Freemasonry. Born in south-east London to a working-class family, the young Staples was already trying to make sense of the archaic rituals of the university when he noticed a housemate slipping out twice a term for a clandestine appointment, and returning late in the evening.Eventually Staples asked where he was going, and was invited to see for himself.
A while later he was presented with a date and a time to arrive at the nearest Masonic lodge, with no further instructions.The evening of his initiation, the weather was particularly foul.
The now 46-year-old Staples recalls pulling on his suit and wondering if he could actually be bothered to cycle four miles away down the Banbury Road.
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