan Grand Inspector to add a little more excitement to proceedings.
W Bro Clive Goodman is the current scheme co-ordinator. He told Arena, “Almost half the Lodges in the Inspectorate have joined in, and we have only had positive feedback from the units that have become involved – I would heartily recommend this initiative to everyone – it's a great way to get people together.”
This article is part of Arena Magazine Issue 61 – Summer 2026.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.
Read more articles in Arena Issue 61 here.
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