IGLD meeting and foundation of the 84th Lodge in Sweden

On August 23, the leadership of the Swedish Order of Druids travelled to Luleå to hold a national meeting in the IGLD, with reception, taking place on Saturday, August 24.

The leadership, excluding myself, filled all the positions required to conduct a national meeting of the IGLD. My role at the meeting was to represent the IGLD and its executive committee as the Grand Treasurer.

This was the first national IGLD meeting conducted under the new constitution, which was established at the World Congress in Stavanger this past June. The meeting was held in a solemn manner, with a total of 79 brothers participating, 35 of whom were newly initiated into the IGLD degree. It was a very encouraging influx to our international community.

Immediately after the meeting, which concluded in the late afternoon, we jumped into our cars to drive as quickly as possible to Arvidsjaur, located about 160 kilometres from Luleå.

In Arvidsjaur, we were to attend a gala banquet for the new lodge, Aurora, which was to be inaugurated on Sunday.

Since it was a formal banquet, we were to wear druidic ceremonial attire, which in Sweden means tailcoat. We arrived in Arvidsjaur on time, had time to shower and change into our formal wear. After mingling with brothers and their wives for a while, we sat down to a culinary meal highlighting what the cuisine of Lapland has to offer. It was a truly fantastic evening!

On Sunday morning, the inauguration of the new Lodge No. 84 Aurora was conducted with solemnity and in accordance with ritual. Officers from the Grand Lodges Birkeneland and Nordanland were responsible for conducting the meeting. The event was characterized by a shared gratitude to the brothers who had worked

for several years to establish a new lodge in Arvidsjaur.

Arvidsjaur is located only about 100 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, and here you will find the leading car and tire manufacturers from both Europe and the rest of the world. They conduct tests of new car models and tires under Arctic conditions.

After the meeting, we were treated to a lecture on the region’s importance in the development of cars and tires globally. The speaker represented the company that was the first to offer structured winter testing of vehicles and tires. He mentioned that today they have 200 test tracks on land and 130 on ice.

This was a brief summary of a few eventful and rewarding days in Swedish Lapland this August.

Ulf Högberg Grand Treasurer, IGLD