The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA), the national support hub for Men’s Sheds across Scotland, has launched its latest animation to attempt to break down misconceptions that this successful health and wellbeing pathway is just for the retired.
In the one-minute film, viewers get to meet Bob, a 32-year-old busy professional who is finding life just a little bit dull before stumbling across his local Men’s Shed and finds connection, community and camaraderie to recharge his life.
SMSA Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder said: “Our latest animation is a simple key message to promote widely that Men’s Sheds are for all men, from all walks of life, aged 18 or over and that life shouldn’t just be all work and no play for today’s working man.
“Many believe that Men’s Sheds are just for older, retired men but that simply is not the case and we are striving to break down these perceptions. With over 202 Men’s Sheds groups – open or developing – across Scotland, many are thriving with intergenerational bonds and projects working with local schools, colleges, universities and nurseries. Men, young and old, are coming together in a welcoming environment to learn from and mentor each other and pass on traditional and new skills but most importantly make friends and have some fun. It is a win-win situation for all.
“Over the years, Sheds have evolved to offer a wide variety of activities to attract younger Shedders – and not just focus on the workshop – including music/bands, arts and crafts, 3D printing, sport, day outings and much, much more. We hope that this latest film will encourage men to use our ‘Find a Shed’ map to search for their nearest Shed and go check it out and see if it is for them. After all, what have they got to lose?”
The ‘Meet Bob’ animation, available to view on the SMSA You Tube channel, is the latest in a series of animations from the Association designed to raise awareness of men’s health matters and all Men’s Sheds have to offer. In late 2022, the SMSA launched ‘The Three Amigos’ which focuses in on men’s sex lives and toilet habits to draw attention to possible health issues men can experience like the changes in the hidden ‘third nut’, the prostate gland. Whilst, the ‘Guitar Mike’ film promoted that men do open up and talk about health matters in Sheds which can be life-saving.
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA), the national support hub for Men’s Sheds across Scotland, today announces the appointment of a new Trustee. Francis Edwards brings three decades worth of health experience from working in the NHS and will represent Sheds in island communities.
Francis, a member of the newly-formed Sanday Men’s Shed in the Northern Isles of Orkney, is recently retired after 30 years of palliative care nursing within the NHS and hospice movement.
The appointment sees Francis join six long-standing Trustees to extend the SMSA’s reach of regional representation as the voice of the Men’s Sheds Movement across Scotland.
On the news of his appointment, Francis Edwards said: “I am delighted to be welcomed as an SMSA Trustee and further represent the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement in Orkney.
“When I retired here to live the dream of island life, I joined Sanday Men’s Shed mainly for the fellowship but also to pick up a few DIY skills. In my early days of nursing, I was involved in setting up a ‘Well Men’s Clinic’ and, as a recent convert to the Men Shed Movement, feel that my background is a good fit with the SMSA’s values and mission.”
SMSA Chairman David Gardner said: “We are delighted to have Francis, and his wealth of skills and experience, on board and I am confident that he will be an invaluable asset to the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement and the national hub that supports it. This appointment will allow us to support even more members – inevitably, reaching more men across the nation with the aim to raise awareness of Men’s Sheds, combat social isolation and loneliness and improve men’s health and wellbeing.”
SMSA Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder added: “As a membership organisation, all of our Trustees are Scottish Shedders that know the Men’s Shed model and its benefits inside out. They strive to ensure that the charity is effective, robust and financially capable of supporting the needs of our 3,200+ Individual Members and Shed Members across Scotland and develop strategies to further grow and support this thriving men’s health Movement.
“We are appealing for additional enthusiastic, dedicated and visionary Shedders to join our board to extend our regional representation even further. We are particularly keen to hear from individuals in the East and West Highlands, Edinburgh and Angus. The time commitment involved is quarterly Board meetings and an informal catch-up with Trustees. Expenses are reimbursed for visits to Sheds and representation at events. If this sounds like you, please do get in touch.”
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA), the national support hub for Men’s Sheds across Scotland, has received a funding boost from the National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards for All Scotlandprogramme to upgrade vital resources for its growing membership and deliver quality-assured data on this thriving men’s health Movement.
