Gathering Breath

Registered Charity Number 1212037

The next couple of weeks is only a little less fraught than last week’s onslaught!
Go back a blog to see The Skills Shop, Gift Aid, NELD and a Golden Egg Cup!!

Have a look at the kind of things Shedders in UK say about the Shed experience. There are 4 Whitby Shedders; stories in it, two are ladies.

1,000 Faces

A second MP to visit soon

Following Matt Vickers visit on Saturday, a second MP intends to visit the Shed. Chris McDonald. Date has been arranged for Thursday 10th April (when we have drawn breath!). We also had a prompt acknowledgement from the office of Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen that when his diary permits he would call.

Social Prescribing Link Worker update

Claire Walker was the solitary SPLW 3 years ago who was a driver (of the slave variety?!) for a Shed in Norton. She is sending an update on things (she is about to recruit a 13th SPL Worker). In our conversation with Matt Vickers the importance of Link Workers as bridges was stressed by several Shedders individually. She hopes to pop in on Friday this week.

True to her word, this is Claire’s update on the Link Workers!

Morning Norton Shedders

Just a little update for you all on some positive changes within the Personalised Care Team.

Our team has grown massively since the service began in 2019. We have now increased to 12 which include specific Social Prescriber roles; cancer SPLW’s, learning disabilities, generic SPLW’s, health and wellbeing coaches and we are currently recruiting for a further young person’s Social Prescriber.

We now also have a care coordinator to support patients to navigate the social and health care system.

We are very lucky that Billingham & Norton Primary Care Network appreciate the need for these specialist roles. So much so, that they have organised a new hub for us to use as a base, in Billingham. We still aim for a good presence within our 7 GP surgeries, however, this base gives us the opportunity to be a team.

Graham, time has flown since I made that first telephone call to you whilst you were cruising! We need a Shed, I said! That’s what you gave us and the community. We supply and you provide = perfect partnership is formed!

Thank you, Graham and all the Shedders,

See you soon

PS Hope the ShedConnect event on 12th March goes well for all Sheds.

Claire L Walker

Social Prescriber Link Worker – Personalised Care Lead

Below: Ray came via a Social Prescribing Link Worker!

Ray is so versatile. Made a rustic coat hanger for his porch.

A blank expression

Trustee Kevin Storer writes, “I made two trips to G&S Timber near Penrith this week whilst on half term break. It’s a favourite haunt of mine, but this time I was on a mission to get bowl blanks for The Shed.

As I purchased the first sack of blanks I chatted with salesman Shaun about what The Shed was. He was impressed and thought one might be starting in the nearby village. I paid the bill and was loading the car when he followed me out offering a tin of hard-wax oil as a donation for The Shed.

I delivered the purchases for Dennis’ approval and I was asked to buy another batch on my return. Needing no excuse to revisit G&S off I went with a Shed thankyou card in hand, for the wax-oil. Shaun served me again and was very appreciative of the card. He can see the benefits that a community of creators brings.”

Friday Shed

Two visitors today. One was already mentioned above. Claire Walker who heads the Personalised Care Team. She met some of the new Shedders that have joined in the last few months and had a catch up with some originals!

Amanda with some Shed loafers!!

The second visitor was Amanda from a company north of us who came bearing samples of timber that the company could donate. Yes please!!!

Dennis has already bagged ideal lengths for framing Locomotion 1which is about to start in the Train Shed!! More on this later in March.

The visits we’ve had recently are so encouraging not only to the Shed but the Shedders! Knowing that we are all part of something bigger than any one contributor.

Building relationships with people and organisations takes time because really it’s about building trust and helping each other to help people.

All visitors received one of our treasured Golden Egg Cups! More pointless than a Pointless trophy!

