Can I borrow your brain for a moment?

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One of the things, which a men’s shed offers its members is access to a range of tools and space to carry out projects in the company and with the support of others.

In this environment some of the common requests you might hear include:

“Can I borrow the hammer when you have finished with it, I have left mine at home?”

“Would you mind holding the door as I  do up the screws on the hinges?”

“Can you show me how to use the mitre saw?”

These examples of cooperation, collaboration and community are some of the fundamentals of a Men’s shed.

However, they are not the only aspects of mutual sharing and cooperation which takes place in a Men’s shed and which make a shed a special place.

More importantly Men’s Sheds are also known for the care and support shed members provide for one another.

Recently I was listening to a lecture by Professor Jeremy Holmes on the work of John Bowlby on Attachment Theory and Psychotherapy.

He explained that in times of stress people are less able to process their circumstances because their brains are preoccupied by their emotions rather than the practical aspects of the event.

In a therapeutic context a therapist is able to help the person by supporting them to process their circumstances, by in effect lending the calm and unstressed brain of the therapist.

When I heard this I realised that in a Men’s Shed this is exactly the sort of supportive transaction which takes place between members. A member might be bereaved or be going through the break down of a long term relationship or be facing a serious medical condition. In such circumstances people will often be preoccupied with the emotions of their situation and unable to think things through.

In this situation, other shed members may be able to help them process what is happening by in effect lending them their unstressed brain. They don’t need to provide advice but, by simply remaining calm, will enable their fellow member to express their emotions and have the facts and reality of the situation reflected back.

This is sometimes done by member’s sharing their own stories and experiences. In effect they help their fellow member solve his own problem by lending their brain to do some of the processing for them.

So perhaps the offer of support to the man who is hurting is not just the offer of an arm around the other man’s shoulders in the safe space of the Men’s Shed but also the loan of another member’s brain for careful listening and reflection. This enables the hurting member to process their circumstances and come to a new place of understanding.

By Andy Ryland, Development Officer at Community First Yorkshire.

 

Men’s sheds chiming with wellbeing

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By Andy Ryland

Anyone who has been to see blacksmithing or been into a Men’s Shed may have heard the sound of the hammering of hot metal or nails being banged into timber.

What I have noticed, is that a blacksmith develops a rhythm to his/her work and when the metal is reaching its perfect shape, it will have a ring or a sound like the chiming of a bell. It is as though the blacksmith is playing a musical instrument as they work.

However, the CHIME of wellbeing in a Men’s Shed that I am referring to is something different and in fact, are happy men at work.

You see CHIME is an acronym for a way to promote wellbeing, which is used by professionals to support people as they improve their mental wellbeing.

The letters in CHIME stand for the following:

Connectedness in particular being connected to other people in positive ways, characterised by peer support and supportive friendships. In my view, this is very much what men’s sheds are about; connecting with others and doing things together. Whether that is working on a project to get the shed going in the first place or working with other members to build a community project such as a storytelling chair for the village school.

Hope is something that can be lost when life bowls a googly, perhaps a result of a divorce, death of a partner, or loss of employment. Yet working and being with others can give hope as you hear stories of how they have overcome difficulties and life has got better. In the word of Captain Tom Moore, “Tomorrow will be a good day”.

Identity refers to a positive sense of self. This can be lost on retirement or redundancy and men’s sheds can help to fill that gap, particularly if the person concerned has a role they can fulfil. However, care is needed that this does not become a way to exclude or dominate others.

Meaning is defined by the person (not others) and refers to having found a meaningful purpose in life. A shed can give an opportunity to develop or express this. For instance; working on the project to develop the shed, sharing skills, working on community projects, and being part of a team.

Empowerment. Redundancy, ill health, and retirement can strip a person of the control that someone has over their lives. It may undermine their strengths and take away some of the responsibilities they may have had at one time. Being part of a shed can give that back as it can give an opportunity for someone to express their strengths and, with the encouragement and support of others, regain control over their lives and take responsibility.

Setting up a Men’s Shed: your own charity or an umbrella organisation?

