AUTISTIC CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM MASONIC KNOCKERS

At their recent social evening held at the Balmoral Masonic Centre in Gillingham the 2002/3 Medway Masters presented a cheque for £1000 to Edwina Petts, Teacher-in-Charge of the Marlborough Centre for Autistic Children based in Maidstone Road Medway and a further sum of £500 to the Medway Cerebral Palsy Association.

The money was raised from the Medway Masters ‘Tyler's Knocks’ sweepstake, unique to the Medway Masters circuit, and played at festive boards. In the past few years it has raised thousands of pounds for Medway Charities and good causes.

Edwina commented "We are very grateful to the Masters for this wonderful gesture. The money will go towards helping the children with their personal and social skills learning. We have fifty five children on our full time roll and three part time so any donation is really put to good use. I know that the Masons in Medway are excellent supporters of charities like ours without normally receiving any credit for it."

WBro Peter Shrewsbury, spokesman for the 2002/3 Medway Masters explained "The ‘Tyler’s Knocks’ is a game that is played by visiting Masters at Masonic meetings on the Medway circuit. For a one-pound stake Masters estimate the exact time the Tyler's gavel will sound to announce the winding up of the evening’s proceedings. The winner leaves the winnings in the kitty and at the end of the Masonic year the fund is donated to Medway charities. I’m not aware of this game being played anywhere else in the Province or beyond.