I’ve recently discovered my local Men’s Shed and it’s quickly become a Third Place I make a point of blocking time out for. Even at my first visit, I was in awe at the sheer amount of support and inclusion that was just present every where I turned! I’ve not looked back since and would encourage any man seeking to extend their social circle to seek out their local Men’s Shed.
I’ll explain a little about Men’s Sheds in case you’re not familiar with them. Essentially, they’re sheds that men can meet in to tinker with things and chat – normally you would join as a member, but most things with Men’s Sheds seem to be quite flexible. Each Shed has its own style, but the fundamentals involve tinkering and chatting. And tea. And biscuits.
The tinkering is absolutely key, and what better place to tinker than in a shed? Tools are apparently drawn to sheds by some fundamental law of nature, and it’s a similar story with ‘useful bits of wood’ and ‘things that could be made into something interesting’. The type of man that can’t resist interesting tools, spare bits of wood, and unusual items that can be made into something else, will be sure to meet like-minded people at their local Men’s Shed. There is always something creative happening, and always someone around that will be interested in what you are doing – conversations and inclusion are inevitable and take little more effort than a comment such as ‘Oh, what are you making?’ or ‘Does anyone have any ideas about how to cut this into a neat circle?’, or maybe ‘What happened to the sander I saw last week?’
Part of (my) definition of ‘tinkering’ is that it doesn’t really matter what happens. The low-stakes nature of the sort of projects undertaken at Men’s Sheds leads a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. There is no pressure to finish anything, or create ‘perfect’ items for someone that may reject them if they are not good enough. Join in as much as you like, miss a week if you need to, just stand around and chat if that’s all you’re in the mood for. Projects come and go, collaborations drift according to which members are around, ideas are updated according to the materials available and how well the previous cut went! Do you fancy making a picture frame? I bet that piece of oak would make a nice chopping board! I’ve always wanted to learn how to use a lathe…
Projects are inspired by all kinds of starting points. A batch of old floorboards can become boot-pulls to be sold at a local summer fair, apparently the spinning tops went down very well last year and we could make some more on the lathe for this year. Local schools or youth clubs are always grateful for some extra seating, we could make some benches out of those old pallets and fence posts. Somebody has donated us a band saw with no blade, does anyone think they can get it up and running again? Where did this bag of solid plastic wheels come from? What could we do with those?
It has to be said that the type of man that has the time for such extended periods of tinkering does tend to be someone that isn’t working full-time or juggling small children. It is fair to say that the typical age of members is around the retirement end of the spectrum, but certainly not exclusively. Naturally, Sheds have regular meeting times and can have limited availability outside those – not least because of the need for need to have multiple people around when power tools are being used. As with any community, gathering at predictable places and times is a fundamental part of the sense of ‘belonging’ that is core to the whole experience. If Men’s Sheds sound appealing to you, then you will almost certainly enjoy spending time there and I encourage you to make time to visit a regular session – even if it means travelling further than you would normally consider to be ‘local’. When you get there be sure to remember that the things made at Men’s Sheds are incidental, they are the by-product of the Shed’s main purpose – i.e. simply being with other people, involved in a common activity, in a mutually supportive environment. It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Every Shed will have its own flavour, its own style or ethos. There is a Men’s Shed Association and they have fairly explicit ideas about Sheds as opportunities to make the words a better place. Wellbeing is a concept very strongly associated with the core purpose of a Shed, as is Health (mental and physical), and also the promotion of constructive engagement with the wider local community. Broadly, this is covered by simply being a welcoming place, including members in conversations and activities, and making things for other local groups that don’t have confidence with tinkering in the same way. Not all Sheds are members of an association, but if you’re calling yourself a Men’s Shed then you are advertising some basic intentions and ideas that will largely align with the concepts of Wellness, Inclusion and Combatting Loneliness.
So, at the heart of it, there is likely to be a place relatively close to you (see the glorious map at https://menssheds.org.uk/find-a-shed/ ) that will be glad to hear from you and invite you into their space to see if it’s something you’d like to be involved in. Maybe you are a seasoned tinkerer with skills and experience to share with your fellow Shedders, maybe you are a quiet chap with an enquiring nature and a willingness to ‘give it a go’. Perhaps life has recently changed direction for you and now free time and personal connections are not as balanced as they would ideally be. Email the Shed, pop along to say ‘hello’, have a chat and become part of it!
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