Registered Charity Number 1212037 Shed on a Page Norton Men’s Shed (Normens) A personal perspective by Graham Storer drafted for UK Men’s Sheds Association magazine “Shoulder to Shoulder” and approved by Shed Trustees! In the beginning there were 4 Sheds in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The first was a very rural…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Wheelchair Steve is always on the roll. We have immortalised him in plastic and shrunk him to appear on our model railway, at several locations probably. Perhaps to be realistic, we ought to have a broken down lift accessed by three steps with no model staff around…
Registered Charity Number 1212037That’s the number of steps Tom Judge will take (at least!) with his fridge on his back as he walks from Teesside to Benidorm drawing attentionon to men’s mental health on Teesside and in Spain. Norton Men’s Shed met Tom Judge at the North East Ladies Day…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Locomotion is getting somewhere. The main components of the engine body are built and the boiler top cladding is being routed to give a curved effect. The wheels are now beginning to be prepared. There are twelve segments to each wheel perimeter and we are using some…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Stockton Borough Council holds an annual Community Conversation. It was an open invitation to organisations working in the Borough to help people. Powering Our Future Communities was a strategy theme chosen by the Council in the autumn of 2024. It was introduced on 8th April with a…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The UK Men’s Sheds Association has a very useful tool on it’s website that enables a person to put in their postcode and have a map show up the closest Sheds (or similar projects) to that postcode. We are just dusting off the descriptions for the 3…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Today we received a visit from Chris McDonald, MP. It follows a similar visit by Matt Vickers, MP a month ago. We had invited them and others to the Shed to discover for themselves what Norton Men’s Shed (and others locally, in UK and worldwide can do…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The Teesside Charity – Pitching for Purpose Put your hands together for our pitches Thanks to the audience’s votes, each organisation left our Pitching for Purpose event with an impressive share of £5,000, which will significantly impact their cause.The highest number of votes went to Postpartum Matters CIC, who,…
Registered Charity Number 1212037A potentially very worthwhile few minutes if you can spare the time Shedders Dear Men’s Sheds Leaders, I hope you are well. I am working with UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) to do an online survey (10 mins now and 10 mins in 3 months) and some optional interviews to help…
Registered Charity Number 1212037What you see may not be the most important thing about the Shed. There’s more than one way of seeing. Let’s see then the possible meanings of the word “seeing”. Synonyms and related words for “seeing” in the context of Roget’s Thesaurus, consider words like “perceiving” –…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Jigsaws can tell us a lot about community. Revealing techniques that can be used to build a resilient community. Jigsaw resilience comes from there being irregularly interlocking pieces. In the plane of the jigsaw as the pieces come together, the jigsaw grows stronger and holds together without…
Registered Charity Number 1212037We start with the NHS! Two surprising things concerning Sheds often become apparent and as Shedders we have an opportunity/responsibility to play our part in remedying matters. Here they are: How little some healthcare professionals know about Men’s Sheds. About their association to wellbeing and ameliorating feelings…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The 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….
Registered Charity Number 1212037 Diversity is a feature of Norton Men’s Shed. Diverse people with diverse interests, diverse personalities, diverse reasons for needing a Shed and diverse skills levels. To meet these diversities we already have 3 different styles of Shed. Two days for a general Shed with a mix…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Take a look at this. It’s tops. Watch this video on YouTube Shedders, friends and family please collect plastic bottle tops (all colours) and drop them into our donations box at the Shed. HealthWatch North Yorkshire : The public’s experience of mental health services in North Yorkshire…
Registered Charity Number 1212037First surprise on Thursday morning was the notification that Normens had been confirmed a registered charity The registration number is 1212037. The pressure is off although there are some next steps. Andrew returned to say goodbye!! The Thursday Cancer Morning saw Andrew come through the door. Dennis…
Registered Charity Number 1212037This is the second postcard we have. And soon Valentine’s Day is upon us. XXX 3D Design and Printing It’s pleasing to see interest being shown by some Shedders in learning upstream design rather than just downstream printing (which can be like watching paint dry!). Paul and…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Two Birds, One Stone February 2025 marks the end of the Tesco Community award period and when an end of period online report is required in order to release the final 25% retention sum (£250). There is the opportunity to submit a link to a video about…
