MenzShed 13 December

Sheddies -

Two announcements:

1- Please invite your favourite people to our "Seasonal Sausage Sizzle" thisThursday morning. The Shed will be open the usual time at 10am, the festivities should start at about 11ish till about 1pm.

HOWEVER!!!! if some hands could be available on Wednesday in the morning starting at about 10:30 to make the shed a bit more presentable, that would help.

2- Speaking of "hands", we have the following request:

Habitat for Humanity is currently sprucing up a property at 41 Hankey Street, Te Aro (off Hopper Street which goes south from Webb Street). We are in need of some guys to help us tomorrow (Tuesday)to level out a section as a volunteer team had to pull out. The job will involve shovels and rakes as we prepare a lawn for grass. I realise this is short notice, but if any of your fellows are free and willing to lend a hand, please could they call the Project Manager Murray McGaughran ( ph 027 244 9422) about the details. People will be on site from about 8.30, but any time that the guys might give would be appreciated.

MenzShed Drum Roll newsletter 8 December 2010

Sheddies:

Shed open hours: Wed. 10am – 12:30pm General work activities
Wed. 1pm – 3ish Grumpy Old Men
Thu. 1oam – 1pm Projects and General work activities

Save the date: December 16th, we will be having a pre-Christmas gathering and Bar-B-Q, so bring spouses, friends and some food would be welcome too. This is an open invitation to all the MenzSheds in the area, so please make it known to one and all. Robbin has agreed to give a short talk about his Lake Taupo experience.
New News:

News Items: (Some less worthy than others).

Good morning at the shed last Thursday - 8 men there.

Garry Prockter pressed on with the new shelving for tool storage, using the handy versatile ladder recovered from the back room - we wonder what other useful articles we have stashed away in the corners of the shed.

Henry Hodge has had his quote accepted for the project of installing 2 sets of shelving in the offices of the Inner City Project on Riddiford Street, Newtown - so that is all on the go.

Don Matheson was in working on his Roadrunner windmills, shaping up the metal propellers.

Good to see Desmond return with his mate Jonathon.

Alan Royal poked his head round the door. He has continued updating the Wellington MenzShed website with copies of the newsletter, and has also updated it with interesting stuff from Australian MenSheds - take a look at it.

John Gibbon was busy showing off the upstairs premises to prospective tenants

Jim Yates recently visited the Omnibus Society at their premises in the bus depot on Darwin Street in Karori. They have 20 old buses stored there in various states of restoration - the oldest bus was produced in 1929, and there are a few buses there in the old Welllington Transport livery of red. He got shown around by Morris Moller, who had stories for every last one of the buses and a wealth of mechanical knowledge. If any sheddies are interested Morris invited us to go visit one Tuesday night in the new year. And they still welcome volunteer workers - no special skills required, just interest, elbow grease and common sense

Jim Baltaxe, our Health and Safety man is away on the mainland and will be returning on December 12.

The National Menz Shed Aotearoa Steering Committee has recently been in touch with a survey of all Mens Sheds in the country - they reckon there's about 35 in all. Take a look at their website: http://www.menzshedaotearoa.org.nz/index.htm

As Porky Pig would say, “Th..Th..Tha.. That’s all F..F..Fo..Folks”

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MenzShed Drum Roll newsletter 1 December 2010

Sheddies:

We are trying something new with today’s newsletter. Any corrective comments and suggestions are most welcome, so feel free to speak you mind.

For the moment, send your remarks to nkabak@msn.com  Until we acquire another email address.

News Items: (Some less worthy than others)

Still Urgent:  We need to find a tenant for the space upstairs. Vincent, Our former tenant helped to pay our rent and we are desperate To find a replacement tenant.  If you have any suggestions, please contact any of the Shed committee.

New News: We have a world class cyclist Sheddie.  Robbin, our resident Thomas Alva Edison, has completed eight (8) laps around Lake Taupo and has been invited to participate in the “Race Across America”.  Congratulations Robbin. Now we have to see how we can sponsor a ticket to get him there. Any ideas??????

Save the date:  December 16th, we will be having a pre-Christmas gathering and Bar-B-Q, so bring spouses, friends, and some food would be welcome too.  This is an open invitation to all the MenzSheds in the area, so please make it known to one and all.  Robbin has agreed to give a short talk about his Lake Taupo experience.

When you come to the shed, you will see that a tremendous effort has been made by a number of our Sheddies to have a more presentable and useful work area.  A special “tip of the hat” to Garry Procktor for his efforts along with Terry Street, Jim Yates and Jim Baltax for planning, preparing and then assembling the shelving along the wall in the work area.  It goes a long way to making us look like we know what we are doing, not to mention the safety factor of putting things in the proper place. When finished we can sort out all the tools in the shed and make them more accessible for use.

Henry Hodge and Don Matheson have measured up 2 shelving jobs for the Inner City Project, Riddiford House, Newtown

Henry was the lucky man to get part time employment with Photo Higher, assisting in assembly work for precision camera gimbals and unmanned aircraft systems.  No doubt with his eye in the sky experience, Henry will end up working with NASA.

We are still looking for somebody with upholstery skills to reconstruct 8 seating pads for the Inner City Project.  Contact Jim Yates (564 5834) for details

Jim Baltaxe has a neat idea for for easily accessible fire alarm systems which could be an assembly job for John Neilson

Norman Kabak has been checking out a request for a carved wooden house sign which came in last week.  "Colgate Pete" might help on this job - can anyone tell Jim Yates where he can get in touch with him

Henry brought in two more assembled rocking horses and Doug Walklin has got them undercoated, ready for a colourfull top job.

It was good to see Bill Flanagan back on his feet again.  He called in on Thursday morning and is taking things a bit easier now

Nigel Clough paid us a visit on Wednesday and after a good natter went away with some Meltica boards on "permanent loan" for the Kapiti Shed

Grumpy Old Men session last Wednesday continued with John Shrapnell, among others attending..Today, Dec. 1st had both a morning chat session and just a bit of a continued clean up and this afternoons Grumpy Old Men gab fest had a surprise visitor, Robbin, who popped in, and told us of his experience while doing the Lake Taupo race.

Peter Randall of the Omnibus Society, based at the Karori Bus Depot, visited on Thursday to look for volunteers needed to restore and maintain some of the  40+ buses and coaches they have at the Depot.  The small society has expertise in metalwork but would appreciate anyone who could help with woodwork - skill levels, he says, are not crucial.  The society meets every Tuesday night, at 7.30 pm.  If anyone is interested get in touch at obnz@paradise.net.nz or phone 970 1405.

