A Young Masson Speaks

Having a hearing impediment may hinder you in certain aspects of life but not in Freemasonry as the RWM of St Conval 1359, Douglas Rathey is testament to.

But the road to get that point was rocky to say the least. By Dougie’s own admission, he was a difficult child. “I was full of anger at how unfair life was and acted out because of it. I caused my poor mother umpteen sleepless nights and did a lot of stupid things I regret. The one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow was athletics. When I stopped doing that around 17, I felt like I didn’t have anything”.

That was until close friend and WSW of St Conval, Daryl Collins floated the idea of Freemasonry. “Daryl had been in discussions with Alan Park who ran our Rangers supporters bus and has been responsible for numerous new members joining the Craft. I read up on it and decided it was worth a go. We were initiated together in October 2011 and I was raised in December of that year.”

It was a struggle to adjust in the first few years and Dougie thought about quitting on numerous occasions. “I sat at the back and didn’t really know what was going on for the most part. I was making excuses to turn up late and go in with the visiting lodge as it was boring sitting there for around 45 mins as people would just talk around me. It was only the fact I liked the people there that prevented me throwing in the towel completely.”

It was the Bruce brothers, Past Masters of St Conval who were the first to reach out and make life easier for him. “Alan Bruce was always asking what he could do to help me and organised printouts of the opening and closing for me as well as getting the secretary to order a ritual book for me. He invited me to sit in the north beside the Bible Bearer so I was more aware of what was going on and then asked me to serve as in that role permanently when he was RWM.

Jim then gently coaxed me into progressive office by telling me I would be great as Junior Deacon and that there was no harm in trying it out in spite of my doubts. I had trepidations about going forward into Senior Deacon but I had a talk with PSPGM Alick Currie in the tennis club after a meeting and he assured me that everyone was behind me and the lodge would do all they could to help me.”

Their belief paid off on 11th January 2020 when Dougie was installed as RWM. “It was the proudest moment of my life. I still can’t believe it even now. I sometimes think back to the moment Alick placed the chain around my neck and still get goosebumps. I’m so proud to be Master of St Conval and represent our lodge within and outwith the province and I’ll never stop being grateful to the brethren who helped get me there.”

It isn’t all plain sailing in the East however. “I’ve always had a good memory so anything written down isn’t a problem as such. It’s being caught off-guard by anything which isn’t in the ritual book or which pops up in open lodge. I ask the brethren to let me know if they’re going to say beforehand so I know how to react and I’m lucky enough to have such a patient and knowledgable Depute Master in Alan Sim to guide me through anything I require help with and IPM Stephen Blanchflower is a diamond of a guy who would do anything for me. With those 2 beside me, I feel confident I can handle anything which arises.”

The wearing of face masks over the past couple of years has caused more problems in that respect for those who rely on lipreading to help them understand what is being said to them. “The world became a lot smaller for deaf/