Freemasons wooing younger recruits
The notoriously secretive Freemasons are to appoint their first “youth ambassador” to shake off their stuffy image as old men with funny handshakes.
They are advertising for someone aged 18 to 25 to help them appeal to a younger generation.
The successful applicant will be expected to become a mason but will not be paid because the job, at least initially, is voluntary.
Whoever applies will have their Facebook and other social media activity vetted, the group admitted.
Spokesman Julian Rees said: “Freemasons do have something of an image problem, with most members of the public thinking of us as a load of white-haired old men in tweed jackets.
“We want to say, enough of that, it’s 2013, let’s start reaching out to all the wonderful young people out there and making them aware of how becoming a Freemason can help them in life.”