As Porky Pig would say, “Th..Th..Tha.. That’s all F..F..Fo..Folks”

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Australasian Mens Shed video clips

A list of videos on the web showing activities of a number of Sheds

• The Carina Shed in Brisbane - a “do-it-yourself paradise for blokes of all ages,” 3mins 11secs Carina..
• The Melbourne Storm - supporting Men’s Sheds in Men’s Health Week 2010, 6mins 07secs Health..
• The Forest Community Men’s Shed begins, 6 minutes Every man needs a shed.
• The Taieri ‘Bloke’s Shed’  - starts in NZ, 2mins 3secs Taieri.
• Kalamunda Men’s Sheds - click on links Several clips Short clips.
  
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Men's Shed - Barry Golding, Associate Professor Barry Golding University of Ballarat

This is a chance to go to the replay of an ACENet  FlashMeeting or view the recorded notes of the same meeting held on 4 November 2010.

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A place for blokes to be blokes

Grab this Dominion Post article about Wellington MenzShed guys. Just ignore the photo!

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MenzShed 22 October

Tom Says Make More Use of the Shed

Tom White the Wesley Community Worker who is one of our founding members wants to see the more use made of the Shed.

A couple of points sheddies:

The shed is used for at most, one to one and a half days per week! Feel free to find ways to utilise the other 5 and a half days (before we even begin to think about evening use).We have upstairs office/accommodation space still to utilise also.

Setting up this shed took three years and the combined efforts of half a dozen people. I would really love to see any sheddies with spare time, energy and oomphhh for our lovely Shed to step up and offer to be more deeply involved in the operation of our current shed to make it even more successful. For example we are still in need of a ‘shed coordinator’ to manage the daily use of the shed”. All the best, Tom

Longer Opening Hours!

We’re always willing to help out a nice lad like Tom so next Wednesday, 27 October we’ll try opening up the Shed from 10.30 to 1 for workshop activities . Then, as usual, from 1-3 Norman’s Grumpy Old Men group will take over the place to talk about a variety of erudite matters such as Why do Albatross’ Wings Ache to Why is There Such Zeal for the Zioty.

Fire Engine Makes it’s First Call

The fire engine that’s been part of the shed for some months now has left the Shed for its new home at the Johnsonville Kindergarten. The kids were absolutely thrilled so see the Fire Engine, although they didn’t know it was brand new engine specially built by the MenzShed. There was an immediate competition toset a new record for the number of preschoolers that you can fit on a Fire Engine. The local newspaper turned up to cover the event and I understand the paper has already been published in the Johnsonville area. I was planing to give you a spread of pix in this newsletter but my computer had a melt down and they were lost.

Health and Wellbeing Expo

Garry Procter and myself spent a day in the Wellington Town Hall manning the MenzShed stand. Thank you Garry for your company and enthusiasm. Thank you to Nigel, Doug, Bill and Tom who also popped into give us moral support. It was disappointing that there were so few visitors to the free Expo were. I know that Helen Young worked tirelessly to make a show a success but despite substantial advertising, we spent most of the time talking to ourselves.

Help for Vincent

Please keep your ears open for some part time workthat might suit Vincent, our Artist in Residence. The current recession means that people are cutting backon buying artwork and that affects Vincent.

People News

If you know that someone is leaving the Shed for good or moving away or joining please let me know, so that we an let all the sheddies know. I’m bringing a potential new member tomorrow. He Chinese and speaks little English, so speak to him slowly. Hisname is Jin Hua. See you there. John- shrapnell@clear.net.

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MenzShed 30 September

Just 3 Days to Expo!

Yes, this Friday the Health and Wellbeing Expo opens in the Wellington Town Hall at 10 am till 3pm. And yes, I’m beginning to panic! We have a trestle table, a power point and I’m hoping a few leaflets. In terms of people, there’ll be Garry Prockter, Jim Yates and me. We’ve been offered moral support from a couple of others, but it’s not the state of our morals that I’m worried about. What concerns me is how can we project a good image of the MenzShed and what it does for men, and for the community? If you’ve been to an Expo before you’ll know there’ll be lots of stands with great displays and eager people trying to sell their way of life to the visitors to the Expo. I’m not certain that Garry, Jim and me handing out a few leaflets will convince people that the MenzShed has something to offer. If we had the room we could set up Norman, Robin and Garry as a Grumpy Old Mens’ group and invite passers by to join in. It would be great to have the Fire Engine there as an example of our work for the community, but there’s not the space, and the logistics involved in getting the engine from the shed to the Town Hall and back again are too great. What we need is YOU and some small part of your project working at our table - putting something to-gether, taking it apart, repairing it. Anything moving that will attract peoples’ attention so that we can tell them what a great job we’re doing. This is your shed. How can you help make our Expo stand a great success of which you’ll be proud.

There’s Nothing Like a Good Insult

These days the English language seems to have been reduced to short words of litte more than four letters. As one writer put it, “Some people never use words that might send a reader in search of a dictionary.” So I was pleasantly amused when an old RAF friend passed on a couple of good insults he’d come across in his reading. As you might expect both involved politicians, but from an era when the use of one’s intellect was an essential political attribute.

From a a certain Winston Churchill to Lady Astor.

Lady Astor “If you were my husband I’d give you poison.”

Churchill “If you were my wife, I’d drink it.”

The other from the British House of Commons.

A member of Parliament to Disraeli:

“Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.”

“That depends, Sir,” said Disraeli, “whether I em-brace your policies, or your mistress.”

Now if only there was an occasion on which I could use one of those.

Tomorrow Wednesday Grumpy Old Men 1-3

Thursday Workshop 10-1. Its the lastThursday of the month so I thnk that means a barbecue.

Thursday 2-4ish Mens’ Social Group

Don’t forget the Expo - Please let me know how you can help. John shrapnell@clear.net.nz

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Urgent message from the Shed Friday 24 September

Help Needed

Health & Wellbeing Expo for Seniors

10.00am - 3.00pm, Friday, 1 October, Wellington Town Hall.

Come to this FREE expo and:

Discover a proactive approach to ageing...Come to Wellington City Council’s Health & Wellbeing Expo for Seniors, where you will find everything you need to know to enjoy a great life as a senior in Wellington.

Information available about travel, computer training, keeping fit, Tai Chi and genealogy. You can talk to people about services you may be entitled to and go shopping too - there’ll be a great range of gadgets, clothes and other interesting things on offer. Providers of care services and home support will be along too.

Wellington MenzShed has a stand at this Health and Wellbeing Expo next Friday, 1 October.

There will be many professional stands there from organisations like Grey power, Age Concern,

and others with interests in this area. We are a small player, but we are doing our part to

help men in our community.

