The opportunity/challenge made in late December 2024 was for Norton Shedders, their friends and families to register what the Shed, or aspects of it, means to them. It can be using a first name, anonymously as far as the public audience is concerned or even with full details if that is preferred.
Lovely if accounts just flowed in, but that is always unlikely. However, the stories are important to tell so that others can read them – particularly people outside of the Shed experience or future Shedders. For this reason this post will be a “sticky” one that stays near the top of the blog stack.
Moreover, newcomers who arrive in the future can also add to the log without it getting lost down the list of the more than 150 blogs since January 2022.
Shedder Anon1, 20/12/2024 [summarised from a verbal account]
One like this! But different. Unique.
I was a bit of a loner when I came to the Shed more than a year ago. Conversation was difficult for me. I had little experience of DIY and health prevented me doing too much that was physical. The first positive impact came when I discovered how friendly others were and that they were willing to help me when I tried unfamiliar things.
A major step forward for me in 2024 was learning to use a wood lathe. I’d never touched one before but under the guiding hand of a newcomer Shedder with years of woodturning experience I slowly learnt.
From turning a toadstool I progressed to wood bowls. It gave me great satisfaction to do and my confidence generally grew. I felt I really belonged at the Shed.
My relatives appreciated receiving some of what I made as gifts. The toadstool for instance found it’s way into a garden and the recipient loved to tell people I had made it. They were proud of me and the difference the Shed had made to me.
Ups and downs of all sorts impact me but I find the Shed atmosphere really helps me.
Shedder Anon2, 21/12/2024
“Merry Christmas” said the WhatsApp from G, one of the original Shedders who occupied the Cricket Pavilion when Normens started in early 2022. He came from the JobCentre through the lady I met at the December Green Market in Norton. He was a tricky case for the JobCentre who were trying to help him within the system! He came to the Shed and was our resident tutor in matters of decorating premises.
The yellow stripe in the football clubhouse was down to him!
Eventually he found work and has held it down for the past couple of years. He pops up with greetings (and threats to attend sometime!) and that is what this account is about. He found friendship and support at the Shed when he needed it and repaid it through his decorating skills. In a very real sense he found family at the Shed.
He has just contacted as this is being written and when told he was being mentioned he said, “Cool. agree with every word”.
Shedder Peter, 20/01/2025
I’m Peter and I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in September 2024. It is a form of cancer.
I was introduced to the Men’s Shed through a Social Prescribing Link Worker at my Surgery because my wife asked if there was anywhere I could go to get me out of the house. She had noticed that my pain and ailment had made me “a bit lost” and that I had stopped socialising and had lost my confidence.
So, I went to the Shed a bit reluctantly because I thought it would be a depressing place.
I was welcomed by Graham and Paul and found the group were very friendly and welcoming and I felt at ease. It wasn’t like I had thought at all!
I’ve been attending regularly for a couple of months, often twice a week. We talk about life and up and coming projects that I and others can get involved with. I didn’t know until I started what such places as this were about.
I know now that, even though I had all the support at home I could ask for, there was something missing and that was feeling a part of society.
I was lonely and missing interaction with other people. I feel the Men’s Shed and the people in it have made me more outgoing again and more confident – more like the former me!
Thank you Shedders!
I really look forward to going to the Shed because it’s like a family group. I am personally really glad I found the Men’s Shed (or the Man Shed as I often call it) and I would recommend to anyone with such a Shed in their area to give it a try. Speak to your GP Social Prescriber. It has certainly made me feel a lot better in myself mentally.
Shedder Ian, 4/2/2025
Ian had already written an account of his cancer journey back in 2022. He has added an update to that and his introduction to Norton Men’s Shed. Ian came to the Shed before the Thursday Cancer morning was established and he helped usher in Shedding Light Into Cancer by acting as a bridge to other cancer activities.