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When a group of guys is coming together to form a Men’s Shed, one of the questions that often comes up is does the Shed need to form its own incorporated group?  Or should the shed shelter under the umbrella of an existing charity, who already has a constitution, a charity number, and a bank account?

If there is an existing community organisation such as a church or community association, then it is very tempting and it might seem a no-brainer to simply come under their auspices.  However, in advising groups establishing a new Men’s Sheds I suggest they stop and think for a moment.  As coming under the umbrella of another charity can create unforeseen difficulties, which may be difficult to undo, if a shed goes down this path.

The primary purpose of a Men’s Shed is that it is there for the benefit and interests of the men themselves and not for other purposes. Clearly, the activities of a Men’s Shed will often benefit the local community in terms of making or repairing things for others such as repairing benches or items to commemorate Armistice Day.

However from what I have observed, one of the key benefits for the men is for them to be responsible for the activities themselves rather than the activities be provided for them. This provides an opportunity for autonomy and self-actualisation, which often on retirement gets lost and this can cause a sense of a loss of worth and fulfillment. This can be replaced by being involved and having responsibilities in the shed.

In simplistic terms, the shed is about men doing it for one’s self rather than been done for or done too. This is too often the case in care contexts, which is what guys will want to stay out of the grip of.

It also means that the shed won’t be in a position to be used by a larger charity to justify their own operation and in paying for their overhead cost and staff.

As Cormac Russell makes clear in a Ted Talk: “Money which is intended to go to those that need the help, doesn’t. It actually goes to those that are paid to provide the services to those that need help”.

This means that the guys in the shed are often described, not by their strengths and abilities, but rather by their weaknesses and their need. This discounts, what they are and further undermines their sense of worth.  It also can mean that the larger charity gains the credit for the Men’s Shed rather than the men themselves gaining the credit for the effort they have put in and this sense of value is taken from them.

In terms of grant funding, if a shed is part of a larger charity then any grant applications will have to be made by the larger charity. This means that the project may not be eligible for funding aimed at smaller groups or if the umbrella charity has already applied to a fund in one year, such as Awards for All, it won’t be eligible to apply to that fund.

In terms of banking, these days following the Covid 19 it has become increasingly difficult to open a new bank account and it is now a bureaucratic process. However, not making the effort to open the shed’s own bank account may be creating furthermore local bureaucratic difficulties further down the line. I know of one shed, where they needed to receive grants from external funders, and every time they had to explain that the other charity was dealing with their banking which created headaches when the charity’s trustee was away.

It also meant that in terms of being able to pay for items they needed to go to the trustees of the other charity to issue cheques, which had to be justified on each occasion. Whereas, if they had opened their own account, they could easily receive grants and donations directly and make payments for materials by asking their own designated signatories to sign the cheque or authorisation.

Although the process of becoming your own Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) may seem a cumbersome process in terms of form filling, one of the benefits of the process is that the men involved need to clearly decide what the shed group is about. This process helps the men become clear about their vision, how they will operate and is beneficial as it creates the opportunity for a discussion about the core aims and objectives for the shed.

Although this may take longer than simply coming under the umbrella of an existing charity it may prevent some of the disagreements that can occur when people don’t have the same vision for the shed- see my blog on Disagreements in Sheds.

It is not that difficult for a new Men’s Shed group to become its own incorporated charity with advice from; the UK Men’s Sheds Association, other sheds that have already gone down that path, or infrastructure organisations like Community First Yorkshire. The most difficult part may in fact be opening a bank account.

However; undoing a relationship with an umbrella charity may be more complicated. Contracts for the lease of premises may have to be re-assigned and funding held in reserve accounts transferred to the new charity. A liaison may be needed with grant awarding bodies who have funded the umbrella charity for the establishment or operation of the shed etc.

If you are working on establishing a new Men’s Shed and are planning on coming under an existing charity; stop and pause for a moment and reflect on whether this is the best course of action for you.

If you are an existing Men’s Shed and are starting to find that a relationship with an umbrella charity is causing you some difficulty, consider if you should to set up your own separate charity and become responsible for your own destiny. If this is the way you want to proceed this may need some delicate diplomacy; however the longer you leave it the more difficult it will become and the tensions and difficulties may simply get worse.

