I spent an evening at the gracious Cambridge Masonic Lodge this week where I was presented with a cheque for £1,250 on behalf of Headway Cambridgeshire, one of many local charities to benefit from the 
generosity of City & University of Cambridge Masonic Charitable Trust Donations totaling £58,250.
They are keen to let the wider world knew of their philanthropic spirit, denying any secrecy about their organisation. “What kind of secret society would list itself in the telegraph directory and have an information officer,’ we were told, as we enjoyed our buffet and their warm hospitality in our collegiate surroundings.
Apparently Cambridge has one of the smallest provinces with only 27 lodges and 1,500 members, compared to 333 lodges in Essex. The Freemasons’ ethos is based on brotherly love, relief (supporting charities) and truth and integrity, and members who wish to join must have a religious belief of any denomination.
We were invited to tour their splendid lodge, a former theological college, and it was fascinating to read the beautifully written noticeboards and observe their symbols, which I confess I still know little about.
I would like to thank the Freemasons for their generosity and support to local charities, including Camsight, Red Balloon, Arthur Rank Hospice, Alzheimer’s Support Group, Emmaus and Prostrate Cancer Support. It is much appreciated.
*Being based in Cambridge, a centre of academic excellence, has many advantages, and today Headway Cambridgeshire was able to enjoy the benefits of this when two lovely students, Rosemary Pringle and Catie Mackenzie, from the Judge Business School, used our organisation as a case study to research fundraising options on our behalf. They collated a wealth of valuable data and presented it to us, including the revenue raised by a number of Cambridge charity shops which I previously knew nothing about; it was a real eye-opener. One suggestion is to hold online Ebay charity auctions, and if you have any other ingenious fundraising ideas, then please do let me know.
What on earth do you think you are doing Ellee to be supporting this organisation in this manner.
Time you read up on this lot and their Jabalon god ( the one they worship )
A load of bookies and builders whos main aim is to look after each other and ” fix ” things accordingly .
The so called ” charity support ” is just a clever ploy to give them cudos .
They are sinister and questionable .
My other halfs ” old school ” has a lodge , I told him that if he ever considered joining Id smother him in his sleep .
Luckily they have never approached him.
Perhaps in futore Ellee you might consider getting involved with groups of business people with genuine charitable concerns such as The Round Table .
Not strange pinny wearing , chanting to strange gods , trouser lifting , secret hand signals weirdos such as the Masons .
Ellee Google the following ;
The lightbringers the emissaries of Jabhulon History of Freemasonry .
See if you now think this lot OK .
disaffected, you are entitled to your views, but I can only refer to my personal experiences.
Disaffected, I’m with Ellee: Freemasons do a lot of good work, and they don’t do each other more favours than members of, say, a golf club or a trade union. Thanks for the blog, Ellee!
I’m with you and Frugal Dougal. Freemasonary is second only to the National Lottery in providing charitable donations to worthy causes. Around one million men belong to Masonic Lodges in this country. There are also women’s lodges.
Which one do you belong to then Jeremy ?