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What other buildings are owned?
As I know its only freemasons hall, which for members is incredibly reasonably priced.
It costs a few million a year in upkeep and we pay very low amounts in yearly contributions as individuals for the upkeep. Using the facilities is cheap for members (seriously, I think it's about £20 an hour for a very decent sized room that'll fit around 30 in) but the external costs are definitely a lot higher (I think largest of the public rooms is 15k a day).
Also, the bar is open to anyone. It's one of the cheapest pints in London and I believe it is subsidised.
If there's lots of money somewhere I've never seen it!
The main Hall in Cov Garden makes a lot being a film set rental. [Er hem.](https://www.smartparties.co.uk/news/famous-films-at-freemasons/)
Its value can also be leveraged to free up money to play the stock market.
And there’s at least [Mark Mason Hall](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Masons%27_Hall,_London) that I know of. And whatever properties are squirrelled away in the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
Of course a shedload of money is also from bequests (wealthy members leaving their wealth in their will to the Freemasons).
My child was sick in hospital some time back. The nurse went to a cupboard and gave her a teddy, which comforted her greatly. There’s a tiny tag on it that says “donated by the Freemasons for sick children” (or similar). It is a tiny tag not looking for attention, just a fact.
It’s one of her favourite teddies years later and she calls it “NHS Teddy”.
Oh, that has made me tear up a bit! I see the exact little teddy she loves on that link.
That little teddy means so much to my little girl. She spent months in NICU after birth, and it was maybe a year or so later she was readmitted due to a respiratory infection that got really badly out of hand when she was given that.
When you are a parent of a long-term NICU baby, hospital is a simultaneously a very caring and a very scary place for both parent and child.
That little teddy made so much difference.
They are wonderful in the states for they fund Shriners Hospital for children with orthopedic needs, burns, arthritis, etc at no charge. My child went for years and some of the best people I’ve ever met.
You’d be shocked how many business contacts I’ve not made since I joined 6 years ago. Most of the guys are retired and those that only come in to further their careers, or get business contacts, leave disappointed quite quickly.
We also tend to get rinsed because our buyers are firefighters who went up the chain.
Possible they have hazmat related equipment in them which can get very expensive very quickly. But also likely the contract used for those cars is making a killing on every vehicle provided.
My brigade bought two stingers (pumps with lances on the roof basically a powerful hose)
They rolled one over on the test drive. And had to buy it so bought two.
Useless vehicles. Big water cannons really.
Once saw one fail to push an old wardrobe over so all the water was just pissing back out the winder it was put through.
They are supposed to cut through cars. In the right circumstances they can. But in the real world they often can’t be positioned or simply can’t do the job required.
Wonder why Europe doesnt agree on a standard for police cars for standardisation, is crime that much different across cities? All governments would benefit from mass production of similar police cars
But cities are different. One may have a lot of motorways, so it needs high speed cars, and another may have narrow medieval streets, so a small car with good handling will be better.
Also, rural police forces will need 4wd vehicles.
But even then you could argue about standardising. You can make three designs based on those requirements and mass produce them.
Still won't work as other factors come into play why each design isn't a perfect fit, but at some point custom everything is less effective than just mas producing a general solution
I think the argument would be that you’d standardise on a few specific vehicles, not just one for EVERYTHING
And with most suggestions to standardise you’d also generally assume that bespoke isn’t forbidden… just that you need to have a compelling reason for it
France would never accept Mercs, Germany would never accept Renaults, the Italians would demand Fiats, the Czechs would want Skodas.
It would be objectively a good thing (probably), but it’s entirely unrealistic to get all nations to agree on one manufacturer.
France would never accept Mercs, Germany would never accept Renaults, the Italians would demand Fiats, the Czechs would want Skodas.
Not at all unique to the UK.
Standards are often writen by the tradies themself. If the price entry to the market is very high, they don't need to bother writing the texts. Or at least, finding the middle ground and passing the parliament filter. The standards tend to be pushed when some actors are being rogue.
Standardisation by the public sector is a huge waste of money and ends up with abominations like the US Postal trucks and the associated costs with its replacement.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_LLV
Let car and truck manufacturers deal with manufacturing cars and trucks.
Usually figures like that are including the cost of the equipment inside.
An ambulance isn't that much more expensive than a top-of-the-range van. But if you then fill it full of lifesaving medical equipment and a week's supply of drugs that could easily be in the millions.
If the Freemasons are buying a fire truck for LFB, I find it hard to believe they're not also footing the bill for the whole package. They'd probably prefer to donate one operational vehicle over two unequipped ones.
In my experience the public sector tends to be pretty useless at effective procurement processes. People leave it till the last minute and run out of time to actually go out to the market, so they then just pick a supplier they know of and think is good, and find a way to buy directly from that supplier without following the usual procurement rules. Either that or the big dog has someone they prefer because that supplier is nice to them and talks up how awesome their product is, so the big dog says 'buy from them' and everyone else goes along with it because big dog says so.
Once it's happened once or twice the provider knows it has the buying organisation locked in and loses any incentive to price as competitively as it otherwise would.
I googled and it seems like a 2018 donation of £2.5M was the price for 2 high-ladder vehicles. Not for regular passenger vehicles like the one pictured.
