Although still slowly reading through The Red Triangle (and taking notes as I go along) I have found time to do other things (as well as working!) One of main projects is preparing a paper for the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry (ICHF) which takes place in Alexandria, Viriginia, USA, at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. Attending the conference pushed me to finally get round to continuing something I should have tackled sometime ago. The paper is entitled ‘The Earliest Masonic Rituals – Context and Content’. By taking on the research for a paper after the title has been announced can create problems – what if the material being researched does not deliver what is anticipated? Time will tell but it has been interesting becoming re-acquainted with the Scottish National Archive which, I believe, still has to reveal more very early Masonic ‘gems’.

As well as that, the book The Masonic Magician, co-authored with Pip Faulks, has now been published in Italian. This was a very pleasant surprise especially as so few British authors writing on Freemasonry seem to be successful in having their work published outside the UK. It is a complaint I have heard regularly on the ‘circuit’ and wonder if it is something to do with the small world of Bristish Masonic publishing? Of course the economic situation might also play a part. For details of the contents of the book please see the blogs below. For those who might be interested in the Italian edition it is published by Edizioni Mediterranee, Paperback. 282 pages, €22.50.

But it is not all work, the paper for ICHF excepted, and several books have come my way. I always seem to be juggling 4 – 5 at any one time. I am not a ‘speed reader’ as I suspect most book reviewers seem to be and so I lug current books around from place to place. I really do try to look after my books (I have been know to cover them in heavyweight brown paper to protect them if I am taking them on my travels) but paperback are  wee bitty worn once I have finished with them.

The one (or the 4 or 5) that has caught my particular attention is: Voodoo Histories – How Conspiracy Theory Has Shaped Modern History by David Aaronovitch. The author was writing his book at exactly the smae time I was writing The Red Triangle but his was published before mine. I really regret not having it to hand whilst I was writing might it would have answered quite a few questions I admit that I could not answer and it would have saved me doing some research as that had alread been done by him. That said his focus is quite different from mine. As the sub-title suggests he is looking at conspiracy theories in general whereas The Red Triangle is very much more focused on Freemasonry. The two, in my mind at least, go well together but I do not know if David Aaronovitch would welcome that suggestion!

The first chapters are devoted to trying to understand the nature of conspiracies, what are their causes, whom they appeal to, how they evolve and what purposes they might serve. Groups who are claimed to be responsible are identified before moving onto examining actual conspiracies (real or imagined) the first of which is the conspiracy against the Soviet Union by members of the ruling elite who attempted to bring the new communist state crashing down. Fascinating stuff.

More to follow….