The member-led national association plans to implement a new Customer Relations Management database interlinked with an upgraded website to maintain records securely online – for its 3,200+ membership and 202 Men’s Sheds across Scotland – and increase the level of information held to enable improved recording and monitoring to feed into the charity’s long-term development plans and support delivery.
SMSA Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder said: “An Awards for All grant back in 2016 paid to launch our original website, when the Movement was in its early stages, and the resource has certainly been well utilised supplying Scottish Shedders with the resources required to set up and sustain Men’s Sheds across the nation. As the Movement grew substantially to what it is today, it became apparent that we require to record the increase and variety of support requests being received, speed up our processes, improve navigation so members can find what they are looking for more quickly and store wider key information on the sector to report back to our stakeholders – members, board, funders, partners and supporters.
“On average, we are receiving a staggering 40 new individual members each month to this Movement which is remarkable however, the current manual administrative processes are profoundly impacting on the time of the SMSA team. We plan to simplify our systems for joining the Association but also for our popular ‘Find a Shed’ map which receives thousands of hits each month and make things much easier to find in our online ‘one-stop shop’ members’ portal.
“Through this second award from the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland, we will be able to easier maintain data on the Movement safely and securely and be able to evidence and report on its immense success and impact more efficiently – freeing the team up to support the nation’s Shed volunteers.”
The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair Kate Still said: “This project, delivered by the SMSA, is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others. It’s all thanks to National Lottery players that we can help give charities and community groups throughout Scotland greater certainty during challenging times.”
Men’s health animation promotes keeping the ‘three nuts’ healthy
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has launched the second in a series of men’s health animations with the latest encouraging men to keep a check on their ‘three nuts’ and to take quick action if they experience any changes.
The three-minute animation entitled ‘The Three Amigos’ focuses in on men’s sex lives and toilet habits to draw attention to possible health issues men can experience like the changes in the hidden ‘third nut’, the prostate gland, which is usually the size and shape of a walnut inside the body.
The prostate can enlarge as we get older causing peeing habits to change and can also become cancerous. The characters and theme aim to attract men of all ages to watch and learn in an educational, entertaining and informal way. The animation features different thematic scenes as the organs have their own very unique characters, ‘The Three Amigos’, medical information and the benefits of attending a Scottish Men’s Shed.
SMSA Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jason Schroeder said: “We are extremely proud of how the national association has a targeted educational health element to the services we provide and how we work in co-production with our partners to promote their specialised services. We also worked with various Scottish Shedders who had experienced prostate cancer and Prostate Scotland who deliver awareness raising presentations in the Sheds. We were very lucky to get the famous and much-loved Scottish actor Ron Emslie while he was performing the one man show, Man Shed at the Edinburgh Fringe to do the voice over which is so important in this type of media.
“Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men and as we age, the risk of developing this type of cancer increases significantly however it can also still affect younger men too. Through this latest short film, we aim to raise awareness of the symptoms for men to look out for and to talk to their GP’s, fellow Shed members and nearest and dearest, and to not suffer in silence which can often be the case with some men.
“The Men’s Shed environment is a welcoming and friendly place where men come together socially and feel safe enough to have these conversations amongst themselves. Shed members will often find that there are other men who have been through the same journey as them and can offer unique and invaluable advice and support. Early detection is key and this is one of the most successfully treatable cancers. Through this film, we aim to educate and inform, encourage men to talk and reach out for support and ultimately, save lives.”
Bancon Homes formalises partnership with the SMSA charity
Luxury homebuilder Bancon Homes today (Thursday 8th December 2022) announces that it has formalised its partnership with the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA). As part of the arrangement, the company will provide one year of rent-free accommodation for the SMSA’s headquarters at the Banchory Business Centre where it has resided since 2016.A registered Scottish charity, the SMSA is the national association providing support and resources to 200+ Men’s Shed groups across Scotland. Its sole focus is to inspire and support men over the age of 18 with time on their hands to become engaged, in a healthy way, by voluntarily creating their own Men’s Sheds in their local communities across Scotland. The Association provides practical help, information and advice for Shedders throughout their journey from the initial seed of an idea to the running of a successful and sustainable Men's Shed.