Something from Graham’s past in High Wycombe that is very much in the present

Graham has often said that a Shed is more like a church than a church! Some Shedders probably know Graham spent 7 years administering a Baptist Church in High Wycombe. Some was admin – involving spreadsheets and notice sheets – but a lot was about lettings of parts of the extensive premises from Monday to Saturday. Big groups, small groups. Informal gatherings, formal meetings. Weightwatchers and weight gainers!!

When Graham looks back with the experience of Sheds over the past 9 years, he finds so many similarities between his working life at Union Baptist and the Sheds – particularly Norton Shed. Both involve juggling in 3D and trying to keep both a bit of discipline for everybody’s good and the joy of mixing groups and people together.

In those past days (2000 – 2007) it involved everybody from the local council and the Probation Service to Mind Young Carers and lunch for seniors. More than 70 regular external clients. Helping them meet each other “deliberately accidentally” was the joy. Knowing others and appreciating them for what they do is a keystone to community collaboration and ministry to people – ministry being the religious word for getting alongside and helping people.

Graham knows only too well that he has benefitted from “ministry” of individual Shedders.

Graham took over management of The Hub community building a new build adjacent to the chapel in 2000. Now in 2025 a new development has been opened updating the chapel. Colin in the video was a contemporary of Graham and Graham once stored a cello for Andrew’s wife when they were doing work overseas.

Longstanding Norton Shedders might better understand some of Graham’s strange ways and his focus on people. He prepared a poster for the Shed a couple of week’s ago that read “Look after the Shedders and the Shed will look after itself”. That in religious speak is ministry.

Hit the link 🙂

https://youtu.be/xxeyMlMNUV4?si=32XkvU2cLVusnuu6

New front door

Frame squarely in

Door on and lock fitted

Dennis is a craftsman. Graham is a bodger. Somehow the two styles merged a little and the new front door was fitted on Saturday.

There’s priming and undercoating to be done to seal the door and frame against the weather, and also the steps and handrails to be painted.

Dennis is to be greatly thanked. He worked for more than 5 hours to remove the old door and rotted frame and install the frame he had made a week before. Bending, kneeling and standing on a ladder all impact the body.

Was that the door creaking or Dennis’ knees?

Thanks also to Howden Joinery for the 3 doors, this being the first to be fitted.

On Monday the door was painted with primer/undercoat to seal it from the immediate weather, accomplished by the two Peters.

A sunny day, they both enjoyed it though they slipped up by saying that it was something both did in the past and enjoyed it.

Hmmmm. We are looking now to decorate the inside of the Portacabin and now we know by whom!

On Tuesday Derrick completed the digital design of a spanner and he successfully 3D printed it. Told him to cast his eye over it.

Thanks to Tutor Paul who is so pleased his pupil Derrick has taken to it.

If you ever wondered . . . .

what the start of Norton Men’s Shed was like, here is a flashback to 20th January 2022 and our first blog.

One of the first photos taken. Three NHS staff (Social Prescribing Link Worker Claire Walker to left next to “Director Dave” of Norton Sports Charity. CLICK ON THE IMAGE

Special offer from RONSEAL!!

Ronseal

Follow up on an item above!

Graham attended the ShedConnect event in Preston on Thursday (we have the one in Middlesbrough next Wednesday). It was a very encouraging and well attended event which involved two panel discussions on sets of topics and follow on table discussions on them by Shedders.

Quite a number there who were hoping or in process of starting a new Shed.

At the first table discussion Graham sat directly opposite a man called Bruce (not an Aussie btw). In the course of table chat Graham asked where his anticipated Cumbrian Shed was to be. Penrith. Graham instantly recalled G&S Specialist Timber (nothing common about them!) and mentioned them. They’re my near rural neighbours he said.

Graham related the story of our recent dealings with G&S and also something his son Kevin was told by Shaun that there was a Shed being planned for a local village. Bruce is the man starting out to do it! They have an old forge – ideal for a wood burner! A lot of work to be done but what a great and positive challenge.

A letter of thanks from Matt Vickers for his Shed visit and the Golden Egg Cup!

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