We have a great opportunity to demonstrate and talk about what we are doing. We could

gain new members, new men with skills, and possibly funding to ensure we can keep going.

At the moment we have just a table, a power point, and one person to hand out leaflets.

We will attract people’s interest if we have something happening on our stand that shows the

sort of things we do. Then they’ll stop, watch, and we can talk to them.

We urgently need some sheddies to bring along anything small they are working on, and

spend perhaps an hour working at our stand. It could be screwing together some parts,

designing a better letterbox, gluing another part on your project, sharpening a tool, making

a Christmas present for your grandchild. Keep it simple to that you can easily carry in your

items, and any tools you need.

Please me to let me know what you will do, and what times you will be there.

John Shrapnell 473-7128, mobile 021-403-003, shrapnell@clear.net.nz.

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MenzShed 21 September

Tom Says Make More Use of the Shed

Tom White, the Wesley Community Worker who is one of our founding members wants to see the more use made of the Shed.The shed is used for at most, one to one and a half days a week! Feel free to find ways to utilise the other 5 and a half days (before we even begin to think about evening use). We have upstairs office/accommodation space still to utilise also. Tom says setting up this shed took three years and the combined efforts of half a dozen people. He would really love to see any sheddies with spare time, energy and oomphhh for our lovely Shed to step up and offer to be more deeply involved in the operation of our current shed to make it even more successful. For example we are still in need of a ‘shed coordinator’ to manage the daily use of the shed. All the best, Tom.

New Fire Engine for J’Ville Kindergarten

The children at the Johnsonville Kindergarten will get the surprise of their life on Tuesday (12 October) when a brand new fire engine will be delivered to their kindergarten in Kipling Road, Johnsonville at 11am. A couple of months ago the kindergarten asked the Wellington MenzShed if it could repair the childrens’ old fire engine. It was a favourite plaything but it wasfalling apart and when the MenzShed team look at it they decided it was beyond repair. Not to be defeated, the team from the Wellington MenzShed measured the dilapidated old vehicle and used it as a model to build a brand new fire engine. It is now painted in bright red and decorated with NZ Fire Service decals. It will hold several kindergarten children and can be pushed and steered around theplayground area. The material for the new fire engine was kindly provided by Mitre Mega 10 at Petone. The “sheddies” who worked on the project Terry Streeter, Andrew Stephen and Wayne DeLaCroix. They will be at the presentation of the new fire engine together with a real fireman in full dress for the occasion.

Silverbeet for the Sisters

The garden out the back might look a little thinner this week. The first harvest of leaves was to go to the Sisters of Compassion for their meals.

Anyone for the Expo?

So far Garry Proctor is the only sheddie to offer to do something for the Health and Wellbeing Expo on Friday 1 October. We need more.

shrapnell@clear.net.nz

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MenzShed 14 September

MP Visited

Last week Workshop session was treated to a free lunch by National MP Paul Quinn. Mr Quinn spent half an hour chatting with sheddies before talkingabout how pleased he was to see the Shed helping men each their full potential. It was suggested to him that he could help by finding the Wellington MenzShed a new home. Perhaps one of those many buildings left empty by the IRD moving into new deluxe premises. He said he’s bear that in mind, but don’t hold your breath. The free lunch was enjoyed by all who were around when the MP arrived.

Fire Engine Red

It looks as though work on the FireEngine is reaching the final stages. Last week the white undercoat was applied and I presume the next step will be the traditional red coat of paint. I have no doubt that children will be amazed when they see their refurbished fire engine.

Grumpies tomorrow

Norman Kabak has just skyped me to ask that I remind the other Grumpy men in our midst that there will be the usual mix of grumpiness about the world and intellectual discussion of other the erudite matters tomorrow (Wednesday) from 1-3 in the Shed.

What happened to the Rogues?

Two weeks ago I put up about a dozen of more photos I’d taken of sheddies and their names. The purpose was to help us to get to know each other better and be able to use names rather than just Oi you!. Has it just been mislaid or did someone not like the idea? I need to know how people feel about innovations or other matters like this so that the Shed can be run in a way that makes all feel comfortable.

Our Stand at the Town Hall

There’s been no response about our stand at the Health Wealth and Wellbeing Expo at the Town Hall on Friday 1 October. Dough Walklin and myself have volunteered to be there all day but so far all we’ve got to show as the MenzShed Wellington is a couple of posters. That won’t sell the concept to anyone. If you’ve been to one of this type of expo recently they are usually full of stands with people standing beside a couple of posters. The visitors just nod and walk on. What stops them in their tracks is something happening on the stand. Then the visitor will stop, watch and maybe even ask the odd question about the organisation. What have we got that fits that bill? Are there sufficient tools that need sharpening that we could run a grind stone? Is anyone into carving and could carve at the stand? I’d even take Norman rendering a few American folk songs - no, second thoughts lets scrap that idea - we want to the to stop not run away.

The Weedmat Solution

The Sisters problem of micturating yokels has been fixed. I tried to buy some black polythene sheeting to fix inside the door to stop micturate from penetrating the door of their food store. But I could only buy huge expensive rolls. I finally found a suitable product thatappealed to my sense of humour. I used Weedmat!

shrapnell@clear.net.nz

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MenzShed Thursday 9 September NEWSFLASH

Breaking News from the Shed
Tuesday 7 September
W E L L I N G T O N
Invitation Clash Resolved - Sheddies to Get Morning Tea and Lunch

Great news! Because of some political realities, MP Paul Quin can’t make it to the Wellington Shed until lunch time on Thursday. This means we can comfortably go to Morning Tea with the Sisters at 10am and then be back by lunch time to meet our other visitors, MP Paul Quinn, and ACE director Dr Jo Lake. And Paul Quinn is bringing lunch for us. Now you can’t miss out on all that, two treats in one day. See you Thursday.

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MenzShed Thursday 9 September

On this Thursday morning (9 Sept) we’ve been invited to morning tea at 10 am with the Sisters of Compassion at the Soup kitchen next door. Bit tricky because we ourselves are expecting visitors that morning.

We’ve been asked to make sure the Shed looks clean tidy and busy on Thursday. Steve Jardine was hoping to get Stephen Joyce, the Cabinet Minister to visit but theMinister is sending MP Paul Quininstead.

Our other VIP visitor that day is Dr Jo Lake, the Director of Adult and Community Education. There might be some news media people present. Steven says this might make a bit of a splash for the MenzShed as the Listener is due to publish a story too.

Read more about this in the 9 September newsletter.

