Happy 5th Birthday to Ilfracombe Men’s Shed

 

This was a project that came to us from a lovely lady called Val Berry who had read about Men’s Sheds and felt that it was something that her husband would have liked to have done. She put notices up around town to see if there was any interest and once she had some names she came and spoke with our Community Development Officer, Charmain Lovett to see how we could get a Men’s Shed in Ilfracombe.

 

Over the following months it became a real community collaborative effort to make the Shed a reality.

 

We were extraordinarily lucky to be offered the lovely basement of the Ilfracombe Chocolate Emporium by the owner Jeannette; Councillor Paul Crabb granted us £1200 to undertake essential maintenance work and cover insurance costs; plus we were supported by Fullabrook CIC.  Ilfracombe and District Lions became a huge source of support by buying all of the tools and equipment that we needed to have a ready-to-go Shed and to date they continue to provide support Ilfracombe Men’s Shed.

 

To get things off the ground we initially had 3 “Shedders” in Dave Bocock, Alan Coates and Paul Barnett who helped to shape the Shed and cast an expert eye over proceedings.

 

Today we celebrate the 5th “Birthday” of The Shed which continues to be a place for guys to come together to socialise, share/learn skills and get involved with community projects. The Shedders and their work are now regular features at events across the town and their partnership working on projects for organisations such as the Straw Patch and Ilfracombe Town Council is a major asset for the community.