Standing before our vintage section is a person with their own vintage cred. This is Wally Robertson, who is 96 years old. He was in today because, in a first for us, we hosted church. The Uniting Church across the road is undergoing roof repairs and approached us to see if we'd be happy to host their Sunday service. We were of course more than happy to agree, given that we quite like the Uniting Church, the UC ministers we know, and the fact that the Uniting Church is progressive on its stance with our diverse communities. We put the heater on early, fired up the urn and put out some cups, saucers and bickies. It was a joy to hear the singing when we returned from our weekly breakfast appointment! But the real joy of the service was the chatter afterwards. Our shop was bustling with lots of people catching up over a cuppa. Talk about warm the cockles of the heart! Anyway, Wally. Wally was a member of the Masons, who built the building we now own. It was known as the 'Blue' Lodge, and was officially Lodge No. 67. Wally was the 'Director of Ceremonies' before he finally retired from them in the '90s. He talked about how there was a process for the Masons - they began in the dark and gradually reached enlightenment. He spoke of the phrase that was used as announcement when members would pass from the front room into the (guarded) back room: "Here comes a poor candidate of the darkness" - and other arcane bits and pieces. Wally concluded by saying, "It was all a lot of bullshit anyway." Which is what I've suspected all along.
