As Inverurie & District Men’s Shed (IDMS) marks their tenth year with a gathering of faces old and new to celebrate a decade of community, connections and camaraderie, their Chairman Alex Smith reflects on the highs and the lows of what has been achieved in that time and also shares their exciting plans for expansion to meet the needs and further grow their already 150-strong membership.
IDMS Chairman Alex Smith said: “Back in 2014, two Inverurie residents—Archie Peebles (now an SMSA Trustee) and Graeme Shepherd—visited the first-ever Men’s Shed in Scotland in Westhill, Aberdeenshire and this started us on our journey.
“The Shed visit was soon followed by a meeting with Aberdeenshire Council where a committee was formed and IDMS was born. Initially, the group met at Inverurie Community Centre (pictured above) and with help from the SMSA and the council, a permanent home was found at an industrial unit in Harlaw Way, along with an area for a polytunnel.
“During our first year and through grants and donations, we raised £51,000 which was used to purchase machinery and equipment for the workshop as well as two portable cabins to make into a social area. A grant from Grampian Health Board (now NHS Grampian) also allowed us to purchase a polytunnel and whilst the new Shed was being kitted out, we met in the polytunnel.
“Unfortunately, the polytunnel kept being extensively vandalised and had to be abandoned in 2017 and we were on the lookout for a new site for it. After searching throughout Inverurie, one of our Trustees, the late Alistair Smith was introduced to George Ross (J G Ross Bakers) who had a field available. At 3.5 acres this was big enough not only for a polytunnel but also for allotments. A 15-year lease was signed in 2019, and we were ready to go.
“In the midst of the pandemic, three Shedders—Graeme Shepherd, Henry Wilson and Murray Main—formed a bubble and set about creating allotment spaces on the site as well as 40 allotments, which are available not only for Shed members but also for the use of local residents.
“The team also planted fruit trees and bushes to create an orchard on site as well as an area of 1.5 acres, called The Howe Farm, as a co-operative to help local low-income families grow their own vegetables. Many of the ‘farmers’ at The Howe knew nothing about growing fruit and vegetables, but under the close guidance of the Shed, this has turned out to be a very successful venture.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything this fertile piece of land cannot produce and we are seeing an abundance of tatties, onions, carrots, cabbage, turnips, peas and beans and the more exotic fennel, okra, courgette, asparagus, sweetcorn and garlic. The fruit trees are already well established having managed to survive being ravaged by local deer and our clever bird-scarer, with dangling shiney CD’s, has also proven to be effective.
“Our new larger polytunnel boasts rows and rows of seedlings just waiting to be graduated to the great outdoors. Member and visitors alike, all agree there is a feeling of wellbeing whether they are actively gardening or just enjoying being out in the fresh air.
“Our excess produce from the land is sold at the entrance gate and at Inverurie Farmers’ Market to raise funds for the Shed and produce is also donated to our local food banks.
“Visitors to the allotments are welcomed by our dedication plaque at the main entrance which is engraved with the words ‘Alistair’s Dream’. It is thanks to Alistair Smith’s vision and determination that we now have this area to benefit our members and our wider community.
“Our Shed premises at Harlaw Way have certainly served us well over the last decade—offering a wide variety of activities over the years for our members including metalwork, woodwork, crafts and a cosy social area with wood burning stove to play chess, backgammon, draughts, shuv ha’penny and other board and card games.
“On reopening post-covid however, we quickly noticed that we were struggling to attract members back. So, to help us determine what we could do to attract a greater level of participation from members, we undertook a members’ survey. From the responses, many of our members stressed that the current premises were simply not big enough to meet everyone’s needs.
“The size of our Shed really does limit the number of Shedders we can safely accommodate at any one time, in both the workshop and the social area. It also limits the size and number of community and personal hobby projects that we can take on.
“Being a huge barrier to the growth of our Shed, we decided to actively seek an alternative site through Aberdeenshire Council and are currently pursuing a building adjoining to our current premises. We have just submitted a Community Asset Transfer request which we hope will be looked upon favourably.
“Until then, we are making the best of what we have. Last October, Storm Babet unfortunately took off the roof of our social area and the heavy rain caused severe damage. It has been a very long wait for better weather conditions and for the damaged areas to dry out to even attempt the extensive, not to mention expensive, repairs but we made do and many members met at the allotments for hot soup and chinwags to get them through.
“A very generous donation was made by Michael Howden, the owner of StationGym83 in Kemnay. The money was raised by Michael and his friends through The Sundown Cycle fully covered the cost of all of our repairs. It was a mammoth task and took a long time to get back to normal, but repairs were completed just in time for our 10th anniversary celebrations.
“We held an open day at the Shed to mark the milestone and it was a great day with an excellent turnout. Our visitors and guests were treated to a tour of the workshop and social area before a lovely buffet lunch provided by Graeme Shepherd, Henry and Gwen Wilson, Bill Stewart and Shantilal Fernando. We then informed our guests of our future expansion plans and great support was shown.
“We are now officially in the community asset transfer process and all of our many letters of support have been submitted. We would like to thank the many supporters of our application including the SMSA, Inverurie Events, Friends of Inverurie Hospital, Douglas Lumsden MSP, Harriet Cross MP, Evolving Inverurie as well as over 500 positive comments received through our social media.
“We are extremely grateful to the SMSA, Aberdeenshire Council, local businesses, organisations and residents for their continued support for our Shed over the last 10 years and long may it continue.”
Follow IDMS’s progress, through their website and Facebook page, as the enter this next stage of their journey.