Masonry isn’t just for men, there is a report on women’s Freemasonry available from the ‘Masonic Events’ tab above, here at Palatine we try very hard to include everyone connected with the members of the Lodge by meeting socially as often as we can. This includes wives, girlfriends, children, grandchildren friends and anyone else I’ve missed out. This particular occasion was a trip along the Peak Forest Canal and it was just the most fun day out, fortunately, it didn’t rain and the autumn colours were quite spectacular, as you can see from the photographs. We hired two self-drive narrow-boats, “Mary” and “Alice”, each boat can comfortably accommodate ten people. The boats are equipped with a two burner hob, sink, and crockery; they also have flushing toilets. The cabins are heated for cooler days, with seating and a table available in the cabin as well as seating on the front and rear decks, this is the ideal opportunity for anyone who has wanted to have a go at guiding a narrow- boat along the canal to gain some experience and have a lot of fun too.. We took it in turns to drive the boats, everyone found the experience very pleasing, a total of eighteen people occupied the two boats, nine to a boat. I have to admit there was some competitive spirit which added to the occasion enormously. We received full instructions on how to operate the boats as almost no-one had any experience on the canal other than falling in.. The Lower Peak Forest Canal, comprises an eight mile lock-free stretch from Portland Basin to Marple, there is a mixture of architectural features including two short tunnels and the magnificent Marple Aqueduct. Of course occasions like his are always much better with plenty of food to eat. We each brought something and shared everything out. The canal in the autumn was extremely colourful… Enjoy the Photo’s…