MY grateful thanks to the good folk of Beaconsfield who helped Berks, Bucks and Oxon Freemasons to raise more than forty-two thousand pounds to help disabled children.

This was generated by a family fun day in Henley attended by many members of the 21 lodges and nine chapters at the Masonic Centre in Windsor End, Beaconsfield. My group – the Widow’s Sons Masonic Bikers – raised around £600 as we sped around Beaconsfield’s roads in convoy.

The vital cash will go to the Chiltern Centre in Henley, which provides respite support and other assistance to disabled children and their families throughout the Thames Valley, many of whom live in the Beaconsfield area.

So thanks to everyone who helped to prove that our masonic values of friendship, decency, and charity are just as relevant today as ever, despite – or, perhaps, because of – the recession.

Roger Harding, The Masonic Centre, Windsor End, Beaconsfield