Allan Clow, Managing Director of Bancon Homes said: “Providing a home for people is what we do so we are delighted to support this incredible charity, ensuring they retain their office space and are able to deliver their important services. Men’s Sheds build communities and create an environment for people to come together and this in turn, reduces social isolation and loneliness and that too is our vision for our developments and the communities we work within.”
Jason Schroeder, SMSA Chief Executive, said: “Bancon has always been extremely supportive of the SMSA and our work to support Men’s Sheds across Scotland and we are delighted with this charitable act to reduce the running costs of the charity.
“This means even more during an extremely difficult time when many charities like us are struggling with the current cost of living crisis and all applying for the same pots of grant funding out there whilst trying to recover from a pandemic and still deliver services. This extremely kind gesture provides our charity with the foundation to remain open to support this fast-paced grassroots movement that exists to improve the health and wellbeing of men and support their communities.”
Established more than 40 years ago, luxury homebuilder Bancon Homes is part of the Bancon Group. It currently has developments in Aberdeen, Banchory, Strathaven and Mintlaw and has an exceptional reputation for the quality of its workmanship and its design led approach. This year the company was a finalist in three categories of The Scottish Home Awards, two for its Aden Meadows development in Mintlaw and one for The Reserve at Eden in Aberdeen. In 2021 the company was also nominated as a finalist in three categories, two for its Lochside of Leys development in Banchory and one for the Housebuilder of the Year (less than 100 units).
Excellent customer service is at the heart of the company’s ethos and for the past five years Bancon Homes has won one of the building industry’s highest accolades for customer service, The In-House Gold Award for Customer Satisfaction. In addition to this, the company was given an Outstanding Award for the fourth year in a row, placing it in the top 10% of companies measured. These awards are directly influenced by home buyers and their level of customer satisfaction.
The SMSA is reaching out to its members and the public to ask them to support its petition which will be sent to the First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister for Scotland John Swinney.
This is a call for action for the Scottish Government to reverse their decision to stop core funding of the national association and a proposed start-up and development fund for Scottish Men’s Sheds like our counterparts benefit from in Australia and Ireland.
We also urge you to please share this petition far and wide with family, friends and fellow supporters of the Men’s Sheds Movement in Scotland through word of mouth, meetings and through your social media accounts.
The SMSA also urges Scottish Men’s Sheds to contact their MSP’s and send them a letter or use our template letter to raise awareness of this campaign.
What is the petition all about?
In a post-pandemic world, when reducing social isolation and loneliness and reconnecting with our communities once again is paramount, the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) is making a call for action for the government to continue to financially support the national hub of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Movement and men’s health and wellbeing.
The SMSA was formed in 2014 to create a new national health movement for men which did not previously exist in Scotland and share their unique Men’s Shed development pathway strategy to new groups. Since 2016, the Association has expanded into: Shed-specific tailored information such as policies and constitutions; mediation support; consultation with a hard-to-reach group; promotion of the work of the sector; discounts from SMSA partners for Sheds to reduce costs; sustainability strategy advice; co-production for the voice of men’s health in a variety of sectors and Cross-Party groups; and a national membership programme for its Shed Members and 3,000+ Individual Members.
The SMSA’s initial start-up funding was received from the Scottish Government in 2016 but unlike the successful developmental statutory support of the Australian and Irish governments for their respective Men’s Shed movements, ours has been reduced over the years and now stopped.
We have been successful in attracting other funders in recent years to cover this shortfall however require statutory funding as the demand for services and support increases immensely. Despite a meeting with Scottish Government where the SMSA Chief Executive, SMSA Chairman and SMSA Patron, Sir Harry Burns (the former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland) appealed for increased support for the charity and the movement, the decision was unfortunately made in February 2022 by three Ministers (proposed new trilateral funding strategy) to rather stop all statutory funding to the SMSA going forward in 2023.
Now is not the time to abandon and disinvest in this successful men’s health movement that is voluntarily engaging with and reaching men and changing and saving lives. These volunteers need our support now more than ever as evidenced by the ever-increasing growth in our membership.