My CLL Story - Ian HayleyKeith, 3/2/2025, Staithes Shedder, Land of Iron Tour Guide and a professional Walking Stick Maker
Keith was our Tour Guide on a visit to the Land of Iron Museum in Skinningrove. Known to Graham originally through his Helmsley Shop but then as a result of Covid lockdowns he arrived at Staithes Shed. A year or so later he began a new career as a result of a visit to LoI with his spouse (Jacky) . He became a tour guide on a Monday.
He wrote to Graham afterwards ,
“You can probably see why I found LOI so stimulating! That’s what I needed at the time to get me out and meeting people – Jacky couldn’t believe it when I said I wanted to be a tour guide and take lots of strangers round!
It’s what I needed though after the forced isolation of Covid times. Those dark, uncertain days really “did my head in” and caused me to have anxiety and panic attacks, which I’d never suffered before.
Hopefully you saw just how confident I am again, telling stories, introducing interesting information and answering any questions thrown at me – I just love it! Now I don’t have the shop and travelling to take up my time, I can give more time to both organisations. “
Though not from Norton Shed, Keith highlights the importance to him of working with people essentially as a volunteer.
Shedder Peter, 10/2/2025, written account
I was introduced to the Norton Men’s Shed by my wife who is a volunteer for Northern Cancer Voices. Claire was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019. She underwent nearly 7 hours of surgery to remove most of her right lung and a section of her windpipe to remove the tumour.
Following surgery she had a full course of chemotherapy and a full course of radiotherapy. Claire is now getting on for 5 years in remission.
What about me? I found the diagnosis and treatment difficult to deal with! I couldn’t make it go away, nor mend it.
The reluctant hero
I directed everything towards looking after Claire but I closed in on myself.
I had somewhat reluctantly attended Norton Men’s Shed when the Thursday cancer group started. I am a very quiet man, for about five minutes! After that first visit I was hooked!
Everyone was so friendly and conversation flowed. There was a workshop area full of lathes and Dennis there to provide guidance and help. There was such amazing skill and interesting stories from the boat specialist Walter. What can I say? WOW! Unbelievable knowledge and talent. Also from “3D” Paul – mind boggling skill. Full of advice, guidance and tales to tell.
I migrated to attend the Shed on other mornings too when there’s so much going on. It’s a pleasure to be in the company of these guys. I feel I have found so many interesting, stimulating friends.
I am humbled by being a part of Norton Shed. I cannot offer anything to compare with what everyone has given to me, the Quiet One!
[Oh yes you can and do!]
Shedder Paul, 14/2/2025, verbal account
My wife and I moved from The South to near Stockton to be closer to our family. I had many friends and contacts where I used to live but moving home to another part of the country left me rather bereft. How could I make some meaningful friendships? I like my own company but not that much!
I came across Men’s Sheds online and discovered Normens a couple of junctions up the A19. I discovered the Shed was still in the state of development, although I now realise that is a permanent state for Sheds. That adds a lot of interest. I was an engineer and always curious about how things work, particularly electrical items and I became a “fixit” at the Shed of things fiddly, plus a conversationalist.
Used to make useful things too.
I had a hidden private life. It was 3D design and printing. Digital design of automotive parts was something I did in my working life. With prototype components manufactured elsewhere using the transferred digital data. Equipment cost several thousands. Just 3 or 4 years ago 3D printers for home use cost around £1200. Now they are faster and cheaper at not much more than £200. The plastic filament used costs very little and the process makes no mess! The software is free online.
My hobby became known and interest in it was shown by a couple of other Shedders. The Shed bought a second hand printer and now it is establishing itself as a core interest, alongside woodturning and woodworking. Shedders can do the clever part, the design, at home and learn.
The Shed has removed my sense of isolation from the engagement and banter I was used to and enjoyed. I feel a part of something that is so valuable for people’s mental wellness and mine. The guys are so supportive of each other without nannying. I know what it has done for me and I see positive changes in newcomers.
Shedder Andrew, 3/3/2025, written account
After being diagnosed with cancer and having surgery to remove it, my NHS social prescriber recommended I attended Norton Men’s Shed and she came to my first meeting to help introduce me to the Shed.
