NEWS NEWS


Charlie Parkes, right) is pictured at the Swanwick Men’s Shed with Phil Pierce, project manager at Turner Farm, where the project is based. Photographs courtesy of Mark Sharratt


MEN’S SHED:


THE ‘OLD CODGERS’ YOUTH CLUB’ Julie Butterworth meets the former inspector who helped launch a Men’s


“It was the field of dreams,” said retired Derbyshire inspector Charlie Parkes of the Men’s Shed he set up to bring people together in his local village, “Build it and they will come.”


Men’s Sheds aim to reduce isolation and loneliness by making garden shed- type activities social and encouraging people to share skills and conversation. They’re a place for social connections and friendship building, sharing skills and knowledge, and a lot of laughter.


“I’m often asked what a shed is all about,” Charlie said. “My reply is that it’s an old codgers’ youth club keeping people young, active and socially connected. The biggest reward of the shed is fellowship or companionship, just being with a friendly group once or twice a week. This is especially beneficial for those recently widowed or otherwise isolated at home or in society. The effect of Covid closures has been particularly noticeable on all the ‘shedders’ but especially the dementia sufferers who struggle to understand.


“After the first lockdown, we opened up in early August. We allow


Shed project in Derbyshire that is going from strength to strength only two in the shed and have a tea


garden with as much sanitiser as you can drink and several outside work areas so we can socially distance.” Charlie retired as an officer with


Derbyshire Constabulary after 30 years’ service before returning as a member of support staff and then retiring fully in January 2013.


His career meant he hadn’t had the time to make friends locally or to join community-based groups.


Located on a 48-acre farm between Alfreton and Ripley, the Swanwick Men’s Shed was the first of its kind in Derbyshire and followed the well- established UK Men’s Shed Association (UKMSA) model. In 2019, the shed was awarded the Derbyshire Live Local Heroes Community Building Award and Shed Community Project of the Year at the UKMSA Shedfest.


One user said the shed helped him come to terms with the loss of his wife of more than 50 years.


Shed members have built seven large wooden planters for the parish council and are developing a garden for


a care home. Their biggest project to date was helping with a new warehouse for the Lighthouse charity shops, taking out wooden racking, extending a mezzanine floor and building a staircase.


Charlie said:


“We have older retired skilled people who value getting out of the house to do something physically and mentally. One of them was chief engineer for a large factory and says that now he is just a nobody. It is very sad, but we value his skills.”


Charlie added: “One major problem is finding safe tasks for those who have lost their skills to dementia. It is terribly sad to see a once-skilled craftsman no longer able to recognise a lathe let alone use it.”


To find out more visit www.mensheds.org.uk


JANUARY 2021 | POLICE | 25 FEBRUARY 2021 | POLICE | 25


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