I have often said that I can see the Stonehaven Men’s Shed in my future.
I imagine myself in my vintage years, popping down to the Green Hut at the beach to potter around doing useful things. Not making and repairing stuff like the lovely blokes do there, mind you.
Nah, I’m far too clumsy and handless for that. Me and some power tools? What could possibly go wrong? Cue a trip to A&E with some fingers in a hand towel.
Still, I could make the tea, tidy, up and crack some terrible dad jokes with references that only those of a certain age would get.
But that prospect – one that always has me smiling to myself – is now in danger of being snatched away… and not only from someone like me with a vague notion for years to come, but today, for 10,000 men in more than 200 Men’s Sheds across Scotland.
For some unfathomable reason, the Scottish Government has pulled all its funding for this most vital of charities. The Scottish Men’s Shed Association now faces being wound up within months.
And the thousands of men who use and enjoy Men’s Sheds face a bleak future of going back to what they had before: little or nothing.
Men’s Sheds offer benefits to individuals and communities as a whole
The Men’s Shed isn’t not merely a place for blokes of an age and with an interest to hang out, like some sort of Repair Shop club. It’s a vital tool for tackling the misery of loneliness and isolation in the older generation.
There are people out there who need the Men’s Shed as a place they can meet others, stay engaged with society, and keep their minds sharp and vital.
On top of that is the immense good the sheds do in communities they serve, working on myriad projects to make the places they live better for everyone, from improving public spaces to restoring and handing-on used bikes. They do good things – important things.
If the Men’s Shed isn’t there, many of the men left behind face a real prospect of retreating into their homes, retreating into themselves, with nowhere to go, nothing to do, no sense of purpose of life. Imagine the toll that will take on their well-being and on their mental health.
Society is judged on how it treats its vulnerable – and our older generation deserve better than the prospect of living out their last years in aching loneliness.
The Men’s Shed offers a huge benefit to those who use it, and to society as a whole. It is more than worth every penny of the funding it needs from the Scottish Government to continue.
Will this lifeline really die before its 10th anniversary because pen-pushers don’t know where the sign-off goes?
Apparently there is confusion at Holyrood as to which area of government could support the charity – which is nonsense. Will this lifeline really die before its 10th anniversary because pen-pushers don’t know where the sign-off goes?
If First Minister John Swinney – who opened the first Men’s Shed in Westhill – wants to put his stamp on heading a compassionate, caring Scottish Government then he must act now. Step in, clear away the muddle and save our Men’s Sheds.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired
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