The Spelthorne Shed in Staines marks a decade of community work
The shed is run by Michael Wallin, who took over from his father Fred."Men's Sheds had started in Australia and he'd seen an article about them and decided it would be something good to do in the community here," said Mr Wallin."The local council provided us with a shed in Fordbridge Park, it took us a year or two to get it fitted out and we opened our doors in 2015."
He said the projects being worked on by members are many and varied, with those with more skills and experience happy to teach others."Some are restoring old cars and motorbikes, some are restoring or making furniture," he said."A few people sell the items and we use the money to keep the shed going."We have a few members who don't do anything, they come down and use the facility as a community hub, we've got a tearoom with plenty of tea, coffee and biscuits and cakes, people use it as a place to come and take a break from life, a place where they can share common interests and have a bit of camaraderie."
Having marked the 10-year milestone, Mr Wallin is hoping the shed will become even busier."Our membership numbers are gradually increasing and we've gone from when we first started to opening a couple of afternoons a week."Now we're open most weekdays apart from Wednesdays. I'm hoping over the next few years we can get to the position where we're opening full time five days a week between 10 and four."
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