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MenzShed 30 August

There we were, at least a dozen blokes, and being quietly led like lambs to the slaughter by this attractive young woman, Ruth Collingham. An hour later, and nearly everyone present had fallen for her blandishments and had volunteered to be a this, or a that, or a something to help run the MenzShed. Since none of us had any intention of volunteering when the session began, this was a wonderful achievement, and Ruth deserves praise for that. Read more about this in the 30 August newsletter.

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MenzShed 19 August

Good Morning Sheddies

Yes, it's someone else with your weekly newsletter. Nigel Clough is busy setting up the Kapiti MenzShed and is working on his local weekly newsletter. John Shrapnell has stepped in (Nigel and John were broadcasting colleagues in a former lifetime).

So what's new ? Well, everyone can see that the fire engine is taking shape now. Before too long the project could be ready for delivery and we'll make a lot of children very happy. Andrew picked up Fire Service decals last week and Mitre 10 Mega have offered something similar of their's to display as the material sponsor.

Have you noticed the progress Garry 's making with his rocking horse. A great piece of work from Gary who works quietly but steadily on his project. It's just the machines that are noisy.

John has finished assembling his tap aids for arthritis sufferers last week so they are ready for final sanding and varnishing

Meanwhile Jim is getting the workshop organisation into shape.

Emergency Callout

Robin answered a desperate call from the Sisters of Compassion to help out a Refugee family with a faulty washing machine. They also had a sick baby. This happened just as we were closing up shop last week. Don't know the outcome, but simply stepping up like he did and going off immediately with Sister Phillipa means Robin deserves the Medal of Compassion.

Nigel says he has no doubt there are lots of other positive things to mention, but last week he focused upon talking with people and drinking tea. Nigel also says the Refugees have been reminded to remove the carpet tiles if they want them, or we will make uses of the tiles.

Today (Wednesday) Gary will be opening up at 1pm for a session with out Grumpy Old Men.Tomorrow (Thursday) the usual session but we will have one or two visitors popping in. Jane from Upper Hutt's Job Seekers will being taking look with a couple from her group, and a young Vietnamese student volunteer may come with Helen Young.

John been assembling our various databases and looking for gaps in our information. Shortly he will start sending people a personal email to each of you showing you the contact details we have listed so that we can fill in any vital gaps.

Meanwhile remember one of the greatest pleasures in life is doing what others say you cannot do.

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MenzShed 12 August

Life is back to normal again this Thursday with our usual workshop activities under way again.

The Naenae Community Fair is over so the focus is back to our own things again.

Bags of Kindling sold well as was expected. Same with the various Bird Feeders so our stock is low in those areas again. Lots of interest in the cradles but nobody came up with the dosh.

The Fire Service has some Decals for us to use on the famous fire engine so that project team is definitely back into full swing.

Jim has been working on all sorts of safety and workshop layout issues in the Shed. Please count your fingers going both in and out of the shed.

W'ere hoping that Refugee Services have taken away the carpet tiles. It will make some extra room. Refugee Services is also looking for a volunteer to cut some carpet to fit an apartment. They have carpet available and a refugee with asthsma and bare floors in the supplied apartment. The carpet just needs cutting to fit. A proper laying with edging is not permitted. There is even the suggestion that the carpet tiles might be better. ANY VOLUNTEERS??? Let us know and we will put you in touch with the right people.

We still haven't had any luck with that soup machine. Anybody have contacts in the serious soup making market?

SO ON WITH THE NOISE MAKING TOMORROW

PS We don't know about everyone else but we think we will be into serious tea drinking and talking this week.

See you all there

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MenzShed 5 August

Hello all Sheddies

Another week has almost passed and

IT'S MENZSHED THURSDAY AGAIN ON 5 AUGUST.

Last weeks social occasion with guests from Refugee Services, Porirua Wessley Elder Care and the like went extremely well. The pies and cream butterfly cakes we had were all baked and donated to the occasion by John. They were just MAGIC!!! Garry's efforts on BBQ sausages also went down a treat.

No 6 HAINING ST MENZSHED WORKSHOP SESSION STARTS FROM 10AM

Its back to the tea, coffee, biscuits, the fire engine project, firewood, tap turning aids, cradles, rocking horses and all sorts of activities. Don't forget we are finishing off some items for selling at Naenae MenzShed's Community Fair stand this Saturday 7 August. If you get a chance take a look at the fantastic job Henry has made of some dolls cradles. Any grand daughter would treasure one of these. Last week Garry was well into a rocking horse too, and Doug has generated at least 10 bags of kindling for sale at the fair. John had the first of his tap aid for artritis sufferers completed. Nigel is working on a couple of honey water feeders for birds too but keeps getting distracted. There might be a bit of midnight oil burnt at his place to get the promised items done.

In case any of you are interested he is currently feeding about 40 wax eyes, 1 black bird and 4 Tuis with his honey, fat/peanut butter pinecones and cut apple feeders. Nigel notes it just makes his day each morning to step outside to find them waiting to see what's for breakfast. They will come out of winter in fantastic condition to go into breeding season.

This weeks session will have an added purpose

MEMBERS INPUT TIME FROM 11AM THIS THURSDAY 5 AUGUST

The Haining Street MenzShed has been in operation now for more than a year. So it's time for us to do a bit of navel gazing to see what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong and what might be something different to try. By making this effort we can make sure that the Shed does what the members want and not some committee's idea of a MenzShed's purpose.

MENZSHED BELONGS TO US, THE MEMBERS

This Thursday at 11am we have enlisted the services of an outside specialist, Ruth Collingham, to help us review the past year and get feedback on moving the place forward. Input from members is crucial, so please come along and help with programme ideas that will make the place a success, in moving into the next year of operation. We need some members to put up their hand, to volunteer help keep the place interesting and working for its men members.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL THERE.

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MenzShed 29 August

MENZSHED SOCIAL TIME AND BBQ DAY AGAIN

Hi Sheddies

Where did that month go again. Last Thursday of the month again and our Haining Street Shed is geared up for a good get together to talk, eat, drink and meet guests who may or may not have been invited. Its often too noisy to have a conversation but these special Thursdays are a good chance to talk about interesting things and ideas.

Members are asked to help get the place cleaned up and ready starting from about 10.00am ready for the invited guests to arrive about 11.00am

There will be BBQ bangers, eggs, bread, tomato sauce, etc PLUS Scones PLUS a taste of freshly Smoked Fish.

Yes we have had a small fish smoker donated and one ot two people fancy they know what they are doing. We're good at the eating part.

ANY SPECIAL TREAT CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME

Lets get together for a good catch-up with each other and come up with ideas for things to do in the future.

