Our Latest and Greatest

Secretary John was homeward bound this Easter! While spending the bank holiday with family back in his childhood home, he also took the time to pop in and meet the boys at Garnock Valley Men's Shed: 

There aren't many scenarios where you can drive for 74 miles and still feel like you're at home, but that's exactly how I feel when I go back to visit my family in Kilbirnie. The old memories come flooding back, the nostalgia washes over me and, after a few too many rose-tinted anecdotes, my daughter's eyes roll right to the back of her head.

I can't help it. I have decades of history there and lots of stories to share. And while I won't risk losing you, the reader, as I waffle on about my many happy Summers spent going from the library to the old swimming pool, I will tell you a more recent tale: all about my trip to the Garnock Valley Men's Shed.

If you're looking for a Men's Shed success story,  then this is very much it. Founded in 2018, Garnock Valley Men's shed took a 25-year lease on a North Ayrshire Council building which was, at the time, described by founding member Henry Johnson as "semi-derelict". Since then they've gone from strength to strength, uniting under the singular vision of creating an open space for men to meet and connect. Both with each other, and the greater community around them.

Through hard graft and successful fund-raising they've been able to turn a husk of a building into somewhere clean, inviting and buzzing with activity. Always grateful for the incredible support they've had from North Ayrshire, in 2024 they were able to buy the building outright. Through the process of a Community Asset Transfer they were able to take full ownership, making the space truly their own in every sense.

While their success as a traditional shed is undeniable, the boys at Garnock Valley have also developed the shed in some fairly niche ways you might not expect from a typical Men's Shed. Mainly the inclusion of a music room and a modelling workshop, with the latter offering a quiet space where shedders can bust out the glue and paint without living in fear of any airborne sawdust!

The shed's pivot to modelling as a focus comes largely down to the involvement of a man known to his community as Fred Foot. Fred is quite famous on the modelling scene (although one shedder was quick to clarify that the more accurate word would be "infamous") and is known for his expressive scenes that don't just show the build- they also tell a story. This is a skillset he's always keen to share with his fellow shedders, helping to guide them onto telling stories of their very own.

"My journey with modelling started when my son bought me an HMS Victory Sail Ship model kit. I wasn't immediately enthusiastic about it from the beginning and, when pushed for the reason why, I explained to my wife that I would need specific tools to be able to put the kit together properly. She told me that it was a simple fix- I would just need to get these tools and get started. 

When the sail ship was finished, my wife caught me soon after, looking at my handiwork with a face like I was sucking a lemon. When she asked me what was wrong now, I told her that now I had a different problem. I had all these tools but nothing to make with them. Once again she gave me the obvious answer: I would just need to buy another model kit.

Now here I am, years later. Helping the boys in the shed make their models be the best they can be."

Fred also does incredible work with the veterans' charity 'Models for Heroes'. I urge you to check them out

One of the shedder's happy to have been guided by Fred's expertise is fellow secretary Steve Curtis who shared the story of how he found his way to Garnock Valley Men's Shed:

"As I was approaching my retirement, a conversation with my niece steered me towards something of a revelation. She pointed out that all of my hobbies were solitary pursuits and she was absolutely right: Wildlife photography, painting, woodturning and fishing were all things I enjoyed exclusively while in my own company. She told me "You're going to be very lonely when you retire".

It was a fair comment and one that steered me right towards the shed where I became their secretary soon after. I myself have a passion for building models and when Fred entered one of my creations into a competition based in Philadelphia, it was a massive confidence-booster. Even more so when word came back that it had won a gold medal! The scene I depicted was a WW1 Tadpole Tank attacking a German trench which I'm very proud of."

The model club at Garnock Valley Men's Shed attend various events all over the country and, for those of us in the East Coast, you'll be able to catch up with them at Scale Scotland later this year in Murrayfield.

I really enjoyed my short time with Steve, Fred and the rest of the boys at the Garnock Valley Men's Shed. They made me feel very welcome and I made sure to let them know that, should they ever find themselves in the East Coast, the door is always open here at Dalkeith Men's Shed.

But until then?

I'll see them next time I go back home, to Kilbirnie.