Arran chairman John Corbett was joined by colleagues from the Ayrshire Bluebell Lodge of Free Gardeners who visited the island to make a £1,000 donation to the MS Society.
They met at Lamlash Masonic Hall, home of Lodge St Molios 774. The Order of Free Gardeners – fraternal societies which that were founded in Scotland in the 1600s – have largely faded into obscurity so the Ayrshire lodge was instituted in 2003 for the purpose of retaining the tradition.
Originally lodges were formed to ensure that the members would have benefits paid to them in time of hardship, particularly when illness or death prevented the man of the house from earning his wages.