The Men’s Sheds movement: ‘People say men don’t talk… once you provide a safe space in which to do it, you can’t get them to shut up’

It’s a chilly Thursday morning but inside Bray Men’s Shed, a wood-fired stove is burning, cups of tea are being poured and a welcoming atmosphere does a lot to dispel the cold.? Around 15 men are catching up and chatting as they move around. A keep-fit class has just finished, and while some of them are settling in to read the paper and relax, others are making their way to a large workshop at the rear of the building.?? Peering around the door, I can see workbenches, power tools, wood-turning and metalworking machinery, and the evidence of a lot of labour-of-love DIY projects. It’s a cheerful place and I immediately feel at home.? It’s a fun and relaxing place for friends to meet up and spend time together, but there’s something more important than just that going on here. The 30 or so men who use this facility — all middle-aged or over?— are grabbing life by the scruff of the neck. By being part of a community, they’re guarding against some significant threats to their well-being, and high up on the list of those threats are social isolation and loneliness.?