At a meeting of Warrington Conclave No. 119 on Tuesday 1^st April 2008 some Members expressed an interest in a visit to a Conclave in the Isle of Man. Wy.Bro.John Barnes, Provincial Grand Recorder agreed to look at the possibilities.

Stewart Conclave No. 62, in Douglas, being the only Conclave on the island, was agreed as the target for our visit.

Unfortunately, due to having to attend hospital for an operation John was unable to carry on with the arrangements and Wy.Bro.John Bicknell, Prov.G.Coun., volunteered to carry on and finalise the details.

After many emails to the Secretary of Stewart Conclave, calls to hotels and airlines, the arrangements were circulated to the brethren going on the visit.

The date of the visit was to be Monday 16^th June 2008. We would be flying from Liverpool on Flybe Airlines and staying at a hotel on the promenade in Douglas.

The final Brethren going on the visit were:
R.Wy.Bro.I.H.Taylor, Prov.G.S.R.
V.Wy.Bro.B.W.Wood, P.G.V., Dep.Prov.G.S.R.
Wy.Bro. John Bicknell, Prov.G.Coun.
Wy.Bro.David Ashall, Prov.G.G.
Wy.Bro.A.Briggs, Prov.G.V.
Wy.Bro.D.Smith, P.G.B.B.
Bro.Mike Hamilton (Prince)

V.Wy.Bro.Colin Williams, Grand Visitor and R.Wy.Bro.Alan Bibby, P.Prov.G.Supreme Ruler, a regular visitor to the Isle of Man would also be attending the Conclave.

The day arrived for the visit and the Brethren from Warrington, Preston, Chorley and Leyland met at the John Lennon Airport.

Due to the restrictions on hand luggage, several of the Brethren were divested of shaving gel, deodorant, and other items containing liquid above 100ML (A note for future reference.)

Then, almost all of us boarded the flight which was due to depart at 11.45 a.m. We had at this point one member missing and this was causing concern to the crew and of course ourselves. It got to the point where the Stewardess came down the aisle and advised that we would have to leave our colleague. Preparations were made to close the doors but at the last minute the delayed brother was seen crossing the tarmac. He made a dramatic entrance accompanied by cheers from his brethren and a large number of pupils from Silverdale School who were also on a trip to the island. The Mistress in charge was not very pleased.

After the delay in departure our trip to the Island was uneventful.

We had time for a stroll in the afternoon before getting changed and making our way by taxi to Freemasons’ Hall, Douglas. The place was deserted when we arrived at 6.00p.m. but soon the members of the Conclave arrived and we were among old and new friends.

The Conclave was opened by the Supreme Ruler and we enjoyed the evening of business and the Induction of two Candidates.

An unusual proposition, following a notice of motion at there last meeting, was that the name of the Conclave be changed to the Isle of Man Conclave. This was carried. There are not many occasions when you start a meeting in one Conclave and finish it in another.

Following the meeting we had a delicious buffet followed by the usual Toasts and hospitality.

The West Lancashire Masons then retired to a local bar called Colours to round off the evening.

Tuesday was a day for sight seeing and this started with the purchase of an Island Explorer Ticket for £12.00 giving us the freedom to travel when and where we liked on services of the Steam Railway, Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway, Buses and Douglas Corporation Horse Trams.

Our first mode of transport was the Douglas Horse Tram which is the oldest surviving hose tram, dating from 1876. The tram runs on a three-foot gauge tramway along Douglas promenade and took us to the Manx Electric Railway Station.

Our second means of transport was the Manx Electric Railway first opened in 1893 and is the longest narrow gauge vintage railway system in the British Isles. Due to maintenance work the railway currently only runs to Laxey and this is where we alighted from the train and took our third type of transport.

The Snaefel Mountain Railway took us from the village of Laxey up to the islands highest point, the summit of Snaefell (Snow Mountain), which stands 2036 metres above sea level. There is a tram stop at the halfway point known as "The Bungalow" where there was a great deal of evidence of the recent TT course.

After a quick race up the summit and an "It’ll blow your head off" photograph we returned to Douglas by the transport we had used previously.

At this point we had to retire to a local hostelry for lunch and refreshment.

The next transport was the Isle of Man Steam Railway dating from 1874 and the Locomotive No.4 ‘Loch’ is one of the original engines and is still in service today. After a brief stay in Port Erin and a drink in the local Hotel we caught the train back to Castletown.

The stop at Castletown enabled us to sample the local Ale and give us the opportunity to travel by the modern bus back to Douglas and take a short walk back to the hotel. The evening was spent in the hotel where we had a delicious meal and sampled much wine.

Wednesday saw us on the return journey which was uneventful once the Manx Customs had taken all the replacement liquids off us again.

This account is about the West Lancashire OSM visit to the Isle of Man but the brethren wish to thank Kenny Brookfield a friend of Ian Taylor, who came along for the ride. He became invaluable when he was volunteered to look after the kitty which provided cash for meals, taxis and drinks and was still in the black when we landed at Liverpool. (Who else could we trust).