We look forward to seeing you there between 10.00am and maybe 1.30pm

PS. Looking ahead. There is to be an Annual Members Meeting Thursday 5 August to get some plans and people into place for the coming year. A real opportunty for others to contribute in either a small or larger way whatever suits.

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MenzShed Thursday 15 July

More progress on the Firengine. Starting to look like the real thing now. It could have wheels back on it soon. We need to get our wood turners organised and the lathe going to produce some dummy emergency vehicle lights to make it look realistic.

Any takers for the lathe work???

THE BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK IS THAT HENRY'S RESTORED MAHOGANY COFFEE SOLD THROUGH TRADE ME FOR $250. A great contribution to our funds to help set up other projects.

Dougs kindling project is going very well with I think a stock now of about 7 bags ready for sale. There have already been quite a few sales to add to the coffers.

Malcolm was onto some bookshelves for a nice young lady client.

Garry's Mahjong case was complete and I will catch up on whether the lady has picked it up.

If anyone is interested we have 3 meltica computer office workstations that might normally be used in an open plan type office with low partitions. Any interest please speak up. They were donated to use to sell for raising funds. Excellent quality units. Quite heavy. Two are corner units with adjustable keyboard height and a long wing table on one side. Make it known if you are interested or know someone who might be.

SOUP EMULSIFIER FOR SALE!!! Very much an industrial grade and sized unit this. We intend to try Ruth Pretty Caterers and cooking school at Te Horo for interest but any other ideas please let us know. If we can find the right buyer this should be worth good money. Otherwise the component parts like the 1.3 HP motor will be very useful to drive one of our machines and the motor raising winch will make a good general purpose winch if we can find space to store it.

NAENAE COMMUNITY FAIR We have been invited to participate in the Naenae MenzSheds stand at the Naenae Community Fair on Saturday 7 August from 10am to 2pm. Seems like a good opportunity to socialise with fellow sheddies, sell a few of our fine products and make the general community aware of what MenzShed is all about. I could see us having kindling, bird feeders, potato peeler aids and anything else we might like to sell or show off. What do you think?

Norman will be away tomorrow. Maybe he is getting over his big Grumpy Old Man session today but we will be there from about 10.00 am tomorrow along with everyone else. Hope to see you there.

Cheers to everyone

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MenzShed 1 July

G'day all Sheddies

Last Thursday was a great day at the Shed in Haining Street. The topsoil mixture was delivered by the Council staff, and the gardens at the side and rear of the build were filled to the brim. A fantastic effort on the day with minimal equipment to make life simple. Some of Tom's Thursday afternoon group also planted out both patches with silverbeat that the Council people also kindly bought along with them.

The food and conversation was fantastic and our special guests gained a good idea of what a great place we have PLUS they can see it is doing a fantastic service to us men. Henry on BBQ and Malcolm on Scones made the place sing to the smell of food. Then there was the cakes and things bought in from home specially made by John and others. The impression these visitors gain from these guest invites can make an enornmous difference in the future as we go looking for funds to pay the bills. Which leads on to news that the DHB have just advised they have approved a small financial grant to help toward our ongoing costs. Gillian Burns from Habitat for Humanity (another guest) has offered to do a presentation to us sometime to outline what they do and discuss how we might work together. Any interest please let me know.

John Spittal and Archie Kerr from other MenzSheds enjoyed their visit and felt they could learn from how we were going. They thought we had organisation. I apologised for the misrepresentation of the true chaos that mostly exists.

SHED NEWS

Stuart has delivered us a large TV ready to run DVDs or videos or whatever might be necessary. This will have more bearing upon Tom's mens group sessions he runs alternate thursday afternoons. This will need mounting on a shelf high on the end wall of the main room along with the equipment cabinet we already have waiting to be set up. Steve has another TV that has been waiting to be picked up from his office in Newtown. That will happen this Thursday.

The DHB have given us some office workstations for either use or disposal. They are large meltica corner and straight wall units. We will be looking for 3 or 4 able bodied men to make a quick trip with a trailer to get these plus the tv from Newtown.

Doug produced 4 bags of kindling wood last week and 3 of those were grabbed by the members for the bargain price $5/bag. He is working away on this at home in his spare time. Help with a hatchet to split the palet wood out the back would be helpful if anyone is willing.

Garry has completed the Mahjong case he was building for a Mrs Won, a customer who came in to see if we could make something for her. Looks a treat. Just needs lots of wax to make it a million dollar game set.

Malcolm has been in touch with our 2 other young ladies looking for help with book cases and bike shelters. They are now all in hand and if anyone is looking for a project I am sure he could do with some help with the bike shelter.

Bill Flanagan has all his bits ready for the sawhorses. Looks like a real professional job to me and I for one would like to learn from his experience on this important job.

John has the Charitable Trust registration well in hand and hopefully good news any time now.

AND NOW THE NEW WORKSHOP DAY

Thursday is back to the usual workshop activities.

1. More fire engine project progress and lots of other things.
2. Last week we got to talking about anything special that could be useful and it is obvious that Murray, John would benefit from adapting the small tables at the end so that they are able to sit and quietly get on with their projects. It will just need some blocks or wheels under the table legs to raise them slightly. We might manage to do something this week.
3. Bills' sawhorses are a valuable item for many projects and maybe others might help and learn on this project.
4. Lets get a start on mounting the TV and sound system.
5. More palets are due to arrive so its demolition time plus kindling splitting too.
6. Norman has a bunch on computer towers for upgrading.
7. The work stations from the DHB are to be picked up
8. The TV from Newtown ot be picked up.

We would think thats enough to go on with for now.

See you all tomorrow.

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MenzShed 27 June

Yes its the last Thursday of the month again and time to have a brief shed tidy up, light up the Bar-B-Que, sizzle some bangers, bake scones, boil the jug and generally have a good day of talking amongst outselves along with a few invited guests expected to arrive about 11.30 ish.

Among this Thurday's guests we can expect a group of people from Hutt Valley Health who have provided us with some of our funding, a lady from Habitat for Humanity who are interested is seeing what we might do for them, a fellow sheddie from Naenae MenzShed and possibly the Northern Suburbs MenzShed bloke as well.  They are presently without a shed to do things.

Could be some interesting things to hear about and share our place with others.  Naenae are preparing to build their own purpose built shed.

As a side issue the topsoil for the gardens at the rear and side of the Shed is being delivered too.  So there will be an initial hive of activity to shovel it into the raised garden boxes.  Anyone locally with a wheelbarrow and shovel is asked to please bring it for a little walk to Haining Street.

We look forward to seeing you all at Haining Street starting from 10 am.  Since we now have a small oven that works, Nigel will bring the scone mix.

