Wednesday 29th January and I am standing in a
shed. It is a large shed situated next
to the Greeno Centre in Shepperton. The weather outside is cold, and there
appears to be no heating inside, so I haven’t removed my coat. I am not alone
in this shed. There are a dozen other people here, some look busy, others just
standing around chatting. I was in the latter group.
The Greeno Centre
So what was I doing here at 9.00 a.m. on a freezing morning?
Well I had come along to a demonstration of (and instruction in the use of) a Mig
welder. This piece of equipment, as well as a woodworking lathe, had been
purchased with monies donated by Shepperton Aurora Rotary Club, and the Company
which provided the welder, Supercraft Ltd were here to undertake some training
to the members of Men in Sheds (Shepperton).
Mig Welding
Men in Sheds is best described as an International movement,
which began in Australia. Its aims are to provide support to men of a certain
age, who may be experiencing problems with the transition to retirement or are
lacking social interaction. Everyone knows that men need a bolthole to escape
from everyday life, and a shed will often suit this purpose. I personally know
men who have made their sheds very comfortable indeed, with armchairs, fridges
and TVs.
Example of a comfy shed
I myself have a shed,
but in my case it is so full with things like a barbecue, patio furniture, lawn
mower and shredder, that I can’t even get into it, never mind spend time there.
It’s my own fault. I decided a couple of years ago that I needed a new shed,
but didn’t want to pay an extra £70 for someone to erect it for me. So I went
for an economy model, and decided to put it together myself, with the help of a
couple of friends. Never again will I make such a mistake. Nothing seemed
square, it tilted in various directions and the floor was so uneven, that
everything tried to move into one corner. I never did manage to get the roofing
felt on properly, and it’s basically just lying on top, needing to be replaced
whenever the wind blows stronger than a light breeze. Two years on and there are
holes everywhere, with brambles forcing their way underneath the roof, and
various rodents setting up home inside.
My Shed
There are of course many men who don’t have access to a shed
at all. I guess it is for this group that Men in Sheds exists, providing
opportunities for men to meet up and work together on woodworking, repairs
and other DIY projects, receiving training from skilled craftsmen, whilst
enjoying some camaraderie. Currently there are over 200 Sheds in the UK and
this figure is growing rapidly, so there is clearly a demand.
I had come along this morning, with Rotary colleagues Brian
Holt, Doreen Pipe and Douglas Dick to see the new equipment in action, and to
get to know the people involved. Actually I think the reason Doreen came along
was because she had heard that several members of London Irish Rugby Club would
be present. She was disappointed to find none of them there, although I heard
later that the rugby players had in fact been in the Greeno Centre next door helping out. So near, yet so far, Doreen!
London Irish rugby players
I met Phil Mackenzie,
who with my Rotary colleague Richard Edgar founded the Shepperton group. He is
the supervisor, and as he says, it is important that an environment is created
which will encourage people to come and join them, and keep coming back. He is
aware that after the euphoria of the opening ceremony has passed, and the
donations from organisations such as ourselves are received and spent, members
need to feel it is worthwhile to continue coming along, otherwise the venture
will not survive.
Richard and Phil with Monica Chard
I also met a couple of the members, or ‘Shedders’ as they
are called. They were both experienced builders and were able to get on with
work unsupervised. New members are invited to bring along broken pieces of
furniture to fix, as a project to get them started. In fact there is no
shortage of things for the Shedders to do. Local people have provided projects
to keep them busy for the next 3 months, and even our Rotary club have asked
them to build a cabinet which will be used to support the local charity Mission
for Vision.
'Shedders'
Anyway, back to the Mig welding. Everybody who attended was
given an opportunity to try their hand at welding. Doreen and local magazine
editor Monica Chard looked particularly fetching in the helmets every welder
has to wear to protect their eyesight. When my turn came I was given some brief
instructions by our trainer, Dennis, and then I was let loose on some pieces of
metal. I found it surprisingly easy, and Dennis was suitably impressed (or
maybe he was just being polite). He told me the joint I had made would
withstand several tons of pressure.
Doreen looks fetching, whilst Dennis just looks resigned
Monica shares a joke with Douglas
It’s probably too late for me to start a new career as a
welder, but I nevertheless enjoyed the lesson, and I was delighted that Rotary has been able to support this worthwhile project in Shepperton. Who knows, I may
even go along myself, to learn some woodworking skills.
I'm sure electrics have been passed by HSE
