Norfolk is home to more Men’s Sheds than any other county and James Wild MP visited Hunstanton’s Men’s Shed to learn more about the charity and its role in the community.
During the visit James met Chris Ellis, Chairman of Hunstanton Men’s Shed which has around 40 members aged from 21-88 years old. Chris highlighted that due to their popularity a further five Sheds are planned to add to the 30 that are already open in the county.
James spoke to members about the positive effect the Men’s Shed has whether getting together for a chat over a brew, work on practical hobbies, play a game, use the computers or other activities to help provide company, combat isolation, and improve wellbeing. The Shed is located at Glebe House school which made the building available to the group and is open every Tuesday and Thursday 10am-2pm.
The Hunstanton Men’s Shed is affiliated to the wider UK Men’s Shed Association which recently visited Parliament to drive awareness of men’s wellbeing. A ‘Parliament Shed’ was created which was designed to reflect the health, wellbeing and social benefits of community-run Men’s Sheds and the positive impact this has for members of over 1,100 sites across the UK.
‘Shedders’ showed James their latest creations for Glebe House school play “Bugsy Malone” later this month which included set props and staging equipment including wooden Tommy Guns. Another project nearing completion is building wooden plinths which will be used by Natural England across Norfolk’s coastline as interpretation boards. They also showed James current projects such as upcycling a child’s rocking horse.
After touring the main shed, James later turned his hand to woodwork, using a handsaw to cut wood which will be incorporated into the new shed extension later this year. Through charitable donations, Hunstanton Men’s Shed has recently received metalwork equipment which they plan to install in a new secondary shed funded through the National Lottery Community Fund.
Further details can be found here: https://hunstantonanddistrictmensshed.wordpress.com/
Commenting after the visit, James Wild MP said:
“In our rural area it is important to tackle loneliness and social isolation and the Shed is a great project providing a welcoming place where people can get together and make friends while sharing skills and knowledge and having fun. At the same time the practical skills and hobbies members have are making a positive difference to the local community whether through arts, charity, or environmental projects. A decent cuppa and biscuit is on offer too!”