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MenzShed 17 June

Another good day last Thursday.

John getting stuck into his peeler handles. Looking good they are too.

The computer crew were making great headway on their present recycling challenge too.

The fire engine took several more steps forward. What a difference it makes when the materials are all there.

Henry checked out our 2 small benchtop ovens to see if they are ok. One is a bit short of heat at the bottom but I am sure we will get good use out of that anyway. The other one with an element on top is working fine. We might even try a small natch of scones to prove their worth this week. Just watch this space.

A member we haven't seen for a while, Bill Flanagan came in specially to help make up some saw horses that we need. With his help we have now the materials ready to put them together. He has the designs. We have the tdechnology and the materials. So this week could see us set up with those as well.

There was another delivery of pallets from Bunnings and breaking them down for firewood began with a vengence out the back. What a hive of activity. All that noise from the wee chainsaw created some great slamming of windows on the apartments overlooking our yard. Woops, we will have to get that silencer fixed. Dougs electric one was a lot more suited to the confined space. This still needs a big effort to catch up with supply and get the sales under way.

We were going to do some extra on the pile of pallets this Tuesday but with the cold wind and rain that didn't happen.

ITS ALL ON FOR THE FIREWOOD TOMORROW IN FACT THIS THURSDAY WILL BE MORE OF WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK.

So people know the fate of our magnificent mahogany table that was so beautifully restored. It is currently for sale on Trade Me with a reserve of $200. If you know anyone who might collect such items then point them in the right direction. It comes up as a Coffee Table in Kapiti (where our TradeMe member lives).

You might also like to know that Refugee Survices now have a fully operating Electronic Whiteboard with printer. Following a request for help Norman paid a visit to their office to have a look to see if it might be something for us to take on and while there managed a complete repair on the spot. How satisfying is that now.

LETS SEE IF WE CAN COMPLETE A FEW THINGS THIS WEEK BECAUSE NEXT WEEK IS THAT LAST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH AND SO ITS BBQ SAUSAGES AND SCONE TIME AGAIN!!!

WE WILL BE INVITING SOME GUESTS WHO WANT TO MEET UP WITH US.

See you all at the Shed in Haining Street.

Addenda

Following a quietish day today we were just sitting down thinking where to from here. A couple of important issues came quickly to mind.

1. Doug, Henry, Stuart, Don and everyone who could lend a hand did a fantastic job attacking the pallet firewood stack today. When I saw the effort involved and the physical stress being put on the people, it crossed my mind as to "is this what we should be asking of our members"? My immediate thought is if we have to put in this much effort every week then firewood will have to dominate every Thursday and I wouldn't want to see that. What are the thoughts of others????

2. Next week is the last Thursday of the month and so it will be BBQ and socialising day. There are a number of people who I think we could invite to come along and find out what MenzShed Wellington is about.

Firstly there are our associates from other MenzSheds in the area. In particular there is the currently inactive Newlands Shed known as the Northern Suburbs MenzShed. Doug and I met John Spittal at the conference. We had discussed the possibility of their members making use of our facilities while they find a new venue. Any disagreement to that invite?

The second is MenzShed NaeNae. Our contact there is Archie Kerr who was also at the Masterton Conference. They are facing venue issues to and are working to build their own shed in the Hutt Valley. Could be lots of help to us in the future. What do others think about them being invited?

The Community Garden people for Wellington (Innermost Gardens) through Sarah Adams have expressed interest in meeting our Shed people with the view to exploring how we might be able to help one another. We have been in talks with another community garden group as well and there are major synergies between the two groups. Any problems with an invite to Sarah next Thursday?

Mary Strang of the Hutt Valley District Health Board is one of our source of helpful funding. An invite to her could aid better understanding of what is being achieved on the Wellbeing of Men front. Any problems witrh that?

This past week we also met Gill Burns from Habitat for Humanity who was interested in how MenzShed might be an important support group to a concept of refurbishing items for resale through an organised group of outlets about the country. What do people think about an invite there?

These are the contact details we have. If you want to add to the list please add contact information to the list.

John Spittal, Northern Suburbs MenzShed Group (Newlands) spittals@xtra.co.nz

Archie Kerr, Menz Shed Naenae archie.kerr@clear.net.nz

Sarah Adams, Innermost Gardens innermostgardens@gmail.com

Mary Strang, Regional Public Health, Hutt Valley District Health Board mary.strang@huttvalleydhb.org.nz

Gill Burns, Habitat for Humanity, Lower North Island gillb.habitat@xtra.co.nz

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MenzShed 10 June

The temperature is cool but the welcome warm at our Shed in Haining Street. This Thursday its business as usual starting from about 10am until whenever we get hungry about 12.30pm or later as the mood takes us. More tea and bickies to start the session with then onto our projects once again.

Now that Mitre 10 Mega in Petone have come to the party, the Johnsonville West Kindergarten Fire Engine is under way with a purpose. We have the materials so now its time for produce the goods. This will be something worth doiung in the community.

John's potato peeler aids are taking shape so this week could see real progress with those.

Norman, Henry, Robin and John (probably many others too) have made some excellent progress with the old PCs. I think we now have 2 ready for donationj (for Koha) to a school desperately in need of these for disadvantaged children.

Thanks to the efforts of Garry and Bill the garden at the rear is now also ready for filling with topsoil and planting. (But first we have to empty the middle of the firewood pallets stored there.

The firewood project got started last week with delivery of a number of pallets. Doug and Stuart got the job under way last week and now have a better idea of what we have to deal with. This week we intend to attack the stack with chain saws and make a big impression. Doug has bags to pack the finished wood into ready for sale.

SO THE BIG EFFORT THIS WEEK IS TO HELP DOUG AND HIS TEAM PRODUCE THE FIRST BATCH OF FIREWOOD FOR SALE. Anyone who can help on this for an hour will make a big difference to this job.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

We think the next big effort is to get the workshop layout all complete and safe for real action but that's something to plan for along with getting things ready for a Saturday Garage Sale. By the way if anyone has a pair of saw horses excess to requirements thay would be very welcome.

Let us know if there are any pet projects you want help with or if you have an idea that might be something for the whole shed to get involved in.

We look forward to seeing you all for Thursday's Workshop Session.

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MenzShed 3 June

Just a brief note to prepare everyone for our weekly workshop session starting from about 10.00am tomorrow morning

There are 3 items of special note tomorrow.

1. Bunnings have already delivered a batch of pallets to be made into firewood and kindling and a second delivery will happen between 9 and 10 am tomorrow. Firewood crew get ready for action. We will have to keep on top of this or storage of pallets will rapidly become a big issue with our fellow tenants like Vincent. Vincent goes to a lot of trouble to make sure we have plenty of parking room on our Shed days so I think he need to be considered at all times.

