Continuing our tour
of Men’s Sheds, the Triton team visited the Camden Town Shed, which occupies two
rooms at the Maiden Lane Community Centre in central London.
Men’s Sheds originated as a response to rural isolation;
however that problem is not confined to remote areas. Even in the heart of a
major city, loss of social contact and isolation - for retired people in
particular - can lead to emotional stress and debilitating physical
conditions. Happily, the Men’s Sheds
offer a great opportunity for social contact and a sense of purpose - not to
mention tea-drinking and some serious woodwork thrown in!

A Men’s shed does however offer more than a refuge for those
in need of companionship. Most have a good range of tools and facilities as
well as space to work in and access to materials that would be the envy of many
a home workshop. For many members the banter and just working alongside others
provides a high spot in the week.
In our short visit we met men and women supporting each
other, sharing skills, laughs, and an enthusiasm for life, living and woodworking. There can be no doubt that the Men’s Sheds Movement
enhances the lives of many of the
members who attend - and long may that continue!
The Camden Town Shed encourages its members to work at their
own pace and on their own projects, producing goods that can be sold at local
fairs to raise funds to support the shed. The shed operates on the principle
that men don’t talk about their worries face to face; they talk shoulder to
shoulder, whilst working on a practical project. Some of the members arrive
with skills to share, and others want to learn new skills from those they meet.
These are the stories of some of the Camden Town members:
Terry

Terry was a cabinet maker by trade. Having served an apprenticeship
in London, he left the UK in 1968 as one of the ‘Ten Pound Poms’, to start a
new life in Australia. He continued his trade successfully and as time went by,
was promoted within the firm he worked for, eventually leaving the workshop
floor to work in the purchasing department for a furniture and cabinetmaking
company.
In 2010 Terry returned to London to care for his elderly
mother. With grown up family still in Australia, Terry was keen to make new
friends and occupy his spare time productively. Having visited a couple of
Men’s Sheds in Australia, the Camden Town Shed was the perfect opportunity to
rekindle his enthusiasm for practical projects. Due to his skill set, Terry was quickly
adopted as the Session Supervisor for the shed, where he now helps members get
to grips with the various tools and machinery. Mike Jenn, Chairman of the UK
Men’s sheds association, acknowledged his skills, saying: “Terry can often tell
what’s happening just by listening to the machines. He steps in to help just when
needed.”

Terry has a real talent for design and plans projects for
the group. The Camden Town Shed has received commissions from local charities
and other community organisations, such as a request for a model kitchen for the
local children’s play scheme. Previous projects have included a set of
specially-designed wooden toys to help educate children with autism; a wooden
castle with knock-down targets for a local archery group; and lightweight
folding chairs which were sold to raise money to support the shed.
We hope to publish some of these projects on the Triton Blog
very soon. All the projects have to be adaptable, depending on the materials
available. With limited funds the Camden Town Shed makes use of mostly
reclaimed and recycled timber from donations and building site waste recovered
from skips - not that it limits their ingenuity or the finished quality of the
projects, judging by the results!
Ray
Ray has been coming to the shed for around three months as
part of a long-term recovery plan. He had a successful career as a dentist
until one day five years ago. Whilst out playing golf, Ray was struck by
lightning, leaving him in a coma, after which followed a long-term recovery in
hospital. Now physically well, Ray has issues with short-term memory and remaining
focused. He initially joined the Camden Town Men’s Shed at the suggestion of a
social worker who thought it a positive way for him to get out of the house and
meet new people. The engagement with physical tasks, and having projects to
complete with the support of other members, has enabled him to manage these
sessions without his support worker and regain some independence. When we met
Ray he was on the home stretch of a stool project that was looking really great!
Mick
Mick joined the shed a year ago. He was spending a lot of
time alone at home recovering from cancer, and his social worker recommended he
try the shed. Mick spent his working life as a site carpenter, installing roof
frames and general large-scale timber construction. With more time on his hands,
he was determined to take the opportunity to produce the finer pieces of work
he had never tried before. The Camden shed is pretty well-equipped, and this
gave Mick the chance to try his hand at wood turning - a skill which he has
developed amazingly well. Much of the work
he produces is developed from ideas on his favourite blogs and websites. Mick recommended www.WoodworkingforMereMortals.com - a great site with lots of videos and plans
of simple, practical projects.
Olive
We visited the Camden shed on a Wednesday - the one official
mixed day when ladies are invited to join. We met Olive, a retired English
teacher, who has been interested in woodworking since taking part in an
introductory course on woodturning. Since retiring, the woodwork has taken over
and Olive is always busy working on projects or developing new ideas. Time at
the men’s shed is helpful as she has access to tools and machinery she doesn’t
have in her own small shed at home. Her current plan is to extend the size of
her bed using recovered and reclaimed timber. We asked Olive what she enjoyed
most about her days at the shed. “It’s the company,” she said, “and the lack of
fussing from the men.”
Tell us about your Shed.
If you are involved with a community woodworking project, let us know with a comment below. We may even drop by for a visit!
Ideal in addition to Lowest priced Jabodetabek Confidential Instruction, each of our staff and also educators occur to your residence, arranged your own personal review program which enables it to pick almost any field connected with analysis ... visit https://privat-jabodetabek.netlify.app/les-privat-ciracas.html for more details
ReplyDeleteYou will see a cheaper fee than the table above, be sure again about the qualifications of your teacher / Kindergarten teacher recommended to you ... for detail https://kimia-exed.blogspot.com/2022/04/les-privat-kimia-di-bekasi-terdekat_14.html
ReplyDeleteExecutive-Education.id is an educational institution that can offer tutoring services where tutors reach the house, in order that students can study ... click https://kursus-mandarin.vercel.app/kursus-bahasa-mandarin-online.html for more details
ReplyDelete