A Personal Story: Rod Ainsworth

When the SMSA received a letter from Rodney (Rod) Ainsworth (pictured above far right), 80 years young from Lossiemouth Men’s Shed, expressing how much he enjoyed being part of the SMSA and the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement following his retirement from the fire service and moving to Scotland, we had to share his story…

Rod said: “I had spent many years working and living outside the UK and then four years ago, I made the decision to retire from the fire service. I wanted to leave the place I was living in Canada, near Niagra Falls, and return and settle back down somewhere in the UK.

“I made a list of all of the requirements I wanted the place to meet. After a perusal of many places that came near to my list, I finally found Lossiemouth! Not only did it meet all of my list requirements, but it also provided a few bonus extras. Therefore, Lossiemouth it was!

“For those who don’t know  Lossiemouth, it is in the far North East of Scotland and located approximately half way between Inverness and Aberdeen, and very near the historic town of Elgin. It is a seaside town popular with tourists and hosts two caravan camping sites and a beautiful harbour and marina.

“On arrival in Lossiemouth, everything was new and exciting to me—but having grown up and worked in Yorkshire, before moving for work abroad—you will appreciate, I was still somewhat at a loss living here. Things were so different and one of the main things I had to adjust to was the Scottish accent.

“Fortunately, I was blessed with wonderful neighbours who helped, advised and guided me through everyday life and, it was through them that I found out about the Men’s Shed.

“The Shed has been the most spectacular thing that has ever happened to me. They invited me into their community and through their meetings, chats and general get-togethers, I have opened an entirely new chapter in my retirement.

“I have made so many new great friends and am developing new skills such as wood turning! We have outings to other Sheds in the area, visits to local places of interest and visiting speakers capable of enlightening us on many different topics, particularly men’s health issues.

“Through the Shed, I have also become more aware of our community which has broadened my scope of living. I now have a bus pass and am informed of local events, such as the Highland Games and have joined the local rowing club. I also take part in Christmas Fairs and Charity Fun Days etc.

“I’m 80 now, but feel about 50 in the head! Maybe I should slow down a bit, but hey ho, maybe not! I am enjoying everything that life has to offer right now. My life has been enriched beyond anything I could ever have imagined or wished for. I can truly say that the Shed has brought me a new and exciting era.

“I have found that everyone at the Shed has a unique background, and we all have stories we can tell. This is what makes it so interesting and the companionship is fantastic. I recommend to any gentleman with time on their hands or feeling a bit lonely, living on their own, or just getting under the wife’s feet a bit—go down to your nearest Shed, take part, enjoy the blether, learn something new or just put the kettle on!

“I guarantee you will enjoy the experience. It’s all free, and there are no rules for you to attend at certain times, you just go when you want and take part if you want to. It’s your choice! And, it’s a healthy choice!

“I hope by sharing my experience with others that it even encourages one more person to join the wonderful association which is the SMSA and connect with your local Shed. Don’t sit at home in front of the telly. Head to the Shed—you certainly won’t regret it!”

A Personal Story: Tom Hollins

The SMSA interviews father-of-five, armed forces veteran and Comrie Shedder Tom Hollins (53) who following medical discharge from the army found his local Men’s Shed and is now embarking on a new venture—to set up a veterans’ hub a stone’s throw away from the Shed base at Cultybraggan Camp. Tom, originally from Belfast, had a military upbringing from day one, his dad was in The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) providing recovery and engineering support to British Army vehicles from land, air and sea and his brother was also in the Royal Air Force. Tom said: “I joined the Army Infantry Division and then in 1989 moved to the 1st Battalion Wessex Regiment as a mortarman and then a few years later transferred to the Royal Logistics Corps as a railhead operator.

 

“In 1996, I moved to the Territorial Army (TA) for four years before serving for 14 years (2000-2014) with the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) in an armed security role as a section commander/guard commander with a 14-man security section for the 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment in Kent. In 2018, I moved into a recruitment role with the TA and then had a short spell back at MPGS before being medically discharged in 2022 as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which my father and brother also suffer from.

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“I thoroughly enjoyed military life. I really missed the lads, the banter, the lifestyle. People say I am very regimental—of course I am, it is all I have ever known, we even have our own language, and I loved it! After 33 years in the army, I didn’t know what to do with myself—I had travelled all across the world, seen so many good things and a lot of bad but I still missed it. I had to find a way to move on.

“With my complex PTSD, I attended the Veterans First Point in Dundee and received great support from them and was also put on a 28-week Peers-to-Peers course so I could also help others.

“Life following discharge has been a roller coaster ride—both mentally, emotionally and physically. But then we moved to Crieff and I heard about Comrie Men’s Shed and quickly joined desperately seeking my get-up-and-go and comradeship.

