For the last five years, a group of men have regularly travelled from Lossiemouth to Elgin to socialise and work on their hobbies.
Elgin’s Men Shed has welcomed the visitors, with members more than happy to share their workshop space.
But now Lossiemouth is set to get its own Men’s Shed – offering up opportunities for more people to get involved locally.
The Scottish Men’s Shed Association is a growing group, with more than 200 sheds set up to give men a space to socialise and develop hobbies, tackling loneliness and mental health issues.
Rab Forbes, trustee of the Lossiemouth Community Development Trust, is keen to see the town benefit from its own spot.
He said: “There is a men’s shed in Elgin and they’ve been filling the gap because Lossiemouth’s never had one and people have been made welcome to go there.
“However, it’s quite a journey and we’re quite a big town, we should have our own men’s shed and this is an attempt to achieve that.
“It won’t just be for Lossiemouth, it’ll be the wider community such as Hopeman and Burghead, we want our own shed with our own people doing stuff the town wants.”
‘We don’t have much opportunity to talk’
Often groups undertake woodwork and metal work projects that benefit the communities, like benches or bird boxes.
But Mr Forbes knows there is more to the regular meet-ups than making things – it’s about building relationships and given men somewhere to chat, if they want to.
“Some might have mental health issues – it’s not just a case of men making something, it’s about coming together and talking about stuff because we don’t have much of an opportunity,” he said.
“It’s entirely up to the members what they want to do, they might want to make things out of wood or steel, they might want to fix things for the community, that’ll be decided by the membership which needs to grow,” he added.
Lossiemouth FC offer up cabin for Lossie Shedders
Although the location of the Lossiemouth Men’s Shed has not yet been finalised, the local football club has offered the group a space.
Lossiemouth FC secretary Alan McIntosh has offered up the hospitality lounge on non-match days, as well as an old storage unit at Grant Park which could be turned into a work shed.
Mr McIntosh said he was aware other Men’s Sheds were struggling to find somewhere to meet due to costs, so is keen to do what he can to help Lossiemouth.
He said: “It isn’t going to cost them anything because it’s already there, they will have to pay me a rent because that’s just the rules, but I’m going to take the minimum.
“It’s going to help the town and if the men who come to the football say ‘ there’s a sign that says Lossiemouth Men’s Shed’ they might get more members to go along to it.”
To find out more about the group, e-mail dto@lossietrust.org or search Lossiemouth Men’s Shed on Facebook.
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