Meeting of the Parliament (Virtual) 18 February 2021
I, too, congratulate Maurice Corry on securing the debate. I led the members’ business debate on this very same issue on 21 March 2019, but those were very different days—“pre-Covid”, as we will all be calling them.
There are quite a few men’s sheds in Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, but I will focus on those in Penicuik and Peebles, both of which I have visited on more than one occasion. Finance is a key and pressing common issue, pre-Covid and certainly now, as are premises—although that has been resolved, in the main, in Peebles. Both those sheds, like others in my constituency, were doing a grand job in bringing men together to socialise, putting their skills to work at their own pace, perhaps repairing town benches or making bird feeders or lamps to sell at local fayres to raise funds for local charities and so on. Just as necessary was the use of skills to successfully work out how to apply for various funds, how to secure accommodation and so on.
I turn to Penicuik men’s shed—whose modus operandi is similar to that of Peebles—which as yet lacks secure and suitable accommodation. It meets in a scout hut and, after years of trying to find a home, is still negotiating with Midlothian Council for suitable premises.
Penicuik men’s shed is currently closed, as all men’s sheds are, but its members are establishing protocols to safely reopen, such as warning signs and personal protective equipment. They have purchased Pathfinder, which is a distancing alerter that is worn on a lanyard and audible if too close to another wearer—we could perhaps all do with one of those in Parliament—and of course, most members have had their vaccine shots. Reopening is entirely in the gift of the scouts and, of course, when it is compliant with Scottish Government guidance.
Numbers are maintained with a weekly Zoom call of around 14, which is labelled, “It’s good to talk.” Members’ mental health is a concern during lockdown, but efforts are in hand to reach out to those who are considered the most at risk—shielding, living alone and so on. I believe that the shed’s active membership is currently around 38.
Peebles men’s shed has premises in what used to be the ex-servicemen’s club in Peebles and has around 80 members. Interestingly, as women, we can become part of the men’s shed. The members have worked hard to attract funding over the past three years or so, and now have grants in the bank.
About £10,000 from the council will pay for the purchase of the tools and equipment that they need and the training in how to use them; £9,000 from a common good fund will pay for the refurbishment of their local social and crafting space, with new walls, electrics, flooring, refreshments, cleaning-up area and furniture. They have £10,000 from the national lottery and have support towards rent from the Robertson Trust. I tell you this because it is a labyrinth of funding streams, and many men’s sheds members—shedders—spend their time working on that. Other fundraising has been restricted over the past year and they will get donations from members to keep the shed ticking by.
As with other men’s sheds, if and when members get the green light, Peebles men’s shed is reasonably well prepared with stocks of PPE. However, it still has some way to go to get the premises Covid-ready, although I understand that the workshops could probably get going straight away.
For both sheds—different in the stages of their evolution—Covid-19 has been and still is a huge challenge. Both sheds are keen to get going and to provide a safe place where men can stay healthy through activity and enjoy a bit of casual company. Ironically, social isolation probably gave birth to men’s sheds.
I finish with the words of Malcolm Bruce of the Peebles men’s shed, who said:
“The future? We will be back. It is what we do. There is too much at stake not to keep going. We owe it to our members who have supported us through Covid to provide them with the shed they asked for.”