A joke!

I have just been emailed this joke...






Two guys are drinking in a bar.

One says, "Did you know that Buffaloes have sex 10 to 15 times a day?"



"BUGGER!" says his friend. "And I just joined the Masons....."

High Sheriff thanks Masons

From the Bucks Herald...

 

‘Freemasons are the DNA of charities’: High Sheriff on horseback thanks organisation for raising £1 million for good causes

The head of Aylesbury and Bucks Freemasons, Gordon Robertson, officially started High Sherriff Carolyn Cumming s rural ride through the region. He donated £1 000 provided by the order towards her £50 000 target. She is due to arrive in Burnham Beeches on Saturday September 22.

The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Carolyn Cumming, has thanked Aylesbury’s freemasons for helping to raise more than £1 million for charities in the area.

The 12 lodges and six chapters which meet at the Masonic Hall in Ripon Street were among nearly 4,000 colleagues who made contributions to the Bucks Masonic Centenary Fund.
This money has gone to the Bucks and Milton Keynes Community Foundations, which act as a central point of contact for good causes throughout the region.
Mrs Cumming said: “I cannot thank the Aylesbury freemasons enough for their generous donations which make a real difference to the lives of tens of thousands of people in our area.
“Their quiet determination and regular contributions are the bedrock of so many good causes. Freemasonry has become part of the DNA of Bucks charities over the last two decades.”
The High Sheriff’s comments came as she prepared to set off on a recreation of activist William Cobbett’s ‘rural rides’ through the county

Masonic plate

This brass tray is being sold by Christie's in London on October 2 and is expected to fetch up to £1,000.

The catalogue descritpion states it was made in Syria or Egypt and is dates AH 1306/1882-3.

It adds: "The central roundel engraved with dense foliated scrollworks, the cusped medallion with pseudo calligraphy interspersed with interlocking bands, the rim with palmettes and geometric motifs, a square and compass at the centre."
25 5/8in. (65cm.) diam.

Silk needlework

This charming silk needlework is being sold by Leland Little auctions in North Carolina, US, andthere is no estimate.
The catalogue description reads:
Masonic Silk Pictorial Needlework, 19th century with various symbols, overall well worked with hand- painted and sewn details.

Chimps have secret handshakes

From the Daily Mail....

Keeping it in the family: Researchers find 'secret handshake' passed down through generations of Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees pass down a ‘secret handshake’ through the generations, according to a new study.
Researchers found that troops of chimps pass on traditions, including the handshake, from one generation to the next - and they differ from group to group.
When chimps are cleaning, they adopt a ‘grooming handclasp’ - two chimps clasp onto each other’s arms, raise them in the air and groom each other with their free hand.

German researchers found chimpanzee families have their own unique hand clasp, passed down from generation to generation.

Previous research suggest this handclasp may be a cultural phenomenon - like how people greet each other - but only some chimpanzee colonies practise this grooming behaviour.
Researchers looked at chimps on the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust in Zambia - finding some prefer to clasp hands, while others clutch onto another chimp’s wrist.
Edwin van Leeuwen, of the Max Planck Institute, said: 'We don’t know what mechanisms account for these differences.

 

'But our study at least reveals that these chimpanzee communities formed and maintained their own local grooming traditions over the last five years.
'Our observations may also indicate that chimpanzees can overcome their innate predispositions, potentially allowing them to manipulate their environment based on social constructs rather than on mere instincts.'
Observations also revealed grooming behaviours are transmitted to the next generation of potential handclaspers - showing the chimps learn from one another.

Researchers found some chimpanzees prefer to clasp hands, while others clasp wrists

Mark Bodamer, of Gonzaga University, said: 'By following the chimpanzees over time, we were able to show that 20 young chimpanzees gradually developed the handclasp behaviour over the course of the five-year study.
'The first handclasps by young individuals were mostly in partnership with their mothers.
'These observations support the conclusion that these chimpanzees socially learn their local tradition, and that this might be evidence of social culture.
'Continued monitoring of these groups of chimpanzees will shed light on the question of how these group-traditions are maintained over time and potentially even why the chimpanzees like to raise their arms up in the air during social grooming in the first place.'

Trinidad document

This document from 1819 is coming up for sale at Bonhams in Oxford at the end of September.

The catalogue description reads:

TRINIDAD IMPRINT

The Freemason's Sure Guide, or, Pocket Companion, blindstamp on title and final leaf, shelfmark on verso of title, early half calf, lacks upper cover, 8vo, Trinidad [Port of Spain], for the Publisher, 1819

Estimate:

£200 - 400
US$ 320 - 630
€250 - 500

Footnotes

• SCARCE, COPAC locating only the John Rylands copy. Printed in Trinidad the author, an American resident in Port of Spain, notes that it is "intended principally for the use of the Fraternity in this Island".

Bored?

James D Julia in the US is selling this historic game board. It's valued at about £1,000. The description reads: "EARLY PAINT DECORATED GAME BOARD WITH MASONIC COLUMNS. This very early game board is double sided. One side for checkers with alternating black and cream squares highlighted by red. Either side of the checkered board is a painted column with a ball at top; reminiscent of the type of columns you see in Masonic symbols. The reverse of the game board is for Backgammon and is cream, red, and deep blue coloration. The board is very old and it appears to have been over painted many, many years ago during its period of use. The edge has red board molding dovetailed in the corners. SIZE: 16-3/4" x 24". CONDITION: Scattered paint flecking or loss on both sides and the frame with some worm damage. 9-27176."