Man Shed

Thu 28 Dec 2017, 13:51

I think that we are in danger here of missing the point about Men's Sheds completely. The idea is pretty straight-forward - to set up a venue where men who are retired (or no longer working) can socialise while doing hands-on things that interest them. Things like fixing the grandkids' bikes, doing some woodwork, sorting out why the vacuum cleaner keeps blocking up - in an environment where other people can help, make suggestions and generally have the craic while they are doing it.

Have a look at the national association website (https://menssheds.org.uk/), which gives a really good picture of what is involved. It is not intended to be high-tech, or exclusively for people with one skill set or another. There is a real risk for some retired men - especially if they have been used to a day-in, day-out routine for all of their working lives - that they find it really difficult to adjust to the new situation. The whole idea behind Men's Sheds is to provide them with an alternative to sitting at home and becoming socially isolated - with the knock-on effects that that can have on health and self-confidence.

Without wishing to appear to be disrespectful to retired ladies, Helen, there are already more opportunities for them to socialise with activity groups - which often do not cater for men's particular interests. The same cannot be said for retired men, with the possible exception of the social side to having an allotment. And not everyone wants to belong to a model-railway club or a group of wood-turners (again, no disrespect intended, and in any case we don't have either of these in Charlbury so far as I am aware).

It's all to do with providing the opportunity for people with a variety of interests to get together, use the group's facilities for pottering or projects, and be able to socialise while doing so. Formality is not important, although there obviously has to be a set of 'shed' rules about using equipment and washing up the coffee mugs. Malcolm says in his first post below that 'making' is less of a tradition here than on the other side of the pond - well, how about looking at this in the way that Rhona's original suggestion intended, and see if there is enough interest in town to move the idea forward?