As we near the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the first Men’s Shed in Scotland, we now celebrate over 200 open and developing Men’s Sheds groups across Scotland (in all 32 local authority areas) reaching and supporting 10,000+ men aged 18 or over. This year, we also welcomed the completion and findings of our four-year partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University’s research (£150,000) – Sheds for Sustainable Development Project.
Our three-year development plans (2023-2026) have taken into account this research and core statutory developmental funding is required if the movement is to not only continue to grow but remain sustainable for its volunteers and their health and wellbeing. We strongly believe that the current number of Men’s Sheds in Scotland (202) has only reached just under half (45%) of what it could be.
We, the undersigned, ask the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Scotland to take action to ensure the SMSA has the core funding required to meet the needs of this thriving men’s health movement in Scotland and to create a start-up and development fund, as per our manifesto, to offer to new and existing Men’s Sheds across the nation.
Why is it important?
With an alarming rise in suicide amongst Scottish men – 75% of the people who died by suicide in Scotland last year were male – and with already-stretched resources and reduced funding as demand for our services increases, the SMSA is lobbying for a directional change to ensure the charity is around to support future generations of Shedders and keep the spotlight on men’s health. The SMSA pledges to continue making a real difference by empowering thousands of men (our sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers) and their communities – over the coming years – to play their part in a system change towards a wellbeing economy.
By trailblazing this male health movement as we have from the beginning, we strive for social change to ultimately secure its future growth and the national statutory investment it rightly deserves.
Kinross and District Men’s Shed’s Chairman David Conner said: “The SMSA has been a wonderful support and a great centre of information and advice. Without the SMSA, it is safe to say, we and some other local Sheds would not exist without their help steering us in the right direction—through the obstacles and bureaucracy that is thrown at you especially when starting something new— and enabling us to become self-sufficient.”
Carluke Men’s Shed popped up at their local Scotmid store in Law during Men’s Health Week in June 2022.
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) has teamed up with Scotmid yet again to offer Scottish Men’s Sheds a promotional opportunity to mark International Men’s Day on Saturday 19th November 2022.
During Men’s Health Week 2022 back in June, the SMSA partnered with Scotmid to offer a full-day exhibition space to raise awareness of the Men’s Shed closest to the store and attract new Shed members. Following the success of this, the SMSA and Scotmid are repeating the opportunity for International Men’s Day and offering a ‘pop-up’ space (9.30am – 6.30pm) – to accommodate a 6ft table, banner and up to two Shed representatives – for the local Men’s Shed on Saturday 19th November 2022..
The participating stores on Saturday 19th November 2022 are:
Scotmid Store
Address 2
Address 3
Post Code
479 Old Edinburgh Road
Uddingston
Glasgow
G71 6BL
3 Craigour Road
Torphins
Aberdeenshire
AB31 4HE
1 Carriers Croft
Lewiston
Drumnadrochit
IV63 6AG
1 Southfield Drive
Elgin
Moray
IV30 6GR
6 Main Street
Balerno
Midlothian
EH14 7EH
Culloden Road
Balloch
Inverness
IV2 7HQ
55 The Loan
South Queensferry
West Lothian
EH30 9SD
114-116 Hunterfield Road
Gorebridge
Midlothian
EH23 4TX
6 Mayfield Place
Mayfield
Midlothian
EH22 5JG
Unit 5-6 323 Hallhill Road
Barlanark
Glasgow
G33 4RJ
6 Bath Street
Portobello
Edinburgh
EH15 1EY
2 Carfin Street
New Stevenston
Motherwell
ML1 4JL
44 Main Street
Holytown
Lanarkshire
ML1 4TH
2 Main Street
Fauldhouse
Bathgate
EH47 9JA
30-36 High Street
Carluke
Lanarkshire
ML8 4AJ
25-27 High Street
Bonnybridge
FK4 1BZ
22-32 West Main Street
Armadale
EH48 3QA
22 Main Street
West Calder
West Lothian
EH55 8DR
2A Sycamore Walk
Blackburn
West Lothian
EH47 7LH
55-63 George Street
Coupar Angus
Perthshire
PH13 9DJ
180-184 High Street
Prestonpans
EH32 9AZ
106A High Street
Laurencekirk
Aberdeenshire
AB30 1BJ
45 High Street
Inverkeithing
Fife
KY11 1NL
53/55 Station Road
Law
Carluke
ML8 5LN
169 Stonefield Road
Blantyre
Glasgow
G72 9SD
120 Auchinairn Road
Bishopbriggs
Glasgow
G64 1NQ
129 King Street
Castle Douglas
DG7 1LZ
Lynne Ogg, Scotmid Community Manager (North region), said: “We are delighted to partner with the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association again to raise awareness of the benefits of Men’s Sheds in our stores to mark International Men’s Day this year.”
