My father was a senior Freemason for most of his life. During that time, the lodges of which he was a member raised many thousands of pounds for charity - Freemason's charities. So, when he needed a cataract operation and a prostate operation, off he popped to the Masonic Hospital in London as a private patient.

He commented many times on how he had purchased something at discount from a fellow mason, or got some cheaper service, such as building repairs, from a mason. On the face of it, therefore, a self-help society with a lot of very silly and artificial rituals. But where does that mutual support stop and start?

When he invited me to join, as I knew he would at some point, I declined. After his death a year or so ago, I went through his Masonic gear - apron, gloves, medals, belt, books, etc., etc., and junked the lot.