Men's Group Musings

from our January 23 gathering of the minds

I don’t know about you but I couldn’t fall asleep last night and only partially due to the wind and rain thrashing against the windows. I felt excited and proud of the progress we made. Thank you to the men who showed up. Your enthusiasm and passion was felt throughout the night.

Based on feedback from last week, we chucked out the structured agenda. I shared a few updates and then allowed the gathering to unfold naturally. Our time together evolved into a space where people opened up about why they joined the group, some shared their life journeys, others heroic tales and together we began to showcase the diverse skills present in the room. From carpentry and welding to pottery, farming, baking, and even a former Royal Navy Intelligence operative, the range of talents is inspiring. I started jotting down some of the roles people have taken on, and we’ll continue adding to this colourful array of sticky notes in the coming weeks.

Space

One topic of discussion was whether we should remain solely a social group or expand our activities to include collaborative projects in a designated "shed." While the consensus was that the group's primary purpose is to provide a space for men to gather, share stories, and enjoy a cup of tea, there's a shared vision for evolving into more than just a social gathering. The idea of having a workspace to work on projects that benefit the community resonated with everyone. Examples include initiatives like 'helping fix A’s home,' which sustained damage in the recent storm, as well as painting projects around the community and tackling other jobs that might otherwise be contracted out to third-party services.

Concerns were raised about the time it might take for the Development Trust to establish a workspace at Spion Brae (apologies if I misspelled that). Some expressed the sentiment that waiting 2-3 years could be too long, with one member humorously noting, "I might be dead before it’s done." To address this, a suggestion was made to explore the possibility of securing land from the council, church, or another public body on Shapinsay. We discussed the challenges and costs associated with maintaining a shed and even considered the option of building an off-grid shed as an alternative.

If we go in this direction we would need to make things official. We've got a draft constitution and will discuss appointing roles, what’s involved in registering as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and joining the SMSA in our next meeting. 

Funding

To fund our future endeavours, we brainstormed various options, including crowdfunding, trusts like the Princess Trust, funding through the Scottish Land Fund, and writing letters to influential figures like Mr. Harrison and the King. We can also setup paid subscriptions for this newsletter. There are many other options and grant writing experts to support. Speaking of grants, we submitted an application to fund a trip to the men’s shed on Westray. We’ll keep you posted on the outcome.

We briefly touched upon a small £500 Community Climate Action Fund that is currently available, with a closing date of January 31. The funding is intended to be for development of a climate action project in your local community. It can be utilized to cover project delivery costs and/or conduct community consultation research around a project idea. If anyone has ideas on how we could make use of this funding, please reach out to Alison at wellbeing@shapinsay.org.uk or leave a comment here.

Communication

We aligned on the idea of starting a newsletter, both online and in print. This marks the debut entry in our newsletter, serving as a platform for sharing resources, events, ideas, and updates. The aim is to keep everyone, especially those unable to attend in person, in the loop. For now, Alison will take the lead in managing this (open to sharing responsibility) and will be reaching out to our 'reporters' on the ground for input. We now have our own email address! You can reach us at shapinsaymensgroup@gmail.com.

Looking ahead

The vision for our group is taking shape through these discussions, and we're committed to letting it progress organically. Let's savour the journey and enjoy the process. A big thank you to everyone for your ideas, comments, stories and throwing a few darts. 

Our next meeting on Thursday, February 1st will be in the afternoon from 3-5 pm in the Clubrooms. We'll alternate between evenings and afternoons to accommodate everyone's schedules.

Special thanks to Billy for the delicious baked goods, tea, and coffee. Your contributions are truly appreciated.

Looking forward to continuing this journey together!

P.S. If you enjoyed this read, give it a ❤️, and if you have more to add, feel free to leave a comment.