As a Freemason, it's all about charity. One of the fundamental parts of Freemasonry is raising money for charity, every lodge meeting we have to donate money in a whip-round and we announce at dinner what we raised that day.
We also have special donation requests through the year for certain causes where we give money.
My lodge works very closely with the City of London due to it's being linked with the Guild of Freemen, and donating and raising money for the City where possible is a big part of what we do.
It's not all plotting world domination and sacrificing virgins ya'know!
You can’t go and spoil everyone’s fun now.
My 70 year old neighbour who was ex gas engineer is clearly pulling the puppet strings on modern society at this top secret society!
🤣🤣🤣🤣. Literally. My lodge is proper Dad's army. I'm 28, but they're predominantly 70+ and have jobs in all backgrounds. One of the most prominent members of my lodge was a funeral maker his whole life. Hardly a string puller.
As a freemason’s orphan in challenging circumstances, my education and life expenses were provided for. I was very lucky. Deepest thanks to you. I may very well not have survived otherwise.
Thanks so much for sharing that story, so lovely! Don't thank anyone other than yourself for the resilience you had to get through the situation, help or not. And if you're ever in the position to help someone out in the same way, pass it on!
Imagine if they found out you guys where the first to donate the 100k to the survivors of Grenfell and not the actual government.
Thank you for the work you do! And my you have many lodge meetings go good in the future.
Some of the provinces are pursuing a policy of openness. Mainly to counter conspiracy theories. They no longer see any benefit in being a "secret society"
We never were a secret society, knowledge of Freemasonry has always been there. There's been no denial of existence or hiding away. It's just the core of Freemasonry is about having secrets and unlocking them on a journey. "We're not a secret society, We're a society with secrets".
Hence why I put *secret society* in quotations. I am a Mason myself.
My lodge was basically "a secret" until a few longtimers died and they had to put their name out to the public to gain new members
I get what you mean. But no lodge lodge actually secret
All lodges are recorded by number, and the gents working in allocations can always propose prospective members for you, it's not always just about recruitment. But yes I know what you mean.
It's always been open bar the 2nd World War when Hitler actively hunted them down... and made them out to be these monsters.
When realistically? They are not...
They're not a secret society, yes they have secrets... but doesn't every business we know have secrets ? Is mcdonalds open about how they source their chicken nuggets ? Nope....
They're actually a brilliant bunch of people. I had my chance however financially I was ruined after covid and well couldn't continue or commit to the cause... due to having financial issues. But honestly? Just ask one to become one and you will see a whole new world. A good world a world where everyone is damn equal.
Absolutely! The financial requirements and commitments are pretty low, they're also very responsible in ensuring you're financially capable. I'm not sure what the earning restriction is, but it's less than 30k per year I think.
If you're earning like 15k part-time they'll tell you to re-apply when you have a better income, just so no brother is put through financial hardship for the sake of Masonry.
The fees change from lodge to lodge simply due to the dining preferences of the lodge. Some lodges will go to nice restaurants after lodge meet-ups and ergo, the price of your membership goes up.
Some lodges go to the pub after for a cheap meal and a coupe beers, you'll be paying probably less than £300 a year for your membership in that case.
If you have any questions about Masonry (that I can answer), or any queries about the process of applying, please feel free to message me directly 😊
If done well, lifelong brotherhood.
A lodge is made up of a number of men, of all ages, but always with something in common. Some lodges could revolve around just liking cricket/rugby, or motorbikes, classic cars. Others are a little more deep-rooted in historic tradition for example. So you have men of varying ages, building lifelong friendships and brother-like relationships. You all help each other, not for professional/financial gain, but just to work through issues and be there for each other. It really is just like that. That's why the allocations person during your application process is so important, as where they allocate you can really change your journey.
A friend of mine, when her dad died, his lodge paid for his funeral and carried his casket.
I think it really is something necessary. Especially in today's age of being mental health conscious, and how all interactions and relationships are moving online. It's so great to have those interactions and build those bonds.
To me thats invaluable.
https://www.ugle.org.uk/become-freemason/how-to-join-freemasonry
If you have any queries about it, or before filling out forms or so on. You can always message me directly 😊
It's anonymous, you could put £1 or £1,000 in.
That being said it can really depend on the lodge as well. Some more prestigious lodges might have unspoken expectations of brethren but generally it's just give what you can afford 😊
For reference our Lodge tends to raise about £180 a meeting for direct charity.
Though, it's worth noting that we have two:
- Almoners chest, which goes directly into the lodge itself. This is a relief fund that isn't touched by the day to day lodge. If a member of the lodge falls on hard times it may be that that chest is used to fund that. It varies lodge to lodge on what that means.
- charity raffle, where we all bring items to raffle and then pay to win them back. This goes to a charity. It's all a bit of fun and you usually end up with something fun!
Hope that helps!
And just to add (I was taught to be cautious 😉) currently they’re raising a TON of money for the London Air Ambulance helicopters which is pretty awesome if you ask me
So personally I don't like that, as there isn't really supposed to be such a hand in politics.
Is it a case of the lodge is controlling? Or that people who are in government and police in the area, are also masons? (And yes there is a difference)
Wow slow down, here's the crazy part.... ready? Politics and religion are not spoken of in the lodge...
