News - Scottish Men's Sheds Association

Story Wagon—coming to a Shed near you?

The Story Wagon is a touring arts space providing free creative writing, story-telling and reading facilities and activities to communities across Scotland. The founder of Story Wagon, Luke Winter, is a writer that makes stories happen. Luke said: “I moved to London in 2013 to do freelance work and that is where I began busking with my typewriter. I started to write stories for people in the streets to make them smile. “On my return to Scotland in early 2020,

Shed in the Spotlight: Hawick Men’s Shed

Following over a year of closure, and the Trustees taking this time to refurbish their building for post-COVID recovery, Hawick Men’s Shed has now reopened and is ready to welcome new members. The SMSA chats to Shed Chairman Keith Torrington and Secretary Robert Mayhead to find out more. Keith, who took up the post of Chairman just over a year ago, said: “As a committee, we made the decision during the pandemic to take this time to focus on making

An Economic Evaluation of ‘Sheds for Life’: A Community-Based Men’s Health Initiative for Men’s Sheds in Ireland

This is the first study to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of health endeavors in Sheds. Men’s Sheds attract a diverse cohort of men and, as such, have been identified as spaces with the potential to engage marginalized sub-populations with more structured health promotion. ‘Sheds for Life’ is a 10-week men’s health initiative for Sheds in Ireland and the first structured health promotion initiative formally evaluated in Sheds. Cost is an important implementation outcome in the evaluation of Sheds for Life when

A Personal Story: Henry Johnson

The SMSA chats to Henry Johnson, founding member of Garnock Valley Men’s Shed (GVMS) and Chairman since its inception in 2018. At 77 years young, Henry announced that—after four years at the helm—he plans to step down as Chair at the next AGM. Henry said: “I have three sons and three grandsons in Australia and, pre-Covid, I visited them at least every two years. It was there, in rural Victoria, that I first heard about Men’s Sheds—not knowing at that