“The Shed helped me to talk to other men and make connections. There were some veteran members and it was great to talk to people that could relate. Even though I am one of the youngest members, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of great Shedders with good life experiences to share and learn from.

“The Shed changed my life for the better and helped me feel at ease. I have met so many amazing people and it was a place I could concentrate on my own health and wellbeing.

“Comrie Men’s Shed is based at Cultybraggan Camp—a former WWII prisoner-of-war camp in one of 80+ Nissen huts (Hut 65) which was constructed to house up to 4,000 prisoners (formerly known as PoW Camp 21) and then became a training camp for the Ministry of Defence in 1948. The camp is now a thriving  multi-use community resource run by the Comrie Development Trust.

“The Shed offers activities ranging from woodwork to bird watching including personal and community projects, repair/restore service, arts and crafts, IT skills, book clubs, leather-craft, photography and ham radio.

“I found however, meeting veterans in the Shed that they were all saying the same thing—there was no support in our area just for veterans and their families. Somewhere to go for help, advice and support.

“A lot of veterans come back shellshocked and/or with disabilities and struggle to readjust to society and find employment and don’t know where to turn. Many feel like an outcast, and suffer anxiety and feelings of loss and just need somewhere to go to chew the fat with someone who can relate to military issues. So, I decided to do something about it.

 

 

“The camp is such an ideal location with many opportunities and huge potential. In addition to the huts, there are 40 allotments, a community orchard, woodland, a gym, shops and local businesses too. There are also many volunteering opportunities including gardening, maintenance and offering tours at the museum. In the Shed and at the camp, you meet a wide mix of all lives and I had now made the decision to add a veterans hub to the list!

“I have undertook many courses including Mental Health First Aid and my past made me experienced to offer integrated support to veterans and their families including health and wellbeing support, funding advice, social activities, connections, advocacy, access to services and pension, employment, relocation and housing advice. I can also signpost veterans to programmes and partner agencies that I have built close links to.

“It has now been over a year trying to set up the veterans hub as a charity, piggybacking on the Shed. I have ‘pestered’ everyone in my path to get the hub up and running.

“The hub is now open and located in Hub 1 at the camp and open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but the long-term plan is to be open five days a week. The hub is really informal—like walking into a living room –and is somewhere veterans and their family members (whether they have served one month or 40 years) can come and chew the fat with someone relatable and access support.

“We can also send veterans on day trips such as the Wolverhampton Multi Sports and Activity Camps where they can do anything from wheelchair basketball to rock climbing. There is something for everyone.

“I say to people who are struggling—feeling withdrawn and pushed to one side—don’t look at the pavement, when you go out for a walk, look up, look around you and see new things. Say good morning to people you have never spoken to before on your daily walks, try something new. As we know in the Shed, it can take a while for people to open up. Take the time, build up trust and they will talk.

“On Remembrance Sunday 2024, we opened our doors and invited veterans from the armed forces and families to come and join us and had a buffet and refreshments. It was a great success.

“Chris from the Shed has been fantastic helping me out with the hub. We opened a little later than planned due to waiting on funding. We have a benefactor who has offered to pay our rent which will keep us going for the next five to six years.

“The Shed has such a great rapport in our area and as word gets out about the hub and its Scotland-wide service, we are hearing the same. We aim to reach and help as many people as we can.

“But, I said from the start of this venture, if I can help just one person feel happier and valued in themselves and move on at their own pace, then it has been a success.”

Please follow and support Comrie Men’s Shed and the Cultybraggan Veterans Hub on Facebook.

Do not suffer in silence this festive period

Do not suffer in silence this festive period

  • Age UK Advice Line: 0800 678 1602 (8am-7pm, 365 days a year)

  • Age Scotland Advice Line: 0800 12 44 222 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)

  • Alcoholics Anonymous: 0800 917 7650 or use the live chat box

  • Andy’s Man Club (men’s suicide prevention charity): Meet Mondays at 7pm, find your nearest group)

  • Men’s Sheds: Search the SMSA ‘Find a Shed’ map to find your local Scottish Men’s Shed

  • Quit Your Way Scotland (stop smoking helpline): Call free on 0800 84 84 84

  • Relationships Scotland InfoLine: 0345 119 2020 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am–4pm) or visit Relationships Scotland to find your nearest service

  • Respect Men’s Advice Line (Help for male victims of domestic abuse): 0808 8010 327 (Mon-Fri. 10am-8pm), or visit the webchat (Wednesdays, 10-11.30am & 2-4pm) 

  • Samaritans: Call 116 123 (24 hours)

  • Shelter Scotland: 0808 800 4444 (click here for festive opening times)

  • Shout: UK’s first and only 24/7 text service for anyone in crisis. Get free, confidential mental health support anytime, anywhere – text 85258

  • UK Narcotics Anonymous: 0300 999 121 (10am-midnight) or find a physical or online meeting.