Is Paying the Rent for Your Men’s An Up Hill Struggle

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By Andy Ryland

Over my time working with men’s sheds one of the core concerns is:  Can the shed group afford to pay the rent on their premises?

While commercial workshop space is attractive it comes at a price and whilst there may be pressure to rent commercial space be very careful about what rent the shed group can actually afford.

The danger is that, if rent is high, much of the group’s activities will have to be spent making items to sell or carrying out community projects to pay the rent, or taking paid for clients from Social Services Departments.

This then has a knock-on potential members, who just want to come along do their own projects or even just have a coffee and a chat.

Although you may have paid the rent it will have changed the nature of the atmosphere in the shed and made it into a place which is like a working environment and may result in the loss of members.

Clearly attracting more members and running additional sessions each week can help pay the rent. However, when promoting the shed doesn’t come across as needing the members to pay the rent or becoming pushy as this will put off the very members you want to attract. See my blog on Attracting new members. 

If you are looking to sell items then identify, what the local community is looking for and make sure you have a quality product.  Often bird boxes, planters and hedgehog houses are popular.

When calculating what rent you can afford be sure to have done your sums have produced a proper cash flow. See the Blog on Making Predictions or Projections on Shed Finances 

In choosing the premises for a shed, you may need to make some compromises on the space available the location or the activities you can undertake.

However; having somewhere affordable for the first shed is more important than having an all singing and dancing space that you can not afford and have to leave after a short while after a great deal of stress.

 

Attracting New Members to a Men’s Shed

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By Andy Ryland

As Men’s Sheds are opening up after the lockdown, many are finding they have lost members. Some have found new interests, others are anxious about joining in a group activity or for a whole variety of reasons from moving away or having passed away due to age or illness including Covid 19.

Some sheds are finding that new members are appearing as people have realised during the lockdown the benefit of connecting with others.

Some sheds that were just getting started before lockdown or have lost members are keen to attract new members.

Things to avoid

Over the last few years, I have helped a number of sheds get off the ground and have observed different ways that Men’s Sheds attract new members. Here are my thoughts on what seems to work and a number of things to be wary of that can put people off joining a shed.

Whilst we all know the mental and physical health benefits of being a member of a Men’s Shed, there is a real danger that if the shed is just seen as a mental health project, many guys will be put off being involved. Many men will see being involved in a mental health project as a weakness and, even if they long for the companionship they once experienced in the workplace, would avoid a shed if promoted in this way.

Emphasise the positives

So my advice is always to emphasise the positive side of a shed i.e. the shed is a place for guys to engage in practical projects, whether that is one’s own project or a community project. It’s a place for fun friendship and with no pressure to be involved, i.e. you come and are as accepted as you are.

It may be that you want to come and use the facility to make a wooden toy for a grandchild or to get involved in community projects or simply to come and drink coffee that is entirely up to you.

I know one prospective shed member who came to a couple of meeting about setting up a men’s shed. However, when there was pressure to be involved in community projects, he made it clear to me that that wasn’t why he wanted to be involved and from then on gave the shed a wide birth. This was a great shame as he had great skills to share with the other members and I feel both lost out.

Friends bringing friends

Clearly one of the best ways to grow membership is for members to invite other members along. It is useful to have appropriate publicity to help with this such as flyers or invitation cards. The UK Men’s Sheds Association also have small metal lapel badges which can be a starting point for a conversation. T-shirts or sweatshirts are another good way to start conversations and there are certainly shed members whose first introduction to a shed was by asking the wearer of a Shed shirt about it.

Visibility

If the shed is difficult to find then in effect it is invisible so do look for ways to give the shed a higher profile – perhaps a large banner or sign on the building and mini posters in libraries, doctors surgeries, community buildings and notice boards.

Shed advocates

Whilst some people won’t want to be involved in a shed themselves, they can be advocates for the shed by signposting people. So connect with shed advocates and invite them along to see what it is all about. Advocates are often people involved in the community, not just professionals like doctors, social prescribers, clergy local councillors, and community development workers, but others such as a local shop keeper, staff in a local hardware or DIY store and personal officers in employers who can refer people to a shed when they are retiring.

