The rain didn’t seem to deter the people of South Molton who turned out in spades to support their town ‘Shedders’ this week as they celebrated the opening of their new home.
This once shell of a Methodist Church was gifted to the South Molton branch of the UK Men’s Sheds Association by the Parish Council last year and thanks to the talents of the men it is there to support, has been completely refurbished with a brand-new storey above, new flooring below, and handmade tool stores and benches in-between – which today have been cleared of their usual instruments to accommodate a spread of delicious looking cream teas.
Men’s Shed is essentially a friendship club. It comes from an idea born in Australia to bring men together to enjoy the tinkering tradition that is age old in garden sheds all over the world – be it woodwork, metalwork, repairing, restoring or any other job that requires hands-on. What it also provides though is friendship and camaraderie that may be missing in some men’s lives. It’s a place to talk, share and laugh – all the things that, at the end of the day, we all need as human beings.
They [Men’s Sheds] are about having fun, sharing skills and knowledge with like-minded people and gaining a renewed sense of purpose and belonging. As a by-product of all of that they reduce isolation and feelings of loneliness, they allow men to deal with mental health challenges more easily and remain independent, they rebuild communities and in many cases, they save men’s lives. Menssheds.org.uk
The South Molton Shed has certainly proved to be a life-line for 90-year-old Ted, who has been attending since its early beginnings. Although dubious at first, he recalls how within minutes he felt completely at home, and he’s been one of their key members ever since, attending both of their two weekly sessions and visiting the home of one of his co-shedders each week to make the most of a home-based workshop too. Men’s Shed has rekindled Ted’s love of woodwork, provided friendship and a welcome distraction from the jigsaw puzzles he completed in isolation in the years leading up to his involvement.
Members are not the only ones to benefit from the Men’s Shed. Many of the items they create are gifted, hired or sold to the local community to help fund the shed – including a chicken run for the local junior school, a manger for the town Christmas tree event and pin-ball style games for local fetes and fairs. And neither, as it happens, are men. Nationally each individual group can decide whether to open their doors to the opposite sex, and South Molton are proud to report that they do, having always had a ‘ladies welcome policy’ and currently, two female participants.
Co-ordinator Colin also tells of a group of local school children who have come to make use of the skills of the local shedders by learning how to build bird boxes. He explains how the children, many of whom were struggling academically, found new vigour from discovering what they could achieve by working with their hands.
Having the Methodist Church as a permanent base for their group (and their tools – their previous set-up required transporting them in and out each time) is an incredible positive that will no doubt help this Men’s Shed thrive – in fact, they were already receiving enquiries from new members during the opening.
It took a great deal of effort on all counts for the Men’s Shed to get to this point, not least with regards to the funding. We at Devon Community Foundation are proud to be have been included on their long list of sponsors, having facilitated a grant towards tooling and safety equipment through our North Devon Relief fund.
A video of the opening and photos from before and after work are all available on the South Molton Men’s Shed Facebook page.
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