The Shed has several people undergoing cancer treatment and encourages activities that allow the group to learn or develop skills (in my case model railways and 3D printing) in an informal way. Tea and biscuit sessions are numerous!
Informal discussions happen in small groups or one to one exchanges as friendships develop. On a Thursday morning “Shedding Light into Cancer” session these are often about cancer and it helped me to “normalise” my cancer, in a non-clinical setting. It allowed me to realise cancer affects so many people in so many ways. Talking to others put my own cancer journey into perspective and gave me comfort and strength to get on with life.
Another big benefit was to help me with social isolation after retirement from work. After over 40 years working for the same company, I had a substantial work family, which disappeared overnight.
Thankfully I now have a new Men’s Shed family. Weekly/daily attendance is not “compulsory” and works around an individual’s up-and-down circumstances.
Buccaneering Shedders 20/3/25
Thanks to Billingham Buccaneers for recording these video clips of individual Shedders and releasing them “drip, drip” on Facebook in the lead up to the ice-hockey game on 23rd March 2025 which resulted in a massive £2600 donated by the spectators towards the work Norton Men’s Shed does.
Next challenger please sign in
Planet Earth III
Spending a lot of hours above planet earth on a flight to Australia was the ideal time for me (Graham) to watch the box set of David Attenborough’s narrated series PEIII. What struck me looking at Coast, Forest, Ocean, Desert and others was the amazing adaptability of animals. No time to evolve over eons now, but having to face and deal with the fact that they and we inhabit not only the same world but the same town (where we live). Animals discover the places we humans live are places of rich food sources for animals, including our trash bins.
Huddling against the cold
The particular snippet that connected me to Sheds (!!!) concerned macaques or Snow Monkeys in Japan. They don’t build shelters or nests but inhabit trees in forests that are above the snow line for parts of the year. The incredible filming showed how they cope with their situation – cold.
They simply “huddle together”, sometimes on a branch. A mass of macaques have a smaller surface area exposed to the cold than the sum of their individual areas. They give and gain warmth from each other.
It got me thinking about the Shed environment (poor soul). Our Shed gets cold but the caravan heater has made a great difference to that. However, warmth in a Shed is more about the companionship of Shedders and the warmth of friendship than just the temperature. We huddle together at the Shed in order to combat the cold of social isolation. The words on our postcard highlights it. The Shed is a safe, inclusive place for men (ands some women!!).
Doing a Google search on macaques to check the spelling revealed the following AI compilation.
Macaques huddle together for a variety of reasons, including to stay warm, to sleep, and to feel safe:
- Warmth: Macaques, especially Japanese macaques also known as snow monkeys, huddle together in cold weather to stay warm. Huddles are often larger in colder, wetter weather.
- Sleep: Macaques often sleep in family groups.
- Safety: Macaques may huddle when they feel threatened.
- Social bonds: Macaques that are friendly with each other will remain close to maintain bonds and provide assistance if needed.
- A group of macaques is called a troop.
- Male macaques have a dominance hierarchy, with one male having alpha status.
- Females groom each other to maintain social relationships and hygiene.
- Mothers pass their grooming techniques to their offspring.
- Social grooming in Barbary macaques helps form relationships that aid cooperation and protection against other males.
In my view the Shed has many of the above characteristics – the “being” and “belonging” than the actual “doing”. The doing there is a little like the grooming referred to in the macaques. A passing on of trusted wellbeing principles from one generation to the next, one being the gift of learning something new. There has been a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from wood turning in 2024 and 3D printing, laser engraving and 3D scanning look set to do something similar in 2025 for some.
The film showed how the troop brings up its young. It is a joint enterprise between parents and siblings (a family) but also the troop as a community.
There are so many parallels to the way Norton Shed operates. It really does justify the view that a Shed is a group of little monkeys!
That’s monkeys, what about the Aussie take from the Australian Men’s Sheds Association.
https://mensshed.org/the-shed-online/
I was diagnosed with dementia in my 40s
It meant leaving his job and adapting to a new way of life.
Now, aged 56, Peter is passionate about addressing the stigma around a condition often associated with elderly people.