When Ripon Men’s Shed was starting a café owner was key in promoting the shed to the older men who used to frequent her café.

Other groups

Some sheds have found opportunities to make presentations to local membership groups such as the Lions, Rotary, Parish and Town Councils, Probus and Women’s institutes. Whilst these groups may be a source of members themselves, the contacts made will often result in wider referrals to the shed as well as gifts of timber and tools. Women’s groups should not be neglected, not only if the shed is open to women or has women’s only sessions, but often it will be women who encourage partners and husbands to go along to the shed.

Social media

These days having some form of social media presence is really helpful. Some sheds develop their own website or Facebook page. However, to promote the shed, what is perhaps more important is to get the message out via existing community social media. For example, some communities will have their own Facebook or WhatsApp groups. When Shipton Men’s sheds were starting posts on the local town Facebook site about the inaugural meeting resulted in good attendance.

Launch and open days

Holding a launch or open day is a great way for people to come and see the shed without the exposure of turning up on one’s own at a normal shed day. It can make it much easier for people to come and have a look round, meet the members and see the activities on offer.

Local press and publicity

Getting the message out about the shed in local media such as a local parish magazine or the local press is often easier than it would seem. However, being clear on messages to be conveyed is important as local newspaper reporters seem to like to pick up on the mental health benefits rather than the fun and friendship message outlined above. One way to be more in control of the message is to prepare a media release. Often these get used verbatim. However, an editor will cut from the bottom so be sure to include important information, such as an opening day, earlier in the release or within a quote. Including a quote is useful as editors like to include the voice of members.

When prospective members visit

Make sure you keep an eye out for new members appearing and make sure you welcome them, offer them a cup of tea or coffee and cake so they can relax. Show them around and introduce them to other members.

Be sure to ask them about their skills and interests they have or want to learn. This can even be the start of a new activity for the shed.

Whilst you will be keen to encourage them to join, it is best to offer a period of free trial membership for a month so people can find out if the shed is right for them.

Whilst you may be keen to get people signed up, don’t put them under any pressure. The opportunities the shed has to offer will sell itself and putting people under pressure is manipulative and is very off-putting and prospective members will run a mile.

Sheds come in all shapes and sizes

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One of the questions I am often asked is:  “how big does a men’s shed need to be”.  This is a difficult questions to answer, as it depends how many people will be working together at the same time.

One men’s shed project that does bike recycling has only a small workshop. They see this as an advantage as it means that working with just teams of three or four people; there can be greater social interaction and support among members of the team.

These smaller sheds may only have a space about the size of a garage workshop; however they will usually have access to a more social space such as an existing community room and perhaps a garden.

The workshop space is only part of the story as there is also a need for social space.  If the workshop has a number of noisy machines or hand tools.  Then sheds will often impose a rule that everyone stops work at lunch or for tea coffee brakes so that people can chat and don’t keep working.

Men’s sheds that offer a variety of activities will also need a clean space for computing or clean crafts. Some times this is combined with the social space with benches around the outside of the room and easy chairs in the middle of the room.

This was the pattern adopted by Northallerton shed when they were operating from a former school site.   The social space also had a kitchen facility to one side with a cooker. This was used for cookery demonstrations, which was much appreciated by guys who had been widowed.

In my experience for these larger sheds an ideal space would be about the size of two school classrooms or a tennis court i.e. about 2000sq foot.

What is clear is that the size and style of space will affect how people interact and the possibilities of what activities can be offered.  Its clear that often a shed will have to make do with the space that they have been offered so this does affect the character of the shed.

So on the one hand a shed in a village might only be the size of a double garage on the other end of the spectrum a shed in a larger town or with a big catchment might have the whole of the basement of a former mill.

There are number of men’s sheds across Yorkshire for contact details of your nearest shed visit the UK Men’s Shed Association Find a Shed page.

Can men’s sheds help people recover from long Covid?