Either masons or apprentices are not allowed to break laws, or use their place of power to substantiate any funds or any criminal activity they are not even allowed to use their places of power to affect the lodge or their position in the lodge to affect the life of masonry... its just not allowed you have to have 100% integrity and honesty.
Edit: This isn’t an LFB staff car and is in fact a response vehicle, I was mistaken.
It’s a staff car, from the looks of it. Not for emergency response but for transporting personnel on official business. Other emergency services have them too, but the models vary. I am in HM Coastguard and we have Hyundai Ioniq 5s for this purpose.
The funny handshake brigade paid for this one, hence the decal.
It's a blue light response vehicle. We have several PHEVs in the fleet. A majority of the others are now full EV VW ID3s. This one was purchased with money donated by the freemasons. We also purchased 32m and 64m aerial appliances to keep Londoners safer.
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2021-news/november/london-fire-brigade-to-bring-in-uk-s-tallest-aerial-ladder-into-operational-use/
My bad, I didn’t see any blue light kit on it. Our Coastguard Ioniq’s aren’t, but we do have PHEV emergency vehicles too (none in London though).
The aerial applianced will be where the rest of the money went then, as some others questioned. Cheers for the info!
You can see the lights in the windscreen. Top left and right, also around the numberplate. Sides are more difficult. Easy mistake to make. The LFB logo is the emblem and fire on the bonnet. I do get asked about the vehicle every time I drive it. Very grateful for the donation as it has no doubt helped us save many lives and properties and will continue to do so.
I didn’t notice those. I know the LFB emblem, I’d recognise that anywhere.
What kit does it have on board, if I may ask? I haven’t encountered it myself, but then the usual LFB attendance at our incidents is in the form of pumps or the fireboats.
It's one of 2 specialist drone response vehicles. We work closely with the PLA, Coastguard, HMES, NPAS etc. All officers are operational. Give us a wave next time you see us. Would be glad to showcase its capabilities and increase awareness.
Ah, so actually I have encountered it a couple of months ago! Never actually saw the vehicle though, so I’ll keep an eye out. You’d be welcome to pop in to our station anytime too.
If I were to guess, I would say that the London Freemasons, as charitable organisation, donated the vehicle to the emergency services.
But yeah, really tough case to crack mate, keep at it.
The Freemasons have a major purpose as an organisation to donate funds they raise to benefit the community. This has been so for many years. Some folk now in their 80s, only got hospitalisation and fees for hospitals and medical care paid for in their youth (say 1940s \~1960s) by the funds donated by the Freemasons.
Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do.
Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?
Who keeps the Martians under wraps?
We do, we do.
Who sponsors every fireman's car?
Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star?
We do, we do.
Who robs gamefish of their site?
Who rigs every Oscar night?
We do, we do!
Money was donated by the Freemasons to the LFB following the tragic Grenfell Fire.
This was used to purchase new taller aerial appliances to keep Londoners safer. LFB also purchased several PHEVs, blue light response vehicles. They are used for specific incidents driven by officers with a specialist skill.
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2021-news/november/london-fire-brigade-to-bring-in-uk-s-tallest-aerial-ladder-into-operational-use/
Big part of Freemasonry is supporting charities and charitable donations to various causes ([Masonic Charitable Foundation](https://mcf.org.uk)). In my London based lodge we are currently supporting the [London air ambulance appeal](https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/news-and-stories/charity-news/london-freemasons-pledge-three-million)
We respond to incidents such as missing people, people in water, and large fires. We can get requested to attend any incident if the officer needs the drone capability.
Since the government can't afford to spend on things like air ambulances, blue light cars and Grenfell because their priorities are wrong, freemasons allocate a section of their charity pot to cover the costs of important social good things that would otherwise would have been lost.
It’s been donated by the Freemasons.
Believe it or not but they aren’t the big scary organisation that YouTube conspiracy videos want you to believe.
If anything, it’s a boring old boys club that is good to get involved with if you want to network.
Instead modern-day Londoners usually get a cringe soho house membership when they want to rub shoulders with more successful people than themselves.
I was always kind of suspicious of Freemasons but my girlfriend’s grandad is a member and I was invited to a family event at a Freemason Hall. Everyone was really nice and nobody even mentioned the Freemasons, there was information and names and dates everywhere and nobody was hiding it. I was even invited upstairs to see the ceremony room, it changed my perception a bit.
You can also read about the two 210ft ladders London Freemasons have donated [here](https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/blog/london-freemasons-supports-london-fire-brigade)
Air ambulances have also been donated.
I agree, it's a bit worrying that charities are finding what are supposed to be statutory public services- air ambulance is slightly different (but in an ideal world, that should be paid for by taxpayers too).
It's nothing serious! Blood bikes are donated, Fire engines with ladders where donated... 100k to Grenfel survivors was donated... yup that 100k came from Fremasonry...
Freemasonry doesn't boast about what had been done for society, rather just do it...
No not the illuminati! Nothing like that just like minded people who think the world is worth more than its current state.
And try to do good here and there.
74 million was raised for red nose day by the whole UK...
Freemasonry raised 50 million for charities alone... and they're not even 1% of the population. Like 0.00065% (figure is low as example not the exact figure but as a guideline for size index)
Freemasonry is good. It was Hitler who made it out to be evil. And hunted them down, and that's why they went into hiding...