Armadale Shed exhibited at their local Scotmid store in June, Secretary Jan Pateman said: “We would like to thank the SMSA for organising this awareness day in conjunction with Scotmid. It gave us an ideal opportunity to chat to members of the public about what the Shed Movement is all about and what we do for both the community and members of the public. It also showed us that many residents had never heard of our Shed despite being in existence for six years so it was also a good public relations exercise. We were also able to chat to members of the community who have used our services and were singing our praises so it is great to know that we must be doing something right.”
As Scotmid has a ‘Charity of the Year’ partnership already in place, Sheds will not have the opportunity to fundraise, however each Shed can display and take orders for their Sheds products on the day.
The SMSA chats to Euan Martin (61)—ironically, on the day he was building his very own man shed in his garden—about how his experience with Scottish Men’s Sheds and the SMSA inspired him to co-write the play ‘Man Shed’ which is currently showing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Right Lines Productions—a writer-led production company based in Moray run by Euan and his writing partner, Dave Smith—is debuting its brand-new production ‘Man Shed’ as part of the Pleasance Theatre Trust’s Edinburgh National Partnerships programme at the Edinburgh Fringe at Bunker One.
Starring Ron Emslie, the touching 60-minute long play follows one man’s journey to explore loneliness, the joy of Men’s Sheds and the comfort to be found in friendships and a sense of belonging in the community.
Euan said: “Following a delay of over two years due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to finally let audiences in to see our work. Our plans were scrubbed following the cancellation of our tour originally planned to start in May 2020 and we really didn’t know what was going to happen with the play.
“One day, we heard the announcement that Eden Court was teaming up with the Pleasance Theatre Trust as part of their Edinburgh National Partnerships programme. In February of this year, an open call was put out for dynamic Scottish artists/companies to apply to take their work to Edinburgh Fringe 2022. We didn’t have anything to lose so applied, pitched the play and were delighted to be selected as a partner.
“I first experienced a Men’s Shed when I met members of Forres & District Men’s Shed through Moray Waste Busters. It was great to see them in action, have a good blether with the guys and hear the stories they had to share.
“I also visited the first Scottish Men’s Shed, Westhill & District Men’s Shed, which is such a fantastic place in addition to Inverurie & District Men’s Shed and meeting the Shedders in Keith and Fochabers. Each Shed is unique in what they offer their members and how they support them and that really inspired me.
“After a career of 35 years in social work, my interest in the ethos of Men’s Sheds has always been there. I met Jason Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association, through Moray Council and found his enthusiasm and passion when speaking about the Men’s Sheds Movement, so motivational.
“The theatre piece that Dave and I have created is a warm story of one man’s highs and lows. Without giving the story away, in the beginning our character is adamant that the Shed life is just not for him—‘no way, I’m not going, it’s not for me’ he says. Then, he thinks about it—he can continue to stay at home feeling insecure and lonely or he can get out there and socialise. The show will make you think, laugh and maybe even cry at times.”
After two years without a Shed building, the SMSA catches up with Orkney Men’s Shed Chairman Morgan Harcus to discuss their journey so far and their exciting plans for a fresh start at their new premises in Garson Park, Stromness.
In October last year, it was announced that Orkney Men’s Shed, along with two other charities – Stromness Drama Club and the Orkney Historical Boat Society– would be granted a 10-year lease for the Old Herring Factory building with ample space and storage for their members and potential for growth. And now, the Orcadian Shedders are in the building, unpacked and raring to go.
Morgan said: “I was made aware of Men’s Sheds seven years ago through former Westhill & District Men’s Shed Chairman Dave Thomson who invited me to visit their Shed. Within minutes of coming through the door, I just knew that Orkney could benefit from a Shed.