SMSA charity and founder mark ten-year anniversary

The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) charity, the national support hub for 200+ Scottish Shed groups, and its founder Jason Schroeder, celebrate a decade championing men’s health and wellbeing and the growth and diversification of the Men’s Sheds movement in Scotland.

SMSA Chief Executive Officer and founder Jason Schroeder said: “We are extremely thankful to be where we are today thanks to our main drivers, supporters and 4,200+ members over the years believing in this life-changing and life-saving men’s ‘health by stealth’ model since day one. Without them, the Association would not exist and men’s health would not now have a platform to be more readily spoken about openly. Everyone wins through this model and we hope the support for this grassroots movement long continues.”

At the SMSA’s 10-year anniversary celebrations and national gathering, hosted with civic hospitality from Perth & Kinross Council, Mr Schroeder was presented with a surprise Men’s Shed style commemorative plaque from James (Jim) Paterson from Aberchirder & District Men’s Shed, which was the first-ever Shed to claim the ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ title back in 2019. The unique plaque – created from whisky oak barrels and featuring deer antlers, a sgian-dubh (skene-dhu) with Damascus steel blade and the national association’s membership pin badges and metal studs and engraved with the anniversary dates using pyrography – was presented to the charity founder during the event proceedings.

Jason said: “We are extremely grateful to Jim from Aberchirder & District Men’s Shed for this very special plaque to mark such a huge milestone for the SMSA and myself. The plaque will take pride of place at the SMSA’s HQ in Banchory. As we reflect on how it all began and how far we have come – we are immensely proud today to be now known as Scotland’s largest member-led men’s health and wellbeing charity and that is thanks to our members, funders, partners, committed staff team and Board of Trustees, past and present.

“I wish to thank and recognise our three chairmen over the years – the late Brian Mackay, Derek Keiller and current Chairman, David Gardner. Inaugural trustees Willie Whitelaw (our first Secretary) and Charlie Miller, who is still on the board today, who signed up as our first Treasurer. Trustees, Harry McVeigh, David Searle and Jo Hobbett, were also pivotal to get the Scottish Men’s Shed model and Association off the ground.

“My own story is what started me on my path to find something more for the men of Scotland. Back in the financial crash of 2008/9, I found myself working two jobs yet still unable to pay my bills. I was divorced and trying to be a single parent and a better dad to my teenage son, I had a breakdown which resulted in several months off work and even contemplated suicide. I began to look for elders, men who had been through a similar situation, to guide me. After emigrating from South Africa to Scotland in 1997, I could not find men of that calibre in my community and felt I had nowhere to turn.

“So, I started a men’s group, called the Suns of MAC in 2009, which began slowly meeting at my house once a month and we would gather, create, cook and talk around a campfire. We kind of built my own temporary rustic Men’s Shed and began to really understand how men work shoulder to shoulder and how this, and taking rest breaks, builds connection and heart to heart communication. Then I heard about a talk being delivered by Dr Neil Bruce, Chairman of the New Zealand Men’s Sheds Association, taking place in Inverurie in Aberdeenshire and it changed everything.

“After the phenomenal success of the first Men’s Shed which opened in February 2013 in Westhill, Aberdeenshire after four years of development, I moved from my role as Aberdeenshire Council Development Officer to become the first employed Men’s Shed Development Officer hosted by Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action in Scotland. I was a founding member of the United Kingdom Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) which is based in England but due to funding never coming to Scotland in September 2014, I created the SMSA charity. I became the first Chairman and then in 2016, the Association received Scottish Government seed start-up funding for the first time and I became the CEO.

“Since the charity’s inception, we have created a tailored and unique solution-focused step-by-step pathway for new Men’s Shed groups to successfully tackle the developmental requirements keeping a voluntary group of men engaged month after month. Today, the movement has evolved so much – we are now supporting men’s health promotion, suicide prevention, documentation and policy, representing the movement and being the voice of ‘Shedders’ locally and nationally and much more.

“There is however still much work to do and now an estimated 10,000+ Men’s Shed volunteers (and growing) across Scotland that require our support so they do not get overwhelmed with running a Men’s Shed in their local community. The Sheds that are currently in development require our assistance, the open Sheds need to remain sustainable and to grow and thrive for future generations and even more new Sheds are required in communities where there is disadvantage and social exclusion.”

“Although the movement has grown significantly, unfortunately due to a lack of any increased core funding since 2016 from the Scottish Government – as we see for our counterparts in countries like Ireland – I truly believe we have unfortunately only reached a third of Scotland’s full development potential. It is our vision that one day, every man aged 18+ in Scotland will have access to, and the opportunity to attend, their local Men’s Shed if they choose to do so to improve their quality of life and we will strive to achieve this aim for as long as it takes. Here’s to the next ten years.”

Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed does it again!

Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed has only gone and won the ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ title for the second year in a row! Representatives from the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) – the national support hub for 200+ Scottish Men’s Sheds and Scotland’s largest member-led men’s health and wellbeing charity – made the big announcement at their gathering and day conference in Perth today (Friday 4th October 2024) to mark the charity’s 10th anniversary.

The event featured a jam-packed day of learning and networking for guest Sheds from all across Scotland before the announcement of the winner of the prestigious ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ Awards 2024 where the three inspiring finalists – Banff, Breadalbane and Maryburgh Men’s Sheds – received the nail-biting news.

SMSA CEO Jason Schroeder said: “Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed won the title last year and are the first former winner to ever reapply and we are delighted that they did! They have taken the title once again with Maryburgh Men’s Shed coming a close second followed by Breadalbane for our bronze winner.

“When we launched these awards back in 2019, it was never about winning – every Shed is a winner! The purpose is to raise awareness, celebrate, recognise and reward Scottish Men’s Shed volunteers for the work they are carrying out to improve men’s health and wellbeing and the impact that they are making in their local communities. Since then, the awards have grown tenfold. The tenacity of the Shedders to pull together never ceases to impress me. It is testament to personal and community commitment working selflessly for better quality lives.”

Mr Schroeder presented the winning Shed with the unique and esteemed SMSA targe trophy engraved with the Shed name and displayed in its stand designed and produced by inaugural winner, Aberchirder & District Men’s Shed. Jim Paterson from Aberchirder & District Men’s Shed then revealed a surprise gift – a beautiful and most-fitting award—made of stag horns, Damascus steel, recycled whisky barrels and metal work – for the CEO’s ten years of service to the SMSA and the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement.

Banff Shed will now hold the trophy until next year’s winner is announced. Banff Shed Chairman Bob Copland said: “We have got so much out of the awards last year that we reapplied to support the programme and the SMSA. We really didn’t expect to win again but, now we are over the shock, we are absolutely thrilled!”

Along with the title and trophy, the Shed receives prizes and discounts to support the running of their Shed including a £500 unrestricted cash prize from the SMSA (paid for through SMSA Shed Membership fees); a £150 voucher from Axminster Tools; a £250 voucher from Scotmid Co-operative to keep the guys going for a while in tea and biscuits; a free Machine Competency and Woodwork training day from David Young Training worth £638; and a year’s free accounts package from Thyme Accountants worth £360 to support their Treasurer.

The anniversary event was supported by partners including Morrison Construction, Asda, Costco UK, Tesco and Morrisons.  The conference also featured a 3D Printing Showcase by Paul Stewart from Three Towns Men’s Shed; an MOT4Men preventative men’s health workshop delivered by the SMSA; the Community Asset Transfer Process delivered by Community Ownership Support Service (COSS); and Machine Competency and Woodwork Safety delivered by David Young Training.

Dr Danielle Hutcheon and Julie Cowie from Glasgow Caledonian University talked on their new research on the ‘Impacts of Men’s Sheds on the Health and Wellbeing of Working Age Men from Disadvantaged Communities’. Alison Leitch from the Scottish Social Prescribing Network presented on ‘Social Prescribing in Scottish Men’s Sheds’ – and the SMSA announced that they are currently working on guidance to share with their Shed members – and Mark Bloomfield from Axminster Tools also spoke on how they can support Men’s Sheds with advice and discounts to kit out their Shed workshop.  Guests were also treated to a pre-tour peek of the ‘Men Don’t Talk’ Play before Pete Lannon, Engagement Officer for Genesis Theatre Productions, highlighted some opportunities available for Sheds to get involved in the upcoming Scottish tour kicking off from the 18th October 2024 by providing some props from their Shed to the venues to give each performance a real feel of a Shed.

The event was made possible thanks to civic hospitality from Perth & Kinross Council. The Association received a civic reception and welcome from Provost Xander McDade and were also joined by Perth & Kinross councillors and senior managers including Vice Lord-Lieutenant Alex Cairncross, Moderator High Constables Society of High Constables Bill Duncan and Lord Dean of Guild Home Euan Begg.

Provost Xander McDade said: “We gathered here today to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association charity and the wonderful volunteers that run Men’s Sheds in their local communities. What has been achieved in ten years is phenomenal – from the launch of the first Scottish Shed in 2013 to now having 203 open or developing Shed groups. They are delivering transformational work and we look forward to seeing even more in the next ten years.”

Head to the Shed – find the Shed closest to you on the SMSA website at www.scottishmsa.org.uk/find-a-shed