BY COLIN OATES
When I was asked to write a short article about the vision for our woodworking Men’s Shed I thought it would be reasonably straightforward. Then I asked the question, “What is a Men’s Shed?” Having looked up online, I realised it wasn’t that easy. It’s not just about woodworking but covers a wide range of issues, all designed to promote the health, wellbeing, and enjoyment of the members.
A lot depends upon the particular expertise of each shed and what it is the members wish to achieve. Nearly all sheds are places where practical learning can be pursued: mechanics, woodwork, metal work, upholstery, furniture restoration, the restoring of any number of treasured items; the list goes on. When you look on the websites you will see that there are varying descriptions of what a shed is, or should be, ranging from a few words to several A4 pages, but the bottom line on all of them is around the well-being of local people.
The more you dig and plan for one project, the more others spring up. The vision for the New Haw Men’s Shed project has grown from one small shed to a truly spectacular public amenity. It will be something that the public, young and old, aged or infirm, can be truly proud of; something we hope that everyone will want to become involved with. Now renamed The Holme Farm Community Workshops and Gardens, it remains under the umbrella of the New Haw Men’s Shed.
The role of the New Haw Men’s Shed will be to organise the development and renovation of the derelict buildings which will house the work force, materials and equipment, as well as arranging supervision of volunteers and in general doing as much of the donkey work as possible. Foremost in our minds will be the welfare of our workforce, as their safety is of paramount importance. It is proposed that other buildings on site be restored or rebuilt, and then converted to new uses such as meetings venues and cafes. Eventually we hope to have units for hire that could be used to house such activities as pop up workshops and exercise classes.
So, how is this all to be financed, you might ask. Well, we are exploring various funding opportunities, and also look forward to local people joining us in fundraising activities and in the project itself.