2. Mitre 10 Mega will have the materials for the Fire Engine project ready and have offered us the use of one of their trailers to pick them up in the morning. Andrew, Alan, Wayne and I will detour on our trip to the shed to make that pickup.

SO ITS ALL ON WITH 2 IMPORTANT PROJECTS!

3. Last week the side garden for the soup kitchen was completed ready for filling with topsoil and then planting. Soil delivery cannot take place until our own garden at the rear is ready too. Tomorrow Garry and I are hoping to see to that. When thats done we get paid for the materials used for the side garden.

As well as that we need to move ahead getting sale items ready for a garage sale to raise funds for materials and tools etc etc etc. So more Weta Motels and Bird Feeders, Spud peeling stabilizers, bath seats, and anything else that are saleable are needed.

At our meeting this week we though a 6 week lead time to a Saturday garage sale might be something to work toward.

By the way Philipa at the Soup Kitchen has a couple of small welding jobs needing attention from someone who knows what they are doing and I think she said there was a trolley needing some pop rivets too. Rolf and an assistant might be our crew there.

We look forward to seeing you all there tomorrow.

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MenzShed 27 May

Another good day last week. Lots of progress on a number of projects.

The plans for this Thursday are focused on a last Thursday of the month lunchtime BBQ. We hope to make this a regular social occasion when partners and friends can be invited along also. Nothing flash. Sausages in bread, a fried egg sandwich, tea, coffee, scones maybe if someone makes some. Once we have a small oven that will be a piece of cake to do but for now a little more of a challenge. Feel free to bring along a few biscuits or anything you want if it takes your fancy.

Alan Royal from the Steering Committe is stepping down and we will take the opportunity to offer our appreciation for his efforts to get the place off the ground.

Apart from the food it will be business as usual with the small jobs being done all round the place. For John - I have not forgoten the grinder and things to help shape your potato peeling aid project. I will even bring in an old rasp that might help.

The news from last week.

I noted that the Mahogany Coffee Table is now complete. It looks a million dollars and ready for sale to a good bidder. Andrew took some pictures to see if he can find a buyer. If we have a Trade Me expert maybe thats another prospective way to get a good price.

We had a lady visitor asking if we could make her a nice box to replace the plastic one that came with her Mahjong set and is now falling apart. She asked how much but I told her we relied upon donations for things and that when we had a box to offer we would negotiate with her to the satisfaction of both parties. Seemed a very pleased customer. Garry leapt at the opportunity to make something special to do the job.

Another lady came in the door with some excellent older joinery hand tools that had belonged to her father. A beautifully kept brace, a wide range of auger bits in a cloth case, 2 excellent wood planes (one a large Stanley and the other an older wooden one), a large aluminium level, a beautiful old carpenters square and especially useful is a large flooring clamp. (I know there is another name but the brain cells wont release it to me).

Robin's excercycle generator is definitely now a goer. Ready to demonstrate what can be achieved. An interesting one to watch.

The raised garden along the Soup Kitchen side wall has now been reconfigured, realigned, full seat installed and carpet placed inside ready to be filled with soil and planted. The progress here is important because when its completed we get paid by the Sisters. The other raised garden at the rear of the Shed was raided for extra timber to complete the Sisters one properly, and for now the spare macrocarpa is stored in out storeroom ready for a rebuild with whatever is left. It might be a bit smaller than originally intended, but that will make our drummer neighbour much happier and will probably suit our needs anyway.

Our Fire Engine project took another forward step with Wayne bringing in refurbished front wheel assembly for fitting to the new chassis. But the big news with the Fire Engine is that the holdup with sourcing materials from Bunnings has been overcome by a Plan B; definite agreed written sponsorship from Mitre 10 Mega to provide all that is needed for the rebuild except for wheels that they don't have. This is a big step forward. They are also insisting the use of premium materials to ensure the result to the community is long lasting. The things needed are to be picked up ready for use next thursday 3 June.

Further to the Bunnings problem, Stuart and Steve have sorted out any issues that got in the way with our relationship there. All will be OK when Susan gets back as the Manager.

I look forward to seeing you at the Haining St Shed from 10.00am onwards until we give it away.

Nigel Clough

Operating Committee

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MenzShed 21 May

Last week was a great day with lots of things completed, started, and planned. We all went home with the same number of fingers as we started with. Joking aside safety could be a big issue so lets take care with all the equipment we have.

There's still more ideas to work on and jobs to be done. There's some good stuff happening here and it can only get better.

The bandsaw blade has been welded so those shapeing jobs should be all on again. Peter is away in Taupo so his sawhorse patterns will come to a halt for now.

We have a prototype bird feeder idea to let people see and adapt to come up with our unique design.  All suggestions and ideas to make it work are welcome.

10.00 am onwards at the usual place, 6 - 8 Haining Street.

By the way we need a letter box solution for the Shed.  Something thats fireproof and that can be adapted to fit the building.

See you all tomorrow.

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MenzShed 13 May

Once again Thursday is rolling up tomorrow and the regular weekly Shed Workshop will be all on.  Last week went well with lots of suggestions for useful saleable items put into the great bucket of ideas.  We even started on making our first Weta Motels.  This week should see more progress there and I expect a few more of the suggested items will get started.

Ready for tomorrow I have also put together some information on winter bird feeders that should sell well plus gathered up information on feeders for honey eaters like Tuis, a real favourite in the garden.  Needs a bit of development that one.  I have some suggestions on "how to make a tui station" but there must be some better ones.

It is also worth noting that Garry bought in the first woodtuners tool last week so once the lathe table is adjusted to the true height work can start on turning out things on the lathe.

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Last week we also had an offer from the lady at the Sisters of Compassion to buy some of our excess outside garden chairs.  That will help buy some of the materials we need to start some other projects. We look forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow from about 10.00am

MenzShed 6 May

The projects we had under way are generally reaching completion apart from the Fire Engine that is waiting upon important material donations.  Hopefully not too far away though.  Andrew has been chasing that up this week and alternative sources are being sounded out as a Plan B.

The main thrust this week will be getting lots of small items under construction.  Things that we can sell at the door on say a Saturday as a garage sale to raise some money to buy materials to make further items that can be either sold (for donations) or donated to kindergartens, the community etc.  There are a number of suggestions alreay in the bucket.  like winter bird feeders from pine cones, weta motels from offcuts of untreated timber, letter boxes, garden dibbers etc.  How about a few more ideas and designs.  We have some timber and bits and pieces in our store and I am sure we will have no problem finding offcuts from joiners and builders that can be made use of.

