The SMSA is delighted to present Edition 24 (October 2021) to our members and supporters. The Scottish Shedder features the latest news, events, DIY projects, recipes, personal stories, health matters and funding opportunities relevant to Men’s Sheds in Scotland.
INSIDE THIS EDITION:
COVER STORY: It’s time to vote for your ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ Voting has opened for the public to have their say on who will be crowned this year’s ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ 2021.The five finalists are Aboyne & District Men’s Shed, Dumfries Men’s Shed, Dunoon Men’s Shed, Stonehaven & District Men’s Shed and Westhill & District Men’s Shed.
SMSA NEWS: Register to attend the SMSA AGM and Awards Event 2021 Hear from the SMSA on its key highlights of the last year and future plans.The event will include the ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ Awards presentation – who will be crowned ‘Shed of the Year’ 2021? Confirmed speakers include Sir Harry Burns (SMSA Patron), Charles Wallace (Scottish Veterans Commissioner) and Prof Barry Golding (Internationally-published researcher and writer).
SHED IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Peterhead Men’s Shed SMSA ventured up to the easternmost point in mainland Scotland to film and interview members and supporters of Peterhead Men’s Shed. With their gates now reopened to limited numbers, the Shed is now ‘complete’ with its eighth unit in place offering more space and a wider selection of activities to its 90 members.
A PERSONAL STORY: Brian and Cameron Kerr of Dumfries Men’s Shed The SMSA interviews father and son team, Brian (48) and Cameron (16) from Dumfries Men’s Shed to find out how the Shed has impacted on them and what they have done for the Shed.
SHED PROJECT: RMS Titanic is reborn The Maggie Law Maritime Museum approached Stonehaven and District Men’s Shed to assemble a very special model kit for display in its museum. The RMS Titanic will be pride of place as one of its centrepiece displays when it reopens its doors in early 2022.
THE SHED GARDEN: Auchinleck Community Shed Tom Andrews of Auchinleck Community Shed in Cumnock chats to the SMSA about their developing Shed and its ‘Growing By The Community, For The Community’ project.
And much more…
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This online national gathering, on Tuesday 5th October 2021, hosted and organised by the Scottish Government was targeted at community groups with an interest in asset transfer.
With over 100 delegates logging on through Microsoft Teams – with an interest in making an asset transfer request, learning more or wishing to share their experience of the process – there was good representation from Men’s Sheds across Scotland and the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association.
Scottish Government’s Asset Transfer Policy Manager, Malcolm Cowie, has shared the presentations and associated information with the SMSA to send out to the Shed Networks.
Jason Schroeder, SMSA’s Executive Officer, said: “The SMSA is delighted to have received such an excellent response, and an incredibly high standard of applications, for this year’s awards. This year, the SMSA Board of Trustees changed the process to ‘blind judging’ and all references to names, areas, regions, partners etc were removed. This afforded the opportunity for the Trustees to review the applications based on the Men’s Shed model, their growth, their response to members’ needs and the impact they have in their communities without knowing who the application was from.
“As with previous years, this was an extremely difficult decision for our judging panel. The decision was also made, given the volume of applications received, to increase the number of finalists from three up to five to give more Sheds the opportunity to be showcased and promote good practice through the Awards.
“It is inspiring to read about the life-changing impact Sheds are having in their localities and these Awards recognise and reward this work being carried out by vital volunteers across Scotland who are striving to improve the health and wellbeing of men over the age of 18.”
Bill Allan, Chairman of Stonehaven and District Men’s Shed, said: “We are delighted to receive the news that our Shed is on the shortlist, especially on reading the other applications and seeing the effort and dedication of the other Sheds involved. It is heartening to see such involvement by men to the benefit of the community, and the SMSA is to be congratulated for such an outcome.”
Brian Kerr, Secretary of Dumfries Men’s Shed, said: “It is an honour, and huge achievement for our Shed and community as a whole, to be shortlisted for this award as recognition of what has been achieved over the last year. After successfully obtaining our new much larger premises in November through the Community Asset Transfer process, we completed the move from our old Shed during the pandemic, navigating through lockdown.
