Is your partner a freemason? I want to know more!!

[dibdibdobdob]

Just curious really.

With mumsnet the size it is, there must surely be people here with partners, husbands, brothers or fathers who are freemasons.

So what's it all about then? How does it affect your home life? What do you tell your children? How do female partners and wives get involved?Those secret rituals and men only meetings; do you feel excluded or don't you care?

And what about networking? Has it given you a better social life, opened doors, helped get you better jobs, promotion, business connections? Or has it hindered your work and social life in some way?

I am a regular going undercover - yikes this freemason secrecy thing is catching!!!!

My father was asked once if he wanted to join and turned them down.

My uncle is a bigwig in freemasonry

my father refused to get involved

mysoginistic nepotistic bollocks IMO

did you see the freemason thread from a few days ago?

Oh, it's a load of old cobblers.

what freemason thread? I missed it!

Twigglet, don't piss around, tell us what you really think!

That was why my dad turned them down/

here

My grandfather was Master of a masonic lodge. He didn't talk about it to anyone in the family, including his wife. Unless things have changed a lot, I'd say wives are not involved. It opens doors. When he died, they took over, organised the whole funeral. Sorry don't know more than that really.

It's just a bunch of silly men inventing something to get all excited and important about.

But of course, that's what they want us to think

..think FIL is....apparently DH's grandfather (who was also a mason) asked DH when he was about 15 "have you thought about masonry lad" to which DH in his naivety at that time replied "not really interested in building grandpa"....... nothing more was ever said !

DH often wonders whether they thought he (DH) was being sarcastic but he genuinely didn't have a clue what they were talking about..
Wonder what a womens version would be called...or is it already in existance and called the "WI"

thanks Iota - just read the thread, but can't see many people admitting that their husband or partner is a freemason, just lots of dads and grandads. Now I just don't believe that is true of mumsnet. There must be people who have partners or husbands in the Lodge...come out, come out wherever you are!

is there more than one masonic handshake? I know how they do one anyway. We figured it out because Dad does it unintentionally and we used to get preferential treatment being escorted through customs and all sorts thanks to it. Wonder if there are different levels?

dh's dad was a mason
dh hates all that sort of stuff and so do I so would never have got involved
I even refused to go to the 'Ladies' Evening' [vom]
not quite sure what he did when he went there although he used to talk about charidee work they did (but I think that might be more like helping another mason's family kind of charidee IYSWIM)

So, care to share the handshake secret, SSSsandy? The fact that you got preferential treatment through customs by using it is scary. You could always change your name to tell us.

I too was invited to Ladies Evening but hadn't got anything suitable to wear os didn't go. I have met a group of freemasons, and not all are of retirement age. Some of the men were in their thirties and forties, so going on that, there must be some freemasons' wives and partners on mumsnet.

And in the police I believe it's rife, and they are young.

well I'm not young, but 20 yrs ago I had a boyfriend whose best friend was a freemason - oh and he was a copper -he was in his 20s

In some towns the masons is a good way to get on in certain careers. In others it doesn't have the same standing.

DH has been asked to become a mason on a number of occasions but has always turned them down. Not his scene.

ah, well more support for my argument, then - there must be musnetters who have gone to ladies nights etc

I think they do do a lot of work for charities.

well Iposted on the other thread that my father was a freemason, and more than 20 yrs after his death, the masons still call on my mum to make sure she's ok and invite her to lunches

My dad is. Totally not sinister, totally pointless garbage. And the arguments... my dds can sort themselves out better. It's not anything like as influential as they'd like to think, certainly not these days, owing to dwindling membership. It's dying a death and if anyone is still involved in 20 yrs I'll be amazed.

Yes, I have gone to a Ladies' Night. Patronising bollocks.

And yes, they do lots for charity. Our local hospital gives every child in a&e a bear donated by them. But then if you want to do charity work join the Lions or similar.

Funny thing is people go on about Freemasons looking after their own, but everyone 'networks' to get on - whether it's the golf club, relatives, friend of a friend etc etc - it's who you know that counts

my SIL and BIL always go to some masons do at Christmas - he claims that it's his Dad whose a member. I have no idea if BIL is or not as that would entail actually having a conversation with him which is quite hard work...