See as many of you as possible there puting in your penny worth to help make this place thrive.

'Grumpy Old Men' meeting 21 April

Sheddies -

This is a link to an interesting Mayo Clinic article about stress and relaxation.

The Mayo Clinic is a world recognized medical institution.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tai-chi/SA00087/NSECTIONGROUP=2

We have DVD's available at the shed for you to take home if you are interested. We can arrange for an instructor to come to the shed, if there is sufficient interest.

As a reminder, Grumpy Old Men will meet this afternoon (and most Wednesday afternoons) 1pm for a few hours of conversation, tea, coffee and bickies.

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MenzShed 22 April

The projects already started continue and as a special this week we have a visitor Victoria Parsons. Victoria is gathering up material for a proposed book, " "Tips from your Grandpa".

Victoria says....

....TFYG is a follow up from the successful "Tips from your Nana" publication, which came out last year. The book is aimed at young adults and parents who might have missed out on valuable tips on life in the hectic times of modern living. It is not only Grandpas providing the handy tips, but an abundance of people who are thrifty and have skills in set areas. We will be covering such topics as growing your own fruit trees, fishing, how to paint your walls successfully, how to fix a leaky faucet, games and activities for grandchildren, and brewing your own beer, among many others. The aim is to get in touch with people from generations preceding ours and tap into their everyday knowledge, creating a how-to guide of DIY tips, anecdotes and stories.

Here are some links to some information about "Tips from your Nana", so you can get an idea of the feel of the book, and I will also bring a copy along on Thursday.

http://www.longacre.co.nz/books/TipsNana.html

http://www.randomhouse.co.nz/Tips-From-Your-Nana_241.aspx

http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/books/non-fiction/leisure-lifestyle/1337583.html

http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/tips-from-your-nana-this-appealing-new.html

It would be wonderful to speak to you and your group about some tips you might have, and potentially photograph you at work in the shed. ....

So bring your best manners and grandpa's advice to the shed on Thursday to contribute your story to her research. I will need to smarten up my grandad's advice to make it fit for publication if I am to contribute. He was very forthright in his advice.

I'll also be looking for some volunteers to help with an information stand at the Kotuku Flats Feeling Great Day next thutrsday 29 April. Helen has printed up our new brochure for us so we can hand those out and explain what MenzShed Wellington is all about. Time to meet new faces and get out somewhere different.

Another little project we might also begin is to teach Norman (our resident Grumpy Old New Yorker) how to speak K1W1. He needs to learn about Gudday, yeah, and the subtle words used by the real kiwi bloke.

See you at 6 Haining Street about 10.00am onwards.

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What's on at MenzShed 25 March

A number of the crucial Shed Executive Committee were not present on Thursday through other preadvised committments.

Advised that Kotuku Flats in Kilbirnie, which has a high male occupancy, have a special day coming up and asked if we wished to attend and promote the Shed. Andrew and Nigel have put their names forward to provide a general brochure for distribution on the day and to present a display and answer questions from those interested. Others also to assist once the details are finalised. Helen is to send details

Helen will print up some more project forms ready for next week so that projects cane be defined and clarified.

There are anumber of projects banking up and needing to be completed.

1. The Johnsonville West Kindergarten fire engine is sitting looking quite sorry for itself. At the end of the session Andrew and I paid a visit to Paul Wilson at Kilbirnie Bunnings resulting in Bunnings donating a 13mm ply cover sheet that will be perfect for rebuilding the damaged sides. He also supplied a part sheet of 10mm ply which will be useful in the rebuild. We loaded the materials on the car roofrack and delivered them back to the Shed in passing through the city. This project now needs someone to stand up and lead the a team in the restoration efforts. There is both woodwork and metal work skills needed here. I have a cheap jigsaw that is available to cut out the profiles needed.
2. The raised garden project including the one for the Sisters of Compassion and the Sheds own garden, need a person who knows a bit about such things to take control and bring the projects through to completion. With the gardens being on asphault and hard gravel base, special attention will be needed to correct drainage and retaining the soil once filled. The one shed person I know who is knowledgeable about gardening is Bill Wallace and I intend to see if he will become the man in charge. Bill already makes a regular effort to tidy up the Sisters of Compassion Soup Kitchen garden and he deserves a big thanks for these efforts.
3. Stuart delivered a beautiful old mahogany coffee table that needs reconstructing. Glue has dried out resulting in dowells breaking or coming out. This is a nice piece of furniture from Mary Potter that when repaired will fetch a decent return. Henry has volunteered as the handy person to accurately drill out the old dowells with his home drill press and kick this one off.
4. The Regency Table leg repair has commenced but is currently delayed due to Garry being unavailable through other committments. He may wish to hand this job over to another sheddie.
5. Refugee Services have a childrens pushchair waiting for its fold out sunshade to be repaired. All the bits and bobs are now there ready for completing that project and needs someone to step forward and take it on.
6. The materials to construct a storage board for our name badges are waiting for somebody to put it all together. We might remember to put on and take off our badges as we arrive and leave if this board made the labels obvious.
7. The fridge/freezer at the menzshed is at an unknown state. It was delivered just before Christmas and ownership is uncertain. If anyone knows the details of this project can they please advise. It may be a Matthew Porritt job.
8. The shelves to accommodate the donated jigsaw library was erected just before the Open Day and is ready for organising display and storage. A project leader would be welcome. The loan system and follow-up also needs setting up properly and maybe formalised.
9. There is one good student desk and a large number of carpet tiles for Refugee Services that need picking up by them. This needs a follow up.
10. The second heavy old government type desk might be suitable as a workbench if we put some wheels on it. Maybe an ingenious person might have ideas on how to make good use of that desk.
11. Finally we discussed a newsletter that needs to be sent out to our membership list encouraging them to come in one of the days of the week either with their own project or hobby and we need more members to step up and take ownership of the projects already waiting attention at the Shed.
12. One additrional matter that was part of the discussions between Paul Wilson, Andrew and Nigel, was the raised gardens for refugees that Bunnings fund. Paul is about to contact the person who coordinates these activities to get the next address chosen. When that happens, he will visit the site to assess needs, design the garden, have materials cut to approximate size, deliver all materials and soil needed to the address for the MenzShed to assemble and install according to the design. So there should be another good outside team job available soon. Any member interested in being part of the Bunnings Refugee Garden Team please let us know at the Shed.

Thoughts are that next Thursday we will write up all the outstanding projects on the whiteboard and invite anyone to put their name to the project teams that they would like to be part of.

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