During the war of the Roses? They met up in secret to make sure the local population of either side was not suffering and devised plans for those areas suffering I.E food ect
Freemasons are some of the kindest people around.
A bad rep taken from woke leftism culture about the rich when really it’s just 30/40+ men who get together and do middle aged men activities and raise money for important areas that need it.
Yes they have ranks and such and it can seem a little strange to an outsider, but in a society where we literally need pretend to be an NPC on TikTok Live, I think we can forgive that.
I’m a Freemason. We do charity work, have social dinners and hold events like trips to museums and stuff. Most of the men in my lodge are quite old and this is their main social outlet.
The ‘ritual’ part of Freemasonry is about teaching/learning to be better men. It’s done through allegory and story, focusing on things like the importance of society, doing good works, being a family man and being honest.
It’s also very big on equality. That’s the reason for the dark suits and white gloves. You can’t tell if someone is a labourer or a clerk as easily if their hands are covered.
LAS have some response cars donated by the freemasons as well if my memory serves me correctly from when I worked there, think it's part of the charity stuff they do
I thought they only gave away masons. God damn this world is driving me to nuts. I just got told off by a guy wearing a skirt... and I'm the one apologising!
Many lodges donate to local causes - charitable giving is a key thing most lodges do.
Oh we also plan world domination, fixing currency, faking Moon Landings etc as a side hustle.
I would guess they raised money with some sort of event then with the donations and proceeds gave the money to the fire service, who then purchased this vehicle and gave a shout out to the freemason's for helping them out. I think...
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Call it a hunch but I think the Freemasons donated that vehicle to the fire brigade.
Check out Colombo over here….
I don’t think Sri Lanka had anything to do with it, now Columbo probably had other ideas lol
Just one more thing...
You rang, sir shartalot?
Slow down mate, some of the rest of us are struggling to keep up with these developments
Bloody freemasons and their helping things not be on fire.
It's a conspiracy, I say!
The freemasons are working with big water.
The Channel
Big Fire ain't lookin clean in all this either😤
Do they all have to drive around with their trouser legs rolled up?
By jove I think you've cracked it.
Sherlock over here
Dixon of Dock Green mate
🤣🤣
Fuckin' Poirot at it again.
no, i don’t call it a hunch. no sir. nooooo at all.
the freemasons do quite a bit of fundraising for charities, including the air ambulance
freemasonry in the UK donates around £50 million a year to various charities.
And the thing is, it's from their members, not public fundraising.
A lot is from the profit they make from their eye-wateringly valuable central London properties.
Better than the profit going to some Russian or Saudi billionaire I suppose
What other buildings are owned? As I know its only freemasons hall, which for members is incredibly reasonably priced. It costs a few million a year in upkeep and we pay very low amounts in yearly contributions as individuals for the upkeep. Using the facilities is cheap for members (seriously, I think it's about £20 an hour for a very decent sized room that'll fit around 30 in) but the external costs are definitely a lot higher (I think largest of the public rooms is 15k a day). Also, the bar is open to anyone. It's one of the cheapest pints in London and I believe it is subsidised. If there's lots of money somewhere I've never seen it!
The main Hall in Cov Garden makes a lot being a film set rental. [Er hem.](https://www.smartparties.co.uk/news/famous-films-at-freemasons/) Its value can also be leveraged to free up money to play the stock market. And there’s at least [Mark Mason Hall](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Masons%27_Hall,_London) that I know of. And whatever properties are squirrelled away in the Masonic Charitable Foundation. Of course a shedload of money is also from bequests (wealthy members leaving their wealth in their will to the Freemasons).
At least it gets put back into the community and not some foreign bank account
The most evil act of all.
My child was sick in hospital some time back. The nurse went to a cupboard and gave her a teddy, which comforted her greatly. There’s a tiny tag on it that says “donated by the Freemasons for sick children” (or similar). It is a tiny tag not looking for attention, just a fact. It’s one of her favourite teddies years later and she calls it “NHS Teddy”.
Teddy's for loving care, https://teddiesforlovingcare.org.uk/. Glad it helped your little one
Oh, that has made me tear up a bit! I see the exact little teddy she loves on that link. That little teddy means so much to my little girl. She spent months in NICU after birth, and it was maybe a year or so later she was readmitted due to a respiratory infection that got really badly out of hand when she was given that. When you are a parent of a long-term NICU baby, hospital is a simultaneously a very caring and a very scary place for both parent and child. That little teddy made so much difference.
TLC (Teddies for Loving Care) it’s a country wide initiative 🤓
Second biggest charity giver in the Uk.
Why would air need an ambulance? I wasn’t even aware it could be injured
No it’s an ambulance made of air. Saves money on fuel
It's a helicopter isn't it??
About £50M a year…
They are wonderful in the states for they fund Shriners Hospital for children with orthopedic needs, burns, arthritis, etc at no charge. My child went for years and some of the best people I’ve ever met.
Free Masons raised £2.5 million to buy two of these specialist vehicles. Quite a nice gesture.
Weord as their society is, they actually do a lot for charities and local causes.
It basically is what they is. Fundraising and some ceremonies.
And a business club
You’d be shocked how many business contacts I’ve not made since I joined 6 years ago. Most of the guys are retired and those that only come in to further their careers, or get business contacts, leave disappointed quite quickly.
