The community Remembrance Service outside the Sports Charity club takes place in November, of course. The Shed will have a small hand in making a big statement for young people.
Those who were there last year will remember the bottle-base poppies and the large as life figures mounted on the cricket screens that were place strategically.
Every youngster who participated received a commemorative badge which depicted a paratrooper hand in hand with a disabled young girl with a crutch. There is a whole story behind this that motivated “Tomo”, a local veteran, and his comrades to get behind a service for local Norton and district youngsters. From uniformed organisations and schools in particular.
From Tomo et alia’s lead, others got behind the idea and the first such service happened in the November of 2019. The pandemic meant that the next opportunity was 2021, last year. Keeping commemoration going “Lest we Forget” and for youngsters to learn about the significance of the past in the face of “drone and missile” conflicts that are current.
Dave Geldart who is a great practical helper in many things (including our Shed!) commented early this year (when we were decorating the Cricket Club changing rooms) that he wanted to have a large silhouette of the paratrooper and girl as on the badge mounted on the wall of the cricket pavilion. This has not been forgotten (entirely) and the Shed is to make such a piece – as a recognition of Tomo and his comrades.
It will be fabricated in October but we needed a template that could be enlarged and marked on aluminium sheets.
We started this week with a photo Graham took last November.
Every child received a badge.
Next the outline needed emphasising in order to trace it, converting into something usable – the outline only. A bit of manipulation of the image in Word.
Next the screen tracing.
One or two modifications possibly needed when the badge goes under a microscope!
Next up is printing this image on multiple sheets of A4 to make the full size template. This is 10 sheets high and the figure is about 5′. We’ll need to check with Sports Dave as to whether he might want an 11 sheet figure!
Needs the sheets trimmed and Cello taped together.
Good that the Shed does something(rather the Shedders) towards a community event of current significance. Graham can see some features being added (like the beret) in vinyl courtesy of Scotty Dave!
***** News. What Graham thought was a crutch is not. It was a crease in the material! The crutch will be amputated.
Two big guns of equipment were collected from Preston Hall storage.
Way back in February (we think) when we were hardly started we were contacted by Beka Lee. We took a look but couldn’t take it immediately. It was high end equipment and with quality often comes weight!!
We collected some equipment 6 weeks ago (lathe, grinding wheel, a couple of dust extractors). Finally we are in the position to take the remaining items, two of which were collected on Friday with assistance from Trustee Kevin and his family. Thanks also to Kevin’s neighbour who was recruited to the unloading operation.
We received a lot of “garage clearance” bits and bobs this week – the typical stuff men hoard just in case. It came as a result of a call from a man who had to clear his late father’s gear and ir was us or the dump! We took most of it (in vintage tins!).
Part of the hoard was a collection of drill bits and Shedder Mick begun to make some shallow trays to lay them in. Trays able to be stacked in a drawer.
Mick’s drawers
In case of doubt, the Big Guns were labeled.
It’s on the tin. A planer-thicknesser.
We also had a new very likely Shedder recruit arrive to view – a 90 year old but very nimble. We will soon have a matched pair of Shedders in Colin (87) and the new gent.
Plus a call came from Stockton Council and a Dementia Friendliness promoter! We had several dementia sufferers in the Sheds at Whitby as parts of the different families. It will always be a one-off decision about any Shedders, of course. However we did touch on some interesting ideas because the real challenge communities face is to encourage new activities as self-starters.
Certainly there’s no shortage of things going on around the Shed.
Brian used a table saw, a band saw (pictured) and had a touch on the lathe. Never done anything like it before!!!
He is making a bird table for his grand- daughter. Lining paper scraped off.