A Basic Need

Every man needs a workshop, or 'man cave' that he can lose himself in for a while.   I built a single-garage sized shed in my back yard where I go to 'play'.

But many retired men or working men in urban areas move into smaller dwellings like home units or retirement units and the space for their workshop is just not available.

It happened that at the time we had a bright young curate by the name of Daniel Berris at our Church.  He has now been ordained and has moved on to other challenges, but Daniel raised the possibility of starting a Men's Shed, and I was quick to volunteer to help with this, as a workshop is something close to my heart.

Build it and They Will Come.

Now I just thought that all we had to do was erect the shed and the men would come.   The men did come, but that was not the problem.

I was not prepared for the amount of Workplace Health and Safety considerations that had to be in place before we could even get council approval for the venture.

Also there was the problem of the $25,000 or so that we would need to build the shed.

Fortunately the Aspley-Albany Creek Anglican Church was extremely supportive allowing the shed to be put on their property so we formed a steering committee to manage the process.

I was president of that steering committee, and fortunately I was joined by a group of hard working and dedicated men : Eddie Mead, Ken Carter and Phil Russell.

We applied for, and were granted loans from the Brisbane City Council and were supported very well by local politicians, Norm Windham in particular was a generous and consistent supporter.

Ridley Road Community Mens Shed.

And so the Ridley Road Community Mens Shed was born.   You can check out the RRCMS Blog page if you need more information.

There is also some interesting reading on the subject at the Australian Men's Shed Association page.

My only regret is that as a full time worker, I do not actually get the opportunity to go to the shed now that it is operational.