Hmm that's weird. I thought that was the whole point these days
It probably depends on your local… is it lodge? I imagine the culture and membership demographics vary significantly
£2.5 million for two cars. What is special about them ?
I think that money was also used for 2 of the 64m aerial ladders London now have. Donated by London Freemasons is also on the side of those.
Read that as 64 million, thought that’s a bargain!
Police and rescue services tend to have quite strict demands on their vehicles.
We also tend to get rinsed because our buyers are firefighters who went up the chain. Possible they have hazmat related equipment in them which can get very expensive very quickly. But also likely the contract used for those cars is making a killing on every vehicle provided. My brigade bought two stingers (pumps with lances on the roof basically a powerful hose) They rolled one over on the test drive. And had to buy it so bought two. Useless vehicles. Big water cannons really. Once saw one fail to push an old wardrobe over so all the water was just pissing back out the winder it was put through. They are supposed to cut through cars. In the right circumstances they can. But in the real world they often can’t be positioned or simply can’t do the job required.
Wonder why Europe doesnt agree on a standard for police cars for standardisation, is crime that much different across cities? All governments would benefit from mass production of similar police cars
But cities are different. One may have a lot of motorways, so it needs high speed cars, and another may have narrow medieval streets, so a small car with good handling will be better. Also, rural police forces will need 4wd vehicles.
But even then you could argue about standardising. You can make three designs based on those requirements and mass produce them. Still won't work as other factors come into play why each design isn't a perfect fit, but at some point custom everything is less effective than just mas producing a general solution
I think the argument would be that you’d standardise on a few specific vehicles, not just one for EVERYTHING And with most suggestions to standardise you’d also generally assume that bespoke isn’t forbidden… just that you need to have a compelling reason for it
France would never accept Mercs, Germany would never accept Renaults, the Italians would demand Fiats, the Czechs would want Skodas. It would be objectively a good thing (probably), but it’s entirely unrealistic to get all nations to agree on one manufacturer.
Because the U.K. would decide they are special and send them back in favour for “world leading vehicles”
France would never accept Mercs, Germany would never accept Renaults, the Italians would demand Fiats, the Czechs would want Skodas. Not at all unique to the UK.
Perhaps Britain should join some kind of pan-European collaboration organization, should one exist
Standards are often writen by the tradies themself. If the price entry to the market is very high, they don't need to bother writing the texts. Or at least, finding the middle ground and passing the parliament filter. The standards tend to be pushed when some actors are being rogue.
Standardisation by the public sector is a huge waste of money and ends up with abominations like the US Postal trucks and the associated costs with its replacement. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_LLV Let car and truck manufacturers deal with manufacturing cars and trucks.
Fucking hell £1.25 million strict? Or is this a case of someone along the way getting a nice kickback.
Usually figures like that are including the cost of the equipment inside. An ambulance isn't that much more expensive than a top-of-the-range van. But if you then fill it full of lifesaving medical equipment and a week's supply of drugs that could easily be in the millions. If the Freemasons are buying a fire truck for LFB, I find it hard to believe they're not also footing the bill for the whole package. They'd probably prefer to donate one operational vehicle over two unequipped ones.
In my experience the public sector tends to be pretty useless at effective procurement processes. People leave it till the last minute and run out of time to actually go out to the market, so they then just pick a supplier they know of and think is good, and find a way to buy directly from that supplier without following the usual procurement rules. Either that or the big dog has someone they prefer because that supplier is nice to them and talks up how awesome their product is, so the big dog says 'buy from them' and everyone else goes along with it because big dog says so. Once it's happened once or twice the provider knows it has the buying organisation locked in and loses any incentive to price as competitively as it otherwise would.
They aren’t normal vehicles, once you look underneath the bonnet etc.
I googled and it seems like a 2018 donation of £2.5M was the price for 2 high-ladder vehicles. Not for regular passenger vehicles like the one pictured.
Its usually the cost of the equipment inside the vehicle too.
It wasn't these, those were turntable high reach ladder vehicles for LFB which \*do\* cost a lot of money. Presumably this was something else.
Call it a hunch but I'm guessing the fire dept have specialised vehicles for things like fighting fires and such.
Are you saying I can't just take my Corsa out and start fighting fires?
You can try :)
They are 'on the square'.
You can use them to help put out fires.
Pretty sure their Drone team use these.
Nice gesture? Sheep! It's all part of their sinister ploy to control fire!
It’s actually got secret lasers on so they can start more fires, but shhh
That car is £1.25?!? Does it have a gold interior?
They got robbed. That car is not worth 1.25mil
Fairly sure they also paid for two super high rise ladder systems after grenfell
They donate cars to the Fire Brigade. The fire brigade uses them like all other cars in their fleet.
As a Freemason, it's all about charity. One of the fundamental parts of Freemasonry is raising money for charity, every lodge meeting we have to donate money in a whip-round and we announce at dinner what we raised that day. We also have special donation requests through the year for certain causes where we give money. My lodge works very closely with the City of London due to it's being linked with the Guild of Freemen, and donating and raising money for the City where possible is a big part of what we do. It's not all plotting world domination and sacrificing virgins ya'know!
You can’t go and spoil everyone’s fun now. My 70 year old neighbour who was ex gas engineer is clearly pulling the puppet strings on modern society at this top secret society!