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The Guardian newspaper reports on the 4th of June that:

“The Office of National Statistics estimates 1 million people in private households in the UK were experiencing symptoms of long Covid in the four weeks to 2 May. About 650,000 people had their day-to-day activities affected by long Covid, with 192,000 of these saying this had been limited a lot”.

This is a significant number of people who may be experiencing a weird group of symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, headaches, fibromyalgia, poor sleep etc.

As many of these symptoms are continuing for months, and in some cases over a year now, both researchers and individuals are exploring how to bring relief.

Some of the lessons learnt suggest that a holistic approach is important with both diet, exercise, lifestyle and a positive mental outlook all playing their part as aids to recovery.

In a recent talk on RMC’s YouTube channel  by Professor Tommy Wood on Metabolism in Long Covid he also highlighted the need for a holistic approach and suggested that social connection with others is important to a positive recovery. He goes on to suggest the importance of enhancing neuro plasticity by learning a new skill, particularly a balancing skill, to help with brain fog.

Adding these factors together it suggests to me that being part of a men’s shed could make a positive contribution to recovery from long Covid as it provides:

  • An opportunity for social connection.
  • Positive encouragement from other “shedders”.
  • Distraction from worrying about the symptoms.
  • Opportunities to learn a new skill to create neuro plasticity.

There are number of men’s sheds across Yorkshire for contact details of your nearest shed see: the UK Men’s Shed Association Find a Shed page.

Men’s Sheds and Governance

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When a group of guys come together to start a new men’s shed, their thoughts are often focused on what activities they will be able to undertake, finding suitable premises and the last thing that is on their mind is what sort of legal structure they will need for the organisation.

As a men’s sheds development worker, this is one area that I find I often have to provide some form of steering for a group.  This requires a subtle balancing act as on the one hand I don’t want to dampen their enthusiasm for the project; on the other I don’t want them to go too far down the path of developing a shed.  To later find they lack the structure to be able to sign a lease for premises or open a bank account.

There is therefore the need to think ahead and put in place the foundations that will be able to stand the test of time and be suitable to construct the organisation. Without the need to restructure the organisation structure to accommodate taking on a lease for premises.

Often the first thought is to create a simple association, which can be used to open a bank account.   However an un-incorporated association has a couple of major disadvantages.  The members would be mutually and severable liable for any debts or liabilities. It also makes it difficult to enter contracts for the lease or purchase of properties as all members would need to be named on the lease unless holding trustees are appointed.

An option that is often suggested is that the men’s shed comes under the umbrella of an existing community organisation, such as a church or a community association.

This may seem an attractive way forward as it means the shed, would appear to be freed from some of the bureaucracy of operating the organisation. However; when I first started working on supporting men’s sheds, I was warned by an experienced development officer that this was not the best way to go.  As it means the shed is in effect the client of another organisation and is not fully responsible for its own destiny.

This removes from the men involved some of the responsibilities for the operation of the shed. This has several consequences, one it removes the opportunity for the guys running the shed to gain the full satisfaction of running the show, which intrinsically makes a positive contribution to their well-being.

This acquiescent role may be as simple as having to the go to the umbrella organisation for funds to pay for some new equipment or materials, or seek their permission for engaging in some new project thus removing the agency from the men involved.

This can result in tensions and a sense of loss of control. I have known of some umbrella organisations be quite controlling in their approach emphasising that the Men’s Shed is their project and is part of their argument for funding. In effect the shed has become a prop for the umbrella organisation rather than being primarily about the well-being of the men involved, which leads to frustrations and tensions between the two organisations.

To maximise the level of control a shed has for its own operation, direction and viability as well as being able to enter in to contracts for the lease of premises with limited liability for members. A solution is for the shed to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. (CIO).

This not only provided limited liability for members, is a corporate body able to enter in to contracts and is also a registered charity and is able to gain from the benefits of charitable status.

To become a CIO requires an application to the Charity Commission . There are two forms of CIO  the Association Model, where all members have a role in major decision making and the second the Foundation Model where the Trustees are solely responsible for decision making.

The paperwork may seem complicated, however many men’s sheds groups have already become CIO’s and are happy to share examples of their applications with other shed groups.