“Since then, we have carried out repairs to the building; decorated downstairs; and set up the workshop, games rooms, kitchen and main dining/social room. We have also recently received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund to purchase computers and printers to set up a new computer suite so that our members can learn basic computer literacy and internet training to ensure we always stay connected. It has been an extremely busy and eventful year and I hope we will continue to grow and be able to help more people in Dumfries as we continue to add to and improve our facilities. I would like to thank the members of our Shed who have freely contributed their time, hard work and support in order to make all of this possible.”
Stuart Ellis, a Trustee of Westhill and District Men’s Shed, said “We are thrilled, immensely honoured and thankful to the SMSA Trustees for shortlisting our Shed for this award. The amount of effort freely given by our members to help and support our community, and each other, has been truly inspirational as demonstrated by our recent award of the Queens Award for Voluntary Service. During the year, we have also completed the fit out of an extension to the Shed, with all work carried out by our members. Re-organisation of the workshops and social area has provided more space in each area, allowing us the opportunity to add more services and activities to our already busy programme and accept more new members.”
Ian Graham of Dunoon Men’s Shed said: “Our Shed is delighted to be shortlisted for this award. We are hoping that the community of Argyll and Bute will vote for us for this prestigious honour.”
Mike Brooks, Chairman of Aboyne & District Men’s Shed, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been shortlisted for SMSA’s ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ 2021. Whilst the Shed has only been open for a few weeks, we as a group have been working since 2016 to get a Shed up and running. Little did we know then that we would be building a Shed from scratch, and in doing so would also end up providing a wonderful hub space for other community groups to use.”
The awards event will take place virtually on Zoom again this year and will coincide with the Association’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday 4th November 2021, 10am to 1pm. The winner will receive the esteemed targe trophy – designed and collectively created by the SMSA and several Sheds – to display at their Shed for a year on top of a cash prize and other goodies.
The public had two weeks until midnight on Sunday 17th October 2021 to vote.
The 2020 ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ title went to The Inverclyde Shed.
***DATE FOR YOUR DIARY*** SMSA AGM & ‘Shed of theYear’ Awards 2021
SMSA members can register to attend the virtual SMSA AGM and ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ Awards 2021 on Thursday 4th November 2021, 10am to 1pm on Zoom.
Hear from the SMSA on its key highlights of the year and future plans. On the day, SMSA will also announce who will be crowned 2021’s ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’.
Confirmed speakers include: Sir Harry Burns (SMSA Patron), Charles Wallace (Scottish Veterans Commissioner) and Professor Barry Golding (Internationally-published researcher and writer – talking about his new book, ‘Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men’s Shed Movement’).
Members of Westhill and District Men’s Shed gathered on Monday 27th September 2021 to officially receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) to recognise and reward the outstanding contribution made by their volunteers to benefit the community of Westhill and surrounding area.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, Mr Alexander Philip Manson, presented the QAVS award crystal, certificate and pin badges for the members to Shed Chairman David Thomson and received a tour of the impressive Shed facilities—the first-ever Men’s Shed in Scotland—and also had an opportunity to chat with Shed Trustees, Shedders and invited guests.
David said: “It is an honour and a privilege to receive this prestigious award on behalf of our 300 members of the Westhill Men’s Shed. The award recognises the contribution made by our members, who are all volunteers, in supporting the local and wider community. It also recognises that attending the Shed and participating in the wide range of activities available is an important contributor to our members’ health and wellbeing.”
The award featured special recognition for the COVID-19 work carried out by the members. In the early days of lockdown, the Shed was made aware of the grave shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) for their local care homes when Shed Secretary and founding member, Nick Pilbeam, was visiting a Shed member (unfortunately now deceased).
Nick said: “Shed members did some research and learned that face shields could be made simply with a 3D printer and an A4 sheet of acetate. A project team was quickly set up to tackle the issue using our Shed printer however we soon realised that the volume needed to be increased quickly and therefore recruited over 20 individuals, some with 3D printers in their own homes. A small army of face shield preppers and other volunteers joined forces to co-ordinate the production and distribution of almost 2,700 face visors and we are delighted to have their work also recognised through the award.”
