Good Evening Shedders,
We had a great opening last Friday, it was lovely to see everyone and hear the banter between you all. Just to remind you we will be at the Shed this Friday 10.30-12.30 if anyone else wants to put their name down. However, if it is raining we will not be allowed to open due to lack of inside space and the social distancing rule. I know that makes it awkward but please call me on 07395138201 Friday morning if you are not sure. Future openings will be: Friday 28th August 10.30-12.30 Wednesday 2nd September 10.30-12.30 Wednesday 9th September 10.30-12.30 The change to a Wednesday is to give everyone a chance to visit the Shed as some can only come on a Wednesday. We will then look at the situation and decide if it is possible to open twice a week. We must remember we are still in difficult times, the Welsh weather doesn't help but if the Shed can open then the tea urn will be bubbling. Stay safe Belinda
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Hi Shedders,
What a great day we had at the Shed, it was lovely to see everyone again. The locals seemed to appreciate us with all the tooting, the odd shout out and people stopping on the pavement and canal path for a chat. It certainly looked as if a party was going on. If you would like to come next Friday please let me know, it would be great to see you. See you soon, the urn (we've upgraded from the kettle) is bubbling. Belinda Good Morning Shedders,
I am very excited to tell you all that our Shed is aiming to open on Friday August 14th. I know some of you will be excited to come and others will be a little nervous. There will be certain rules to follow to keep everyone safe but if we all follow the guidelines we should have a long awaited happy reunion. If all those interested in coming to the Shed on Friday August 14th could let me know as numbers may be limited. I appreciate that some would prefer to wait to see how things go and that is fine. This first meeting is just going to be a get together and a chat, we will not be doing any work. We are going to take things one small step at a time and more information will follow. Don't forget to let me know if you are interested in coming on August 14th. Stay safe Belinda Hi Shedders,
Just to let you know that I have been thinking of you all and missing your company at the Shed, as well as the ever whistling kettle. On the matter of the Shed, I am excited to tell you that we have a new smooth, flat Shed floor and the outside area is also smooth and flat. So smooth, we'll be moonwalking into the Shed on Wednesdays and Fridays! I say hooray to that. The little shed that was out the front has been moved to the back and, what was the old garage, is now going to be a badly needed storage shed. Another hooray to that as we are desperate for storage space. As I am hoping we will be back at the Shed before Summer, I recently bought a terracotta parasol for us. I couldn't believe my luck as we had been thinking of a terracotta awning. I can't wait to see you all at the Shed! I know these are hard times and some are finding the isolation difficult, so, if you need support, get in touch with me by 'phone or email. Men's Shed Cymru also have a support network in place so, again, get in touch for further details. You can also contact me just for a chat, it would be lovely to hear from you. Have a look at some of these before and after pictures to see the transformation over the last couple of weeks. Stay safe out there Belinda Hi Shedders,
This is a different message to what I usually send but then these are different times. After careful consideration and listening to Government guidelines, it saddens me to say that the Shed will not be open for the foreseeable future. We are keen to get the Shed up and running again so will let you know when it is safe to do so. If anyone needs support during this difficult time please feel free to call the Shed mobile number 07395138201or email us. It is always good to chat and if I can do anything to help then I will. Thinking of you all Belinda Hi Shedders,
I can't keep up with the excitement at the Shed, every week something seems to be happening. Friday morning the container from Parker Plant, Llanelli arrived and several of us were at the Shed super early, mainly because we knew the delivery might cause a little bit of chaos. The day before I was thinking of the possible disruption we were going to cause so in my head I was preparing to wear a high viz jacket and direct traffic. I needn't have worried because Young Bros Civil Engineering, who are working on Mond Corner, helped us out and did the traffic management on our behalf. They were superb and I cannot thank them enough. The boys form Parker Plant operated the crane and lifted the two tonne container off the lorry and onto the hardstanding as if it was a toy! We were all impressed. After the excitement we retired to the Shed for a celebratory tea/coffee and cake, there was a party atmosphere going on which was infectious because before we could say "hooray" the Shed was full, it really was. It wouldn't have surprised me if everyone had started dancing, that was how good it felt. Thank you Shedders. What will this week bring? Well, Swansea Bay TV 'phoned tonight and they are coming Wednesday at 11am to film us in action. The recorded programme will be on at 6pm Channel 8 Wednesday evening. The excitement never stops at Men's Shed Clydach. Looking forward to seeing you all on Wednesday, the kettles will be whistling. We'd like to take a moment to say a big thank you to the people of Clydach and Swansea for their continued support with the Shed. We'd like to extend a special thank you to the individuals and companies below who have helped us over the last couple of weeks - your help has been amazing.
Sian Morgan - Tesco Pontardawe Gordon Walker - County Councillor John Jenkins & Paul Thomas - Members of the community Keri Bowden - Bowden Constructions, Clydach Hello Shedders!
What an exciting week we have had at the Shed, it has all been happening! On Wednesday, Gordon Walker arrived in his van with lots of wood on the roof and a load of tools in the back. He was ready to make the doors. By Thursday afternoon our new doors were up and what a sight to behold. A huge thank you to Gordon (and not forgetting Paul who was his labourer). Your help and support is very much appreciated!! A big thank you to John Jenkins too. He has been amazing and has installed the electrics in the shed and now we have light whenever we need it. We expect the delivery of our shipping container to come this week and our ever-expanding shed will get a little bit bigger again. You will also be pleased to know that we should have a log burner in place fairly soon. Some of the boys are going to make a firm base for the burner to stand on and then a specialist will come in and fit the necessary bits so we can use it safely. We will have heat Shedders!! It will be warm in the Shed. I know that has been our dream but soon it will be a reality. Tomorrow is supposed to be a dry, sunny day. We always seem to by lucky with the weather on a Wednesday. Kettle will be on and whistling to welcome you all. Hello Shedders!
It was a very wet Friday at the Shed and I honestly did not expect many to turn up, how wrong was I?! We arrived slightly later than usual which was not good when we needed to clear bird tables, wheel barrows and ladders out of the Shed (in the pouring rain) before we could get in. On top of that we had to boil two kettles on a gas camping stove, which is not the quickest and set the tables and chairs up so everyone could sit down. Oh yes, we were also trying to get the generator firing on all cylinders so we could have light. Despite the total chaos there was a party atmosphere going on as one of the Shedders was celebrating. Chocolates, cake and biscuits appeared as well as a dozen extra people and everyone started singing happy birthday. The kettles started whistling as a chorus to our sing song and I began to wonder if I was going mad. The electrician walked in, the lights came on and everyone shouted "hooray" before giving our lighting magician three cheers. It was so funny you had to laugh. Last Friday taught me one thing, not to dread a wet day at the Shed. Looking forward to doing it all again on Wednesday. Hope to see you there! Hello Shedders!
Today we went up to see the Shedders at Blaengarw Rugby Club. We went up there for a gathering with fellow Shedders from that area and what fun we had! They're a great bunch and it was lovely to chat with everyone and we even played some good old fashioned pub games. Can I say that you would all have been proud of the Clydach Shed as we came out tops. The others felt threatened to the point that I think some of them were thinking of cheating but I had my eyes on them. It was all god fun! Soup of the day tomorrow will be leek and potato. Hooray I hear you say. I don't think everyone liked the minestrone last week, the pasta was not to everyone's taste. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to shine, as it usually does on a Wednesday. However, dress up warm with many layers and the kettles will be on. |