SHOPPERS, office workers and tourists usually walk past the building at the bottom of Park Street in Bristol without a second thought about its purpose.

It is The Freemasons' Hall, a meeting place for members of the freemasonry organisation which is often criticised for being too secretive.

But it was opening its doors on Saturday for a Christmas Fair and open day to raise funds for the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal and the neonatal unit at the Children's Hospital. The Lord Mayor was to open the event at 10am.

Bristol's Provincial Grand Master Mike Flynn, 73, a former Bristol City Council personnel officer, said: "This building might look like Colditz from the outside, but we are really very warm and friendly."

Mr Flynn, who joined the Masons in 1963 after being invited by his father-in-law, is head of 1,600 paid-up members in the city.

He said the only provisos for joining were that you must be male, aged 21 or over and you must believe in a supreme being.

Mr Flynn said: "We are not a religion, but we expect people to value family life, to be moral in their standards and to care for their fellow man.

"It's a great feeling to belong to this organisation. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill, we have good fun and it is a haven from the outside world."