Visit the Westhill Men’s Shed’s website at westhillmensshed.co.uk and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/westhillshed
Since 2014, Foundation Scotland has awarded 45 grants – worth over £120,000 – to Men’s Sheds across Scotland from various funds that they manage on behalf of their donors. Locations sharing the funding include Peterhead, St Andrews, Hamiton and the Gorbals.
Foundation Scotland is now making Sheds aware of a current funding opportunity – the GVC Fund – which reopened at the end of August and offers grants up to £5,000. One of the funds aims is to fund projects that ‘supports men’s physical and mental health’ and is therefore a perfect fit for Sheds.
In 2019, there were four successful applications from Kelso Men’s Shed; Springburn Park Men’s Shed; Dalbeattie Men’s Shed; and Banchory and District Men’s Shed.
The GVC Fund closes on 27th September so don’t delay. Apply today at:
There is still time to apply for the prestigious ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ Awards 2021 from the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA).
The awards, which opened for applications on the 2nd August, recognise and reward the contribution and impact Men’s Sheds make to society – telling the story to raise awareness of the benefits of Sheds to men, their family and friends and the community as a whole.
The awards event will take place virtually on Zoom again this year as part of the Association’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday 4th November 2021.
Jason Schroeder, SMSA’s Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to launch these awards, for the third year, to celebrate and showcase the life-changing work being carried out in Men’s Sheds across Scotland. Sheds are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of men (aged 18 and over) through friendship, support and camaraderie and we want to hear from Scottish Sheds on the impact they are having within their localities.
“We also want to know about the challenges they have faced and how they overcame them so that other Sheds can learn from their experience. Although, the event is being carried out online again this year, it certainly will not stop the Shedders coming together to share experiences and learn from each other.”
Scottish Sheds, that are members of the SMSA, can apply via the SMSA website before midnight on Sunday 26th September 2021. Shortlisted Sheds will then be selected by SMSA’s Trustees before going to a public vote for two weeks from Monday 4th October 2021 in the run-up to the event. The winner and two runners-up will be announced on the day. The winner will receive the esteemed targe trophy – designed and collectively created by SMSA and several Scottish Sheds – to display at their Shed for a year in addition to receiving an array of prizes from supporting organisations.
Deadline for applications: Midnight on Sunday 26th September 2021
Shortlist announced and open to public vote: Monday 4th October 2021
Closed to public vote: Midnight on Sunday 17th October 2021
Winner announced at SMSA AGM/Awards event: Thursday 4th November 2021
In addition to a wealth of membership benefits, the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has launched a new bulletin to its Shed members to promote a range of potential opportunities for Men’s Sheds in Scotland.
Shed members will automatically receive the electronic ‘one-stop-shop’ bulletin full of funding and opportunities relevant to Men’s Sheds for them to explore.
Not yet a member?Click here to find out more and join today.
Tuesday 5th October 2021 12.30 pm – 4.00 pm (on Microsoft Teams)
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has been approached by Scottish Government’s Asset Transfer Policy Manager, Malcolm Cowie, to share information to Scottish Men’s Sheds about this upcoming national event.
This very important online meeting, hosted by the Scottish Government. is targeted at community groups with an interest in community asset transfer. Your Shed might be considering an asset transfer request; have already been through the process; or are just interested in learning more.
It is hoped that Tom Arthur MSP (Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth) will join for part of the event and there will also be presentations from those involved in asset transfers and a chance for you to interact and discuss experiences.
An agenda is currently being finalised and will be issued shortly. In the meantime, please save the date in your diary.
Springburn Park Men’s Shed with their defibrillator
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has partnered up with Scotland’s only dedicated first aid charity and leading first aid training provider, St Andrew’s First Aid, to provide free Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to ten Scottish Men’s Sheds.
The SMSA put a call out to the 190+ Men’s Sheds across Scotland inviting them to apply for the Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and received 44 applications showing a huge demand for this vital equipment (retailed at just over £1,500) to be located at Shed premises across Scotland.
The ten recipients will use the equipment to not only protect their members but – with the addition of an outdoor cabinet purchased by the Shed – will also make them accessible to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Sudden cardiac arrest strikes 7 million people a year worldwide with no warning and no pattern. There’s little time to react and even less time to think, this means an AED must be close at hand, easy-to-use and ready to shock. Chris Jowsey, Treasurer of Glenkens Men’s Shed, said: “One of our members had a cardiac arrest whilst at the Shed and sadly passed away despite the prompt actions of his fellow Shedders to get medical assistance. We can’t help but wonder if we’d had a defibrillator that day, if the outcome might have been different.