“Not long after that, Voluntary Action Orkney (VAO) arranged a public meeting at The Life Centre to raise awareness of Men’s Sheds and discuss the potential for having one in Orkney. I was amazed that 55 interested people turned up to that meeting to support the proposal. From there, we formed a committee – all five members bring their own individual skills and are still on the committee today plus two new Trustees.
“From day one, the Committee has been working towards a common goal to help local men. Luckily, we all get along so well and got to work with the task ahead. We all made the decision to put in £50 each to set up a bank account for the charity and we received Westhill Men’s Shed’s constitution to use as a template and adapt it, with VAO’s help, to meet our needs.
“Then came the hunt for premises. We originally applied for a former primary school which had been empty for 17 years and would have made an ideal Shed but after several meetings with the local authority we were unfortunately unsuccessful in our pursuit. That night, I was extremely disheartened but decided to take action and began looking at the local paper’s property section and saw a building for sale in Finstown on Maitland Place. I phoned the man selling it, who strangely had the same initials as me and was a Harcus too. He explained that they had been trying to sell the building for a while and they were now considering taking it off the market to lease it out. He also mentioned that someone else had contacted him and was interested in the building.
“That same evening, I got a call from our Secretary Andy Swain asking why I was looking at the same building as him and it turned out that he was the other interested party! Well, not too long after that, we signed the lease on the building and applied for a change of use. Thanks to the generosity of the public, we soon had it up and running and kitted out with donated tools and machinery and we held our official opening on the 29th September 2017 with over 200 people in attendance.
“Over the years, we made many improvements to the building and something that was extremely important to us was to make the building fully accessible for our members. To achieve this, we required a disabled toilet and access. Unfortunately, our planning application was refused by Orkney Islands Council (OIC) due to road safety/vehicle access concerns and our appeal was also rejected.
“We were asked to vacate the premises in October 2019 and had just lost our Shed when COVID struck. Due to the pandemic, members started meeting virtually but we felt like we were losing the contact of what Men’s Sheds are all about. When it was safe to do so, we started holding meetings temporarily at the Finstown Community Centre who were very kind to only charge us £10 a meeting.
“We enjoyed chatting and planning and also held ‘Bring and Tell’ sessions which went down a treat however, we just had to find premises for our members to meet and do what a Shed should. Our members are men from their early 20s to late 80s – a great mix of lads with various skills, experience, backgrounds and interests – and we just could not lose these intergenerational bonds and friendships. Having no workshop made life difficult as we couldn’t work on community projects or raise funds through this avenue either.
“One day, I was talking to the Interim Chief Executive of OIC John Mundell who we have a brilliant relationship with. He was listening to our woes and dreams of a new build and plot of land, when he said ‘I will fix this for you’. Not long after that, discussions around the 15-year-old two-storey Old Herring Factory building, which had been empty for 10 years.
“Any attempts to sell the building were unsuccessful and the council offered it to us, and two other charities, on an initial 10-year lease at a nominal rent. The building required a bit of work to be done by the council to bring it up to today’s standards such as replacement of the lift and adaptations to the disabled toilet but on out first viewing, we were really impressed and it did not need any big work or investment from us.
“The only downfall with the new building is its location is in Stromness which for some of our members would double the distance to travel. Our Finstown site was far more central. The new building however is significantly bigger than our last Shed, and fully accessible, and therefore gives us the potential to grow and welcome new members. The other two charities using the building will primarily use it for storage so the rest of the space is ours. The Shed’s allocated rooms includes a workshop with large woodworking area, a craft/computing room, electrical testing and repair room, a large social area/canteen and lots of storage.
“In addition to the computers in our craft room, there will also be space for modelling, Japanese Kumiko, watch and camera maintenance, pyrography, leatherworking etc – and with additional space there is also scope for more to be implemented to meet our members’ needs.
“Plans in the pipeline include purchasing a 3D printer, aspirations for a new metalworking space, picture framing and a tool sharpening service. We also plan to promote the Shed’s new premises as much as possible and are attending three upcoming agricultural shows to do just that. We also extend an invitation for Sheds and community groups to come visit us and see the new premises – we recently welcomed a visit from the Deerness Senior Citizens who had a fantastic day.
