This years UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA) ShedFest event was held at Worcester University Area on Thursday 14th August. Oliver Buchan and Marco Smith went along to meet some of the shedders in the exhibition hall and attend some of the presentations in the conference room.
Right at the entrance to the exhibition hall was a free barbers provided by the Movember Institute of Men’s Health who have just teamed up with UKMSA in a partnership to drive local men’s health action. So the Tadley Shedders made sure they were looking their best right from the start. See Photos below!
After impromptu haircuts and beard trim they headed upstairs to the conference room to hear an inspiring talk by Andy Roe. Andy spoke of his upbringing, his passion for amateur boxing clubs and his time with the London Fire Brigade.
The next seminar was by a panel about Sheds Influencing at Local Level, the panel included Amy O’Connor from Movember, John Jarvis UKMSA Trustee and David Finch from The Shed Blaenau Gwent.
There was much discussion about how to get more influence and ensuring those that sponsor your Men’s Shed see something positive come out of their support.
Amy pointed out that with all the new Unitary Councils being created there will be lots of opportunities to influence the new Mayors and it’s about building relationships.
David suggested that those who make referrals to Men’s Sheds should be invited to come and see what we do first to ensure that we are a right fit for the person being referred.
During the exhibition there was many opportunities to meet others sheds as a lot of the finalists of the ‘Shed of the Year’ had stands. It was interesting to find out how every shed seems to organise themselves in a different way based on their location and membership.
One shed from Cardiff (theGoodShed) don’t have any member fees and rely entirely on up-cycling unwanted items and selling them! Most of the sheds exhibiting at the show had gone down the route of becoming a Charity/Charitable Incorporated Organisation as they felt it gave them more access to grants and donations from businesses.