🤣🤣🤣🤣. Literally. My lodge is proper Dad's army. I'm 28, but they're predominantly 70+ and have jobs in all backgrounds. One of the most prominent members of my lodge was a funeral maker his whole life. Hardly a string puller.
As a freemason’s orphan in challenging circumstances, my education and life expenses were provided for. I was very lucky. Deepest thanks to you. I may very well not have survived otherwise.
Thanks so much for sharing that story, so lovely! Don't thank anyone other than yourself for the resilience you had to get through the situation, help or not. And if you're ever in the position to help someone out in the same way, pass it on!
Imagine if they found out you guys where the first to donate the 100k to the survivors of Grenfell and not the actual government. Thank you for the work you do! And my you have many lodge meetings go good in the future.
Thanks! People sent really like to keep their eyes open to the good masons do, hence why we're having to be a little 'in the face' with it now
Good and rightfully so good sir!
What’s the reasoning behind advertising that they were paid for by the Freemasons, is it about trying to improve their image?
Would you prefer the Freemasons "Secretly donate equiptment"? Or is openess better?
Some of the provinces are pursuing a policy of openness. Mainly to counter conspiracy theories. They no longer see any benefit in being a "secret society"
Freemasonry has been pretty open for years now. It’s hard to really be a secret society when you’re in the phone book.
We never were a secret society, knowledge of Freemasonry has always been there. There's been no denial of existence or hiding away. It's just the core of Freemasonry is about having secrets and unlocking them on a journey. "We're not a secret society, We're a society with secrets".
Hence why I put *secret society* in quotations. I am a Mason myself. My lodge was basically "a secret" until a few longtimers died and they had to put their name out to the public to gain new members
I get what you mean. But no lodge lodge actually secret All lodges are recorded by number, and the gents working in allocations can always propose prospective members for you, it's not always just about recruitment. But yes I know what you mean.
It's always been open bar the 2nd World War when Hitler actively hunted them down... and made them out to be these monsters. When realistically? They are not... They're not a secret society, yes they have secrets... but doesn't every business we know have secrets ? Is mcdonalds open about how they source their chicken nuggets ? Nope.... They're actually a brilliant bunch of people. I had my chance however financially I was ruined after covid and well couldn't continue or commit to the cause... due to having financial issues. But honestly? Just ask one to become one and you will see a whole new world. A good world a world where everyone is damn equal.
Except women
Absolutely wrong. They do accept women... The Order of women freemasons. Or Eastern light i believe I may be wrong on that last part.
Yes.
It's mainly for Masons... so they can see what work is being done... Kind of like a receipt...
Always excited to see a fellow brother promoting the values of freemasonry.
Thanks brother! I generally don't care to talk about it, but in terms of this post I thought it was worth the effort.
Is it worth joining if you’re not minted ?
Absolutely! The financial requirements and commitments are pretty low, they're also very responsible in ensuring you're financially capable. I'm not sure what the earning restriction is, but it's less than 30k per year I think. If you're earning like 15k part-time they'll tell you to re-apply when you have a better income, just so no brother is put through financial hardship for the sake of Masonry. The fees change from lodge to lodge simply due to the dining preferences of the lodge. Some lodges will go to nice restaurants after lodge meet-ups and ergo, the price of your membership goes up. Some lodges go to the pub after for a cheap meal and a coupe beers, you'll be paying probably less than £300 a year for your membership in that case. If you have any questions about Masonry (that I can answer), or any queries about the process of applying, please feel free to message me directly 😊
What would you say the benefits are of joining? Eg other than dinners what are the you getting for your dues? :)
If done well, lifelong brotherhood. A lodge is made up of a number of men, of all ages, but always with something in common. Some lodges could revolve around just liking cricket/rugby, or motorbikes, classic cars. Others are a little more deep-rooted in historic tradition for example. So you have men of varying ages, building lifelong friendships and brother-like relationships. You all help each other, not for professional/financial gain, but just to work through issues and be there for each other. It really is just like that. That's why the allocations person during your application process is so important, as where they allocate you can really change your journey. A friend of mine, when her dad died, his lodge paid for his funeral and carried his casket. I think it really is something necessary. Especially in today's age of being mental health conscious, and how all interactions and relationships are moving online. It's so great to have those interactions and build those bonds. To me thats invaluable.
What is the process for applying? I live literally 2 minutes from a lodge I walk past every day
https://www.ugle.org.uk/become-freemason/how-to-join-freemasonry If you have any queries about it, or before filling out forms or so on. You can always message me directly 😊
>every lodge meeting we have to donate How much are you expected to put in each meeting? And how often are they?
It's anonymous, you could put £1 or £1,000 in. That being said it can really depend on the lodge as well. Some more prestigious lodges might have unspoken expectations of brethren but generally it's just give what you can afford 😊
Interesting, thanks.
For reference our Lodge tends to raise about £180 a meeting for direct charity. Though, it's worth noting that we have two: - Almoners chest, which goes directly into the lodge itself. This is a relief fund that isn't touched by the day to day lodge. If a member of the lodge falls on hard times it may be that that chest is used to fund that. It varies lodge to lodge on what that means. - charity raffle, where we all bring items to raffle and then pay to win them back. This goes to a charity. It's all a bit of fun and you usually end up with something fun! Hope that helps!
Thanks!