“We must thank John Mundell, Karen Greaves (OIC’s Head of Executive Support), James Stocken (Council Leader), elected members of the Council and others who helped get us back in a Shed so our charity can get back to what we do best – supporting men’s health and wellbeing. We were delighted to be mentioned by Christine Grahame MSP at the recent Scottish Parliament debate on Men’s Sheds and recognised for our vital work. The support we have received from the community has been huge, they really appreciate what we are trying to achieve here.
“We were so happy in our previous Shed and if none of this had happened then we would still be there today however, after everything we have been through, we strongly believe everything happens for a reason and it is onwards and upwards from here on. We have come out the other side and are delighted with the new space we have. We currently have 160 members but this is constantly growing and we are delighted to have welcomed a good few new members recently and with that brings fresh ideas.
“Orkney is not a huge place but there is certainly room for more than one Shed on the islands. We have been delighted to support the new Sanday Men’s Shed as it develops. We visited them and presented our work and we have also offered them some of our surplus tools to get them started. We will continue to help them in any way we can. Recently, a group of us also visited Flotta to help them establish a Shed which will bring the count of Sheds in Orkney to three.
“Over the last few months, members have been at the new premises clearing and setting up our new space and moving all 18 pallets full of our tools and equipment. The workshop is almost up and running ready to start with our list of 17 (and counting) projects and the new lift has just been installed earlier this month. We are looking forward to the members dusting off their flat caps, bib and brace/boilersuits and sharpening the chisels and plane irons ready to go.”
OIC Councillor Leslie Manson said: “I am delighted that not only are we divesting ourselves of a building that has been standing empty, but much more importantly we are breathing new life into three very meritorious organisations whose charitable activities undoubtedly contribute to, and have been evidenced to promote, the improvement of health and social wellbeing, cultural heritage and involvement of our young people – this is what Orkney is all about.
Orkney Men’s Shed is planning an official opening in September 2022 (watch this space) but in the meantime, they are open to members and potential new members on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to 4pm. Follow their new beginning on Facebook and/or visit their websitefor the latest updates.
Men don’t talk – that is the perception anyway. Some men struggle to open up about their feelings, experiences, struggles and health matters but the Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) is quashing this theory by launching the first in a series of animations to promote that men do open up and talk in Scottish Men’s Sheds.
SMSA CEO Jason Schroeder said: “We are producing these animations to educate and inform on the range of benefits that Men’s Sheds can bring to men’s health and wellbeing. The first animation promotes men coming together in a safe space and opening up to talk ‘shoulder to shoulder’ including sharing health matters that may be concerning them.”
Theshort animation, based on a true story from a Scottish Shed member, features ‘Guitar Mike’ chatting with his Shedder pal over a cuppa when he mentions that he saw him limping. Mike tells him about a painful lump he had found above his knee and Charlie advises him not to wait around and get to the doctors sharpish. Mike did just that and it was only a matter of days before Mike was having a cancerous growth removed.
The real ‘Guitar Mike’, Mike Mowat from Glenrothes Men’s Shed, said: “Many men do not open up about their feelings and end up keeping everything to themselves. Men’s Sheds offer a friendly, safe and welcoming environment to make friends and socialise. I felt comfortable to share my health problems and talk to Charlie and I am now so glad that I did. I am delighted that my story is being shared – if my experience encourages just one person to seek help before it’s too late then it will not be in vain.”
Scottish actor Billy Mack, who does the voiceover for Charlie in the film, said: “I never really knew much about Men’s Sheds until doing a rehearsed reading of a play by Clare Prenton entitled ‘Men Don’t Talk’. We, as a cast, were taken to a local Shed and introduced to the members and talked with them. As soon as I got home, I looked for my local branch but unfortunately there isn’t one in Stirling as yet. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we have one – they are a great way of building friendships and learning different skills but, above all, a place for people to talk about life and issues that may affect them. All villages, towns and cities should have one!”
The SMSA was formed in 2014 to provide support, information, advice and resources to its Shed Members and 3,000+ Individual Members. Today, there are over 200 open and developing Men’s Sheds groups across Scotland reaching 10,000+ men (aged 18 or over) through the Movement.
