Another great afternoon with the shed at the ten pin bowling,  another successful event organised by Gordon.  

Calendar and Events

Wednesday 7th Feb 2024  DMS had a most informative and interesting chat from Alan Veitch one of our Members about his hobby of modelling, Alan has Cars, Planes, Gliders and boats in his collection just a few of his models he brought to show our members. 

Wednesday 31st January, 7pm Dell Farquharson

Helen Law at Dunfermline Labour Party recently asked Dunfermline Men's Shed to send along a speaker to one of their meetings to talk about our Shed.

Because Helen Law had provided invaluable help and support in the earliest days of the Shed, when she was a Fife Councillor and a member of Dunfermline Carnegie Trust, Neil Lyndon wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to thank her publicly for her efforts so he attended the meeting as our representative.

Also present were members of Andy's Men's Club to speak about their activities in Dunfermline and a number of Labour Councillors.

Neil spoke for about 25 minutes and answered questions. He made potentially useful contact with the councillors and talked to several guys who might come and check out Dunfermline Men's Shed.

Neil also warmly invited Helen Law  to come and visit any time and see what progress we have made as a result of her support.

On Wednesday 20 September, some of our members installed a new bird table for the residents of the Cornerstone - Dundee, Perth, Fife and West Lothian unit in Dunfermline. Steve Callaghan, ably assisted by Finlay Prattis and with Ross Mackenzie on hand to record events undertook the work. We were pleased to hear they've already had a visit from a flock of starlings. 

On Wednesday 13 September, we had a second successful visit from Alice with another session on mindfulness and seated exercise.  Three further sessions have also been arranged (18 October, 15 November, 13 December).

On Wednesday 16 August, Alice Guerard, who does sessions of Yoga and Mindfulness in the Glen, came to talk to us about seated exercise and mindfulness.  About 20 members attended and participated in an excellent session - thank you, Alice.

Visit to Orkney Men's Shed in April 2023 - Neil Lyndon (addedAugust 2023)

My wife and I travelled to Orkney for the week before Easter, to cycle round the islands visiting

Neolithic sites and watching birds. When the sun shone, it was heaven on earth. On a wet Thursday,

however, when the clouds were so low that the birds couldn’t even see to take off, I rode the bus

from Kirkwall to visit the guys at Orkney Men’s Shed.

They are housed in a former herring fishing factory in the Hamnavoe area on the outskirts of

Stromness. This big prefabricated building on three floors is owned by Orkney Council and now

shared with two other charities. OMS pays the council a peppercorn rent of £1 per annum for what

looked to me like 4000-odd sq ft. They are not short of space.

When I arrived, one of the members was in the kitchen on the first floor dishing up bacon-and-egg

rolls and bowls of soup for about half a dozen guys who were sitting comfortably around a long table

in the meeting-room. I was offered lunch in return for some unspecified amount of money to be

chucked into a plastic tub. I pulled out the change in my pocket, which was something over £3.

Nobody was counting.

As it turned out, however, that petty cash for members’ lunches is OMS’s principal source of income.

The 40-odd guys who use the place every Tuesday and Thursday between 10.00-4.00 are keeping

their Shed financially afloat by paying for their lunches. The 200 supporters on the membership lists

don’t pay any subscription. The Shed organises sales of work at Open Days which might raise as

much as £1000 and they receive a steady stream of generous donations. They’ll do a job on

commission – like constructing a bespoke ticket-office for fairs and galas - and charge only for

materials, suggesting that an additional donation might be appropriate. They always receive more

than the amount they had in mind.

In an outer room of the main workshop, an area called “Shop” has second-hand tools and odds-and-

bobs for sale and, on another wall, some shelves of books which are available for loan or sale.

Neither of these ventures brings in much income but there is no way this Shed is short of cash.

Just as DMS benefited from the invaluable support of Cllr Helen Law, when she was determined to

see us housed in The Glen, so OMS was supported by an influential local woman who was galvanised

by the words of one of that Shed’s founding members. “You have to realise,” he told her “that when

a tradesman retires from work, he just goes home to sit in a chair and die.”

“Well, we need to offer something better than that,” she replied. Then she was true to her word in

backing the shed unfailingly.

Orkney Men’s Shed got started in 2015 and shifted around through a variety of temporary premises

until it wound up at the former herring factory late last year. They recently had a gala opening day

attended by more than 200 well-wishers who lobbed more than £800 in cash into the collection

buckets that were standing around.

“Everybody wants to help a Men’s Shed,” said one of the guys. “All the kit in the workshop has been

donated.” The local Beatsons supplied a load of great stuff when a customer failed to pay for an

order and the company was left with the kit on their hands. A widow gave them £1250 to buy a top-

quality bandsaw on the sole condition that it should bear her husband’s name.

The result is a workshop that is – as one guy said - “equipped with all the kit you would never buy for

yourself at home.”

On the third floor, they have big quiet rooms for model-making and hobbyists and a separate space

for electrical maintenance and repairs. One guy in the model-making room was applying the final

touches to a colossal model of Darth Vader’s flagship from Star Wars – complete with flashing lights

and stirring music - which his wife had told him to get out of the house. His next venture will be to

create a glass-fronted display case in which to give the starship pride of place in their living-room.

“Ninety per cent of the guys are retired,” said an old hand. “The rest are just tired.”

“All men’s sheds share the same story and have the same problems,” he went on. But there is a

palpable sense of unity at Orkney Men’s Shed which seems to be the result of a shared sense of

purpose among the members and the committee and an open and democratic process of decision-

making that is answerable and responsive to all the members. This is a stable, orderly and well-

organised group that is evidently at ease with itself. “We’re all close-knit friends here,” said one of

the leaders.

Visit to Rosyth Men's Shed on 22 July 2023 - Iain Elder

We got a lovely coffee and biscuits on arrival, I felt a bit like royalty. The Rosyth shed meet twice a week, Thursday and Saturday. Rosyth shed are involved in a lot of community projects such as the conversion of the Clydesdale bank to a community hub also owned by the RCPL and some decking work for the PTA of a school just up the road. The guys told us that they had visited the Steading and DMS and were made to feel really welcome, they are keen to revisit soon.

We chatted in general about the sheds and were amazed to hear that the RMS have another project on the go, at the North Queensferry Marina. They are currently converting two joined shipping containers with the central walls removed into a phenomenal workshop which will have a tea/ break room as you enter. They are also going to cut an entrance in the side of the container nearest the car park to make loading and unloading of materials and completed projects easier.