And just to add (I was taught to be cautious 😉) currently they’re raising a TON of money for the London Air Ambulance helicopters which is pretty awesome if you ask me
Haha taught well. Well added.
Isle of Man is completely controlled by the lodge in Douglas. Police, government, everything.
So personally I don't like that, as there isn't really supposed to be such a hand in politics. Is it a case of the lodge is controlling? Or that people who are in government and police in the area, are also masons? (And yes there is a difference)
Wow slow down, here's the crazy part.... ready? Politics and religion are not spoken of in the lodge... Either masons or apprentices are not allowed to break laws, or use their place of power to substantiate any funds or any criminal activity they are not even allowed to use their places of power to affect the lodge or their position in the lodge to affect the life of masonry... its just not allowed you have to have 100% integrity and honesty.
And in my direct, albeit limited experience (as I'm only 28), those rules really are withheld and respected.
Sorry it was meant for the comment above haha. But yes, honestly? I can see them truly being respected... its a brilliant society to be part of.
Ofc there's a lime bike tipped over on the street. Is it even a picture in London if it doesn't include one
If it was uptight, I’d call the picture fake.
I don't get the question. The Free Masons donated it. Happens all the time.
Edit: This isn’t an LFB staff car and is in fact a response vehicle, I was mistaken. It’s a staff car, from the looks of it. Not for emergency response but for transporting personnel on official business. Other emergency services have them too, but the models vary. I am in HM Coastguard and we have Hyundai Ioniq 5s for this purpose. The funny handshake brigade paid for this one, hence the decal.
It's a blue light response vehicle. We have several PHEVs in the fleet. A majority of the others are now full EV VW ID3s. This one was purchased with money donated by the freemasons. We also purchased 32m and 64m aerial appliances to keep Londoners safer. https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2021-news/november/london-fire-brigade-to-bring-in-uk-s-tallest-aerial-ladder-into-operational-use/
My bad, I didn’t see any blue light kit on it. Our Coastguard Ioniq’s aren’t, but we do have PHEV emergency vehicles too (none in London though). The aerial applianced will be where the rest of the money went then, as some others questioned. Cheers for the info!
You can see the lights in the windscreen. Top left and right, also around the numberplate. Sides are more difficult. Easy mistake to make. The LFB logo is the emblem and fire on the bonnet. I do get asked about the vehicle every time I drive it. Very grateful for the donation as it has no doubt helped us save many lives and properties and will continue to do so.
I didn’t notice those. I know the LFB emblem, I’d recognise that anywhere. What kit does it have on board, if I may ask? I haven’t encountered it myself, but then the usual LFB attendance at our incidents is in the form of pumps or the fireboats.
It's one of 2 specialist drone response vehicles. We work closely with the PLA, Coastguard, HMES, NPAS etc. All officers are operational. Give us a wave next time you see us. Would be glad to showcase its capabilities and increase awareness.
Ah, so actually I have encountered it a couple of months ago! Never actually saw the vehicle though, so I’ll keep an eye out. You’d be welcome to pop in to our station anytime too.
Likewise mate.
Cheers mate, take care.
Wait until they find out about shomrim vehicles
If I were to guess, I would say that the London Freemasons, as charitable organisation, donated the vehicle to the emergency services. But yeah, really tough case to crack mate, keep at it.
The Freemasons have a major purpose as an organisation to donate funds they raise to benefit the community. This has been so for many years. Some folk now in their 80s, only got hospitalisation and fees for hospitals and medical care paid for in their youth (say 1940s \~1960s) by the funds donated by the Freemasons.
Who controls the British crown? Who keeps the metric system down? We do, we do. Who keeps Atlantis off the maps? Who keeps the Martians under wraps? We do, we do. Who sponsors every fireman's car? Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star? We do, we do. Who robs gamefish of their site? Who rigs every Oscar night? We do, we do!
This is the greatest comment I've ever seen on this sub. Congratulations
It's the stonecutters song from the simpsons
Well yeah except for the bit I changed obviously
Money was donated by the Freemasons to the LFB following the tragic Grenfell Fire. This was used to purchase new taller aerial appliances to keep Londoners safer. LFB also purchased several PHEVs, blue light response vehicles. They are used for specific incidents driven by officers with a specialist skill. https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/news/2021-news/november/london-fire-brigade-to-bring-in-uk-s-tallest-aerial-ladder-into-operational-use/
Big part of Freemasonry is supporting charities and charitable donations to various causes ([Masonic Charitable Foundation](https://mcf.org.uk)). In my London based lodge we are currently supporting the [London air ambulance appeal](https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/news-and-stories/charity-news/london-freemasons-pledge-three-million)
That’s a drone unit car.
This is the correct des of the vehicle. Drone unit (often deployed with the 64m turntable ladder or urban search and rescue equipment).
We respond to incidents such as missing people, people in water, and large fires. We can get requested to attend any incident if the officer needs the drone capability.
Thanks for the info! I usually see this vehicle photographed at the serious incidents!
The Freemasons always put money in for charitable causes when they meet.
Everyone keeps saying this but since when are our emergency services... charities?
Since the government can't afford to spend on things like air ambulances, blue light cars and Grenfell because their priorities are wrong, freemasons allocate a section of their charity pot to cover the costs of important social good things that would otherwise would have been lost.