Registered Charity Number 1212037From a glance back at 2024, we now set sights on 2025 and some imminent activities Tesco Stronger Starts 2024, end of project report Back in the summer of 2023, we were encouraged by Tesco Extra Stockton to apply for an award under a community support programme…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Looking forward to a rise in temperature! Nevertheless, Norton carries on. Big Brian has sent a photo of his finished table lamp. A very good start to 2025 woodturning, Brian! Great for me to see a snippet of the Monday Chat Group!! Martyn videoed the scene and…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Monday 6th January sees the Shed restarting after a Christmas snooze. However, the Shedders have not been asleep. For a start, preparations (i.e. planning) have continued for upgrading the outside of the portacabin with steel sheeting and new patio door covers. Then sometimes people find us hard…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The Shed is not so easy to find. Many people know its general location as Norton Cricket Club or The Moline Cross. However, these are but staging posts because we are tucked in the central area of the complex. Follow the route on the map down Station…
Registered Charity Number 1212037That’s our wish but all we can really do is our best for one another. It’s a family matter! Norton Men’s Shed is taking a break after Christmas Eve (Tuesday) until Monday 6th January 2025 Looking forward to being together for an ongoing bit of adventure. If…
Registered Charity Number 1212037It’s time for Norton Shedders to reflect on 2024. A few have been with the project for the past nearly three years but this year has seen a real uptick in numbers because the Shed has been expanded. Expanded in numbers (we often have 15 – 20…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The Shed was busy last week and will be next week beyond the Shed perimeter. In the community. On Saturday 14th December we are at the Green Market event at Red House School junior campus. It is a monthly market orchestrated by our friend Helen Deehan. We…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Where this blog goes will depend on what we see. The little actions and simple words that can easily go unmarked. Let’s start with an encouraging email that arrived on Sunday morning. An email from someone met at the Tree Festival opening as we still struggled to…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Received an email this morning that is so true . . . . “They say change is one of life’s few inevitables. But it’s so difficult to manage – isn’t it? First, you have to decide what, and if, change is needed: Do you need a…
Registered Charity Number 12120372024 has been a year of growth. More men involved, more space acquired, more sessions, new interests, more partnerships, new Shed supporters. Here is a summary to read. And there was need for more chairs We had 8 stackable chairs, a wheelchair, a stool and a rocking…
Registered Charity Number 1212037We joined the throng at the North of England Woodworking Show on Saturday and started by wandering up and down some of the “avenues” of stands. We then travelled to the UK Men’s Sheds Association stand. We first arrived at the UKMSA stand before the above pair…
Registered Charity Number 1212037 A Thursday Shedder shares his experience of The Shed. I only started Norton Men’s Shed several weeks ago after my cancer surgery, I have found it very helpful as part of my “ living with cancer journey”. I had been encouraged by the cancer support team…
Registered Charity Number 1212037It’s what employed people often have to do. To upskill! The Shed is full of amateurs so our version is Continuous Amateur Development, CAD for short. Maybe it fits? It has been great to see the way that the woodturning has gone at the Shed. Dennis must…
Registered Charity Number 1212037It all comes down to people and faces Early on today the Tuesday cohort (numbering 18 according to the photographic evidence) assembled around each of the 3 display items we have created for the Children’s Remembrance Service over the past 3 years. Whilst quite a few have…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Please spend time browsing these and raise any issues (particularly anything that is not understood!) with a Shed supervisor or other experienced senior. We are each responsible for our personal safety and for that of fellow Shedders. If you see dangerous/careless practice please speak up! Much of…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The cannon, war horse and dog made their appearance. The field of poppies was quite a sight to behold. Thanks to the Veterans and the team at Norton Sports Charity for the arrangements that pulled the event together. Lovely to see the Scouts, Guides, Sea Scouts and…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The Life of Brian Brian is a very productive member of the team. He is often helped by the Sorcerer’s Apprentice Pat. The Portacabin houses a manger Ross and Graham have worked on this nativity to be displayed outside St. Mary’s during the Tree Festival. The Railway…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Justice rightly incorporates punishment but it should also include restoration of the individual and reparation to a victim (a person or indeed Society). Getting the balance right is not always easy. Below are three items that link Norton and Whitby Sheds with the justice system at the…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Shedding Light Into Cancer is a new Norton Men’s Shed stream designed for men who have a cancer diagnosis and are working through the personal consequences of it. Cancer comes in different forms but the most common is connected to men’s waterworks. In the UK, about 1…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Making a mark can be achieved in many ways. Here’s a few from this week at the Shed. < BrianH had never touched a lathe until about 6 weeks ago. Just look at the fruit bowl in the photo alongside. All his own work. Brian has certainly…
Registered Charity Number 1212037Today, 19th September 2024, was the first of the new “Shedding Light Into Cancer” sessions for men with a cancer diagnosis. Pleasing 1 We had no idea how many men might attend. We imagined it may be 4 or 5 but would have been very happy to…
Registered Charity Number 1212037The blog title is one that belongs to others. Two others who are married (plus dog!) and are staff at the Camping & Caravanning site in Northumberland where Graham stayed the past few days. Graham had quite a chat with them when swapping a gas cylinder (there’s…