“We are delighted to have received this defibrillator through the SMSA and St Andrews First Aid and to be able to make it accessible to our entire community.”
Tom Bennett of Springburn Park Men’s Shed said: “We have been trying to raise funds for a defibrillator for over two years for our Shed located within a public park in our village. We are thrilled to accept and maintain this defibrillator and make it accessible to our members, other community groups, park users and the general public.”
Brian Kerr, Secretary of Dumfries Men`s Shed, said: “We are very pleased to have been one of the ten Sheds selected to receive one of the defibrillator units. We really appreciate it, and being in larger premises with new members already joining, it is re-assuring to know that in the unfortunate event that it is needed, we could possibly save someone`s life with this kit. It doesn’t get any more serious than life and death and we are very grateful to both the SMSA and St Andrews First Aid for their donation.”
Jim Dorman, Director of Campaigns and Public Engagement at St Andrew’s First Aid, said: “Knowing that these vital pieces of equipment will be available to both members of the ten Sheds and to the wider communities will hopefully bring considerable peace of mind. With every minute that passes following a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival drops by 10%. Swift use of a defibrillator is all the difference needed to significantly increase a person’s chance of survival. We are delighted to donate these defibrillators to help more communities save lives.”
The successful Men’s Sheds across Scotland are: Aberchirder & District Men’s Shed; Forfar and District Men’s Shed; Glenkens Men’s Shed; Inverurie & District Men’s Shed; Macmerry Men’s Shed; Mens Shed Dumfries; Pentlands Men’s Shed; Peterhead & District Men’s Shed; Springburn Park Men’s Shed; and Whale Firth Men’s Shed.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, today unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the official opening of Banchory and District Men’s Shed in Aberdeenshire.
Her Royal Highness was greeted on arrival by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Kincardineshire, Mr Alastair Macphie, who introduced the Deputy Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, Mrs Claire Maitland, and Mr Paul Evans, the Chairman of Banchory and District Men’s Shed. Mr Evans introduced Mr Alastair Black, Legion Scotland Area Chairman for Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine, then invited the Princess Royal to enter the Men’s Shed workshop.
The Princess Royal toured the new facility, accompanied Mr Paul Evans, who said: “We are honoured to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to mark the opening of our Men’s Shed. It has been heartening to see this project finally come to fruition after many hurdles. It can now go forward as a resource for men in our community who are looking for new social contacts and activities, for example after retirement.”
In the workshop, Mr Evans presented members Mr Fred Harrott (silversmithing), Mr Alan Pumfrey (bird table construction) and Dr Bill Byth (bicycle maintenance). Entering the Men’s Shed social area, Mr Evans presented members Mr John Dunnett (model steam engines), Mr John Mason (clock repair) and Mr Duncan Davidson (Treasurer). Mr Alan Pumfrey demonstrated his model railway and showed models of Banchory railway buildings that he had made.
Banchory and District Men’s Shed is the first ‘Shed’ in Scotland to link up with Legion Scotland and it was unfortunate that one of the champions of this, Mr Jason Schroeder – Executive Officer of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) – could not take part on the day due to illness. Jason is an ex-serviceman and championed this collaboration from its origin in 2015. Mr Schroeder said: “After so many years in the making, I was personally gutted to not be able to attend the opening due to illness; however, the SMSA still ensured representation at this very special event. It was kind of HRH Princess Anne to convey her best wishes for a speedy recovery and I shall be concentrating on just that. I look forward to visiting the Shed and the guys as soon as it is safe for me to do so.”
The Princess Royal then spent some time chatting outside the Shed with other members and their wives and some invited guests including Gerry Robb, the architect upon whose plans the Shed premises were based, and Bruce McCombie, the building contractor for the conversion.
Mr Evans then invited Her Royal Highness to unveil the plaque to commemorate the opening, which was hand-engraved by member, Mr John Mason. Mr Alan Pumfrey then presented Her Royal Highness with a gift of a bird box made by himself.