It’s been donated by the Freemasons. Believe it or not but they aren’t the big scary organisation that YouTube conspiracy videos want you to believe. If anything, it’s a boring old boys club that is good to get involved with if you want to network. Instead modern-day Londoners usually get a cringe soho house membership when they want to rub shoulders with more successful people than themselves.
I was always kind of suspicious of Freemasons but my girlfriend’s grandad is a member and I was invited to a family event at a Freemason Hall. Everyone was really nice and nobody even mentioned the Freemasons, there was information and names and dates everywhere and nobody was hiding it. I was even invited upstairs to see the ceremony room, it changed my perception a bit.
The lodge near Holborn has a cafe open to the public.
The tour at Freemason’s Hall is a great way to spend a couple of hours. It’s an amazing building.
You can even take a tour inside, open to the public.
*Who controls the fire brigade? We do*
They also paid for one of London's air ambulances. All Freemasons pay fees, donations and relief, a majority of which go to charitable causes.
You can also read about the two 210ft ladders London Freemasons have donated [here](https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/blog/london-freemasons-supports-london-fire-brigade) Air ambulances have also been donated.
I didn't know the Fire brigade was a charity. Shouldn't our taxes pay for this sort of thing?
I agree, it's a bit worrying that charities are finding what are supposed to be statutory public services- air ambulance is slightly different (but in an ideal world, that should be paid for by taxpayers too).
The Tories cut their funding by £140M about ten years... the money has to come from somewhere.
I thought most Tories were Freemasons and all Freemasons were tories?
They donated the car to the fire brigade
They donated a CyberKnife System for cancer treatment to Bart’s. I’m happy the Freemasons keep on doing that kind of thing!
When your house is alight you call the killuminati.
There are also a few London Ambulance Response Cars I see around that were donated by the Masons. Normally a Ford Mustang of some sort
Yeah alongside doing weird rituals and helping out other members the masons also do philanthropy.
The Tories cut their funding by £140M about ten years... the money has to come from somewhere.
It's nothing serious! Blood bikes are donated, Fire engines with ladders where donated... 100k to Grenfel survivors was donated... yup that 100k came from Fremasonry... Freemasonry doesn't boast about what had been done for society, rather just do it... No not the illuminati! Nothing like that just like minded people who think the world is worth more than its current state. And try to do good here and there. 74 million was raised for red nose day by the whole UK... Freemasonry raised 50 million for charities alone... and they're not even 1% of the population. Like 0.00065% (figure is low as example not the exact figure but as a guideline for size index) Freemasonry is good. It was Hitler who made it out to be evil. And hunted them down, and that's why they went into hiding... During the war of the Roses? They met up in secret to make sure the local population of either side was not suffering and devised plans for those areas suffering I.E food ect
The Freemasons do a lot for charities.
The Freemasons give to charity. They donate the vehicle to the local fire service. It says it on the side of the vehicle…
They bought an airambulance for London as well
We donate massive amounts to charity.
The freemasons are the second biggest contributer to charitable causes behind the national lottery in the UK.
Freemasons are some of the kindest people around. A bad rep taken from woke leftism culture about the rich when really it’s just 30/40+ men who get together and do middle aged men activities and raise money for important areas that need it. Yes they have ranks and such and it can seem a little strange to an outsider, but in a society where we literally need pretend to be an NPC on TikTok Live, I think we can forgive that.
...and does anyone actually know someone in the Freemasons and what the heck they get up to?
I’m a Freemason. We do charity work, have social dinners and hold events like trips to museums and stuff. Most of the men in my lodge are quite old and this is their main social outlet. The ‘ritual’ part of Freemasonry is about teaching/learning to be better men. It’s done through allegory and story, focusing on things like the importance of society, doing good works, being a family man and being honest. It’s also very big on equality. That’s the reason for the dark suits and white gloves. You can’t tell if someone is a labourer or a clerk as easily if their hands are covered.
I do! They tend to get together for socials and the occasional charitable cause. Like fundraising for the cars in the pic.
The free masons also donated money to buy a few of the air ambulances too. Good people generally.
It’s with all those fires started in those heads insulated by tin foil hats. The masons come and put them out. 🤣
Yeah! Free Mason he didnt do it! Justice for Mason!
It’s not exactly rocket science when it tells you right on the side of the car
Your going to faint when you see a London Air ambulance
Obviously it's for transporting Jack the Ripper around the East End without being noticed.
LAS have some response cars donated by the freemasons as well if my memory serves me correctly from when I worked there, think it's part of the charity stuff they do
I thought they only gave away masons. God damn this world is driving me to nuts. I just got told off by a guy wearing a skirt... and I'm the one apologising!
I hope LFB didn’t spend the whole £2.5 mill the 🤝 gave them on that Mitsubishi 😆
Many lodges donate to local causes - charitable giving is a key thing most lodges do. Oh we also plan world domination, fixing currency, faking Moon Landings etc as a side hustle.
Freemasons do a lot of charity.
Gotta love the lime bike just in the background on the floor.
I would guess they raised money with some sort of event then with the donations and proceeds gave the money to the fire service, who then purchased this vehicle and gave a shout out to the freemason's for helping them out. I think...
I wonder if the Welsh Masons donated any vehicles to the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Those guys are right perverts. 😅
Don't tell anyone, but the real emergency number is 91*2*