“I might not always be able to express it in the same way, but I’m still the same person I was, inside I’m still Peter,” he told BBC News NI.
Peter was 49 when he made an appointment with a neurologist and was sent for a scan.
“I was starting to struggle to meet deadlines (at work), which had never been a problem before, and during meetings, I wouldn’t be able to think of a word when speaking,” said Peter, who is originally from England but has lived in Northern Ireland with his wife, Jill, for several years.
“I remember the date very clearly, it was 14 January 2018 when the results came back and the doctor said: ‘Peter, I have diagnosed you with having frontotemporal dementia’.
“I was basically told that it was no longer safe for me to work because I have diminished judgment and I was losing my filter, so it was a lot to adapt to.”
‘It can manifest in different ways’
Peter lives in Northern Ireland with his wife Jill
Frontotemporal dementia is an uncommon form of the condition, which causes problems with behaviour and language.
“People think when you have dementia it’s only about forgetting things but it’s more complex, it can manifest in different ways.
“I don’t want to be treated differently, it’s imperative that people actually see the person, see beyond the condition.
“Sadly for many people, the diagnosis can take an awful long time and that puts an enormous amount of pressure on the family unit.”
What is dementia?
Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning.
Memory loss is one of the most common symptoms, particularly the struggle to remember recent events.
Others can include changes to behaviour, mood and personality, becoming lost in familiar places or being unable to find the right word in a conversation.
It can reach the point where people don’t know when they need to eat or drink.
More than 22,000 people are living with dementia in Northern Ireland, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
That number is expected to almost triple to 60,000 by 2051. The Southern Trust is expected to have the highest number of people living with the condition by 2032.
While dementia is often seen as a disease of old age, about 5% of people with the condition are classed as having young-onset dementia.
The term refers to people whose symptoms started when they were under the age of 65.
The Alzheimer’s Society estimates there are more than 70,000 people in the UK living with young-onset dementia.
A documentary has been made by members of Dementia NI
In recent months, Peter has teamed up with other people in Northern Ireland living with dementia to make a film about their everyday life.
The documentary, called Hear Our Voice, primarily focuses on people with young-onset dementia.
It offers a glimpse of what living with dementia is like, in the hope that it will create better understanding and empathy.
Peter features throughout the film and narrates it.
“Respect was granted to people who have dementia to make and take control of the film to help us get across the unique challenges we have,” he said.
Dr Christopher Southwell is a consultant in old age psychiatry in the Southern Trust
The film features members of Dementia NI.
The group was set up in 2015 by five people living with dementia, but 10 years on they now have 15 groups across Northern Ireland.
The groups worked alongside the Southern and South Eastern health trusts when making the Hear Our Voice project.
Dr Christopher Southwell, a consultant in old age psychiatry in the Southern Trust, believes the film promotes a powerful message.
“Dementia is a condition that has a big impact on patients and their families and sometimes as healthcare professionals we acknowledge that there are things that can be done better,” he said.
“When I got involved and eventually watched the film, it was important for me to be able to say to people like Peter and others behind the film that I do hear your voice and take on board what you’re saying.”
Members of Dementia NI recently met Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, at Stormont
They called on him to make reducing the time it takes to get a dementia diagnosis a priority.
Shortly after the film was released, in a statement, the health minister said: “I congratulate the trusts and Dementia NI for developing this powerful documentary which I have no doubt will challenge existing stereotypes and will be an informative way to educate people in how best to support individuals living with dementia.”
‘Dementia doesn’t define us’
Karen Kerr, head of engagement at Dementia NI, said the group’s members were “passionate about the importance of getting an early diagnosis”.
“Once you get an early diagnosis it opens up a lot of opportunities so that you can continue to live well with a sense of purpose and that’s also what the film is trying to highlight.
“When you hear from people like Peter, I think it demonstrates that people with dementia have a voice not just for themselves but for everyone affected with dementia.”
Peter added: “When it comes to people like me with dementia, please don’t write us off, we have a voice, dementia doesn’t define us.”
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