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My interest in symbols started at the age of nine. My Father was a clock and watch maker (horologist) who owned a jewelry shop in a small suburb of London. His shop displayed countless items of interest, but it was the Masonic jewelry and ritual emblems that held a unique attraction for me. The mysterious symbols they revealed distinguished them from the shops other curiosities .
At that age those valuable items (often set with diamonds and precious stones) came under my special protective charge. My Father gave me pocket money in return for cleaning any items that he deemed tarnished or dusty. So, along with the gold and silver rings, old clocks and display cases, I would polish those mysterious objects that had clearly attracted my attention.
Seated on the wooden parquet floor with polishing cloth in hand, I would quiz my father (without success) as to the meaning of the symbols. His insistence that they held 'secrets', known only to Masons changed my curiosity into a passionate mission; "I would discover the meaning of those symbols and find the source of their magical charm".
10 years later I was still on the trail. I had established that family friends (including several policemen and the local undertaker) where all Masons. But most importantly my grandfather (on my mothers side) had been a Master Mason. On several occasions my mother showed me his masonic books but would never let me read them. Beyond allowing passing glances on rare occasions at a few pages and the cover, she would feel duty bound to immediately place them in a safe 'hidden' place. This Masonic 'secret' business was very real... very mysterious!
There would be much to learn about these symbols