One advantage of going through the application process is that it means the guys involved have to work through the process of determining what they are about and write down their objectives as an organisation.

This is a useful process as it means that new shed can at an early stage have a clear vision as to what its about and perhaps more importantly what it’s not about, without the encumbrance of actually managing the shed on a day to day basis.

This can reduce the opportunity for disagreements and fall outs between members.  See our blog on Disagreements within sheds.

It also increases the men’s sense of responsibility and sense of agency which makes a positive contribution to their wellbeing.

There are a number of Men’s Sheds across Yorkshire for contact details of your nearest shed visit the UK Men’s Shed Association Find a Shed website.

 

Making predictions or projections of Shed finances

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As sheds are emerging out of lockdown many are starting to plan ahead for the next year.

After these last eighteen months, we have realised that this isn’t easy especially as things can change really quickly. Who for example knows, if there is going to be another variant in the Covid 19 virus, which could mean another lockdown. However, there are some things we can predict and for others, it’s more difficult. For example, we will know what the standing costs are for rent and insurance etc. Whilst variable costs will be more difficult to predict but based on previous experience it may be possible to make some reasonable assumptions.

Revenue in terms of membership fees sessional payments and sales will be more difficult to estimate as these will be dependent on the willingness of members to return to shedding. Their interest in making things to sell as well the ability to market items and interest from purchasers.

What is important to do, is to see how all these factors interact and project the consequences of increased costs or lower than anticipated revenue on the viability of the shed, ahead of the time that the shed would start to run into the red.

This can be done using a spreadsheet, which can be updated as the latest information is available and can be used to make projections of the impact this information will have on the viability of the shed. This is made easier if the cells in the spreadsheet are set to recalculate as the figures are changed. So for example you can see what would be the effect of the loss of revenue from sessional fees before it is seen in the bank account.

Ways for men to improve mental well-being in the countryside

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For men, keeping mentally healthy is not always easy, wherever we live. However, living remotely in a rural area can make things more difficult.

This note is based on the five ways to well-being and CHIME aims to give some ideas about keeping mentally fit and healthy.

Conversations

Engaging in conversation with people in a rural area is not always easy but spend time to speak to and listen to what others have to say.

  • Have a conversation with a delivery or tradesperson ask them about their work.
  • Start a conversation with people when you fill up with fuel or visit a shop.
  • Engage walkers in a conversation and ask them about what they enjoy about your area.
  • Tell your family something about your day and ask them about theirs.
  • Connect with others at community events for example at the village hall, cricket club, or church.
Be active

Being active helps us all feel good about ourselves but it doesn’t have to be a sweaty session at a gym discover a physical activity that you enjoy and suits your level of fitness perhaps:

  • Regularly walking a short distance in the open air.
  • Gardening.
  • Getting a bike for short or long rides.
  • Joining a fitness class, a village sports club, or a team.
Take notice of things around you

Being aware of the world around us and noting what we feel, helps us appreciate what matters to us, savour the moment when:

  • Eating a meal.
  • Enjoying the view and signs of activity in the countryside.
  • Listening to the birds sing, sheep bleat, or the noises made by other animals.
  • Noticing the colours and smells of autumn, the frost and snow of winter, the green shoots of spring, lambs in the field and sent of blossom, the warm summer sun, and the smell of new-mown hay.
Keep learning

Learning new things helps our confidence and is fun, be aspirational have some goals of what you want to achieve perhaps:

  • Find out about plants for a garden or crops to grow.
  • Learn about different pets or animals to keep.
  • Try cooking a new recipe.
  • Set a challenge you will enjoy achieving.
  • Attend an evening class or follow an online course.
Giving

Giving to others need not be hard it can be as simple as:

  • Think of complimenting someone for what they have done.
  • Smiling at a stranger or purposely saying ‘have a nice day’.
  • Carry out small acts of kindness for neighbours.
  • Helping at a village event or looking after a community building or area.

Above all as men we should try to connect with others, dream, find our identity and meaning from what we see and do. Take control and make a difference in some small way for yourself others or the place and community where you live.

Based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing and CHIME.