Age Concern Banstead has been working hard for the past few years to fundraise for and build a Men’s Shed behind their premises in the Horseshoe in Banstead.
We can now report that everything is now in place. The building is complete, tools and equipment have been acquired and potential shedders and supervisors recruited. Work will start this month getting the shedders trained up and finalising a timetable for opening with the goal to be open for business on the 1st June.
You can follow progress on Age Concern Banstead’s website:
https://www.ageconcernbanstead.org.uk/mens-shed/mens-shed-blog
And if you want to contact the Men’s Shed team with any enquires or you wish to join their team, use this email address: shed@ageconcernbanstead.org.uk
Read our November 2023 newsletter for background information about Men’s Sheds:
https://mailchi.mp/a7e28f8d851c/tpr-enews-july-2023-issue-8301744?e=a6cafcafff
And as we mentioned in our March issue, alongside the Men’s Shed we will also have a Repair Café where residents can take along items for repair. This is being organised by Chris Shaw, who is also taking day to day responsibility for the Men’s Shed project.
Chris Shaw
Chris says, “We plan to open for repair appointments on the first Saturday of each month starting, hopefully, with the 1st June. Skilled craftsmen will be available to repair broken and non-working items such as electrical appliances, toys, bicycles and garden tools.”
It is planned to run two advisory sessions on each Saturday (10-12 and 2-4) when residents can bring along the broken items for an assessment. If it is felt the item can be repaired, volunteers will carry a repair free of charge (but donations would be very welcome from those that can afford it). Appointments need to be booked in advance and an online booking system will be available nearer the time.
We will keep residents informed of developments but for now the Banstead Repair Café can be contacted by email at: bansteadrepaircafe@gmail.com or you can follow them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/people/Banstead-Repair-Cafe/61557635163505/