Finechty Men's Shed donation will help tell a tale or two!
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
FINECHTY Men’s Shed have been putting their varied talents to good use to help out the village school and nursery.
At a recent fund-raising coffee morning in the town hall, the community group presented some storytelling and reading chairs as well as a mud kitchen to the pupils and staff of school and nursery.
All of the items were fashioned from recycled materials.
Men’s Shed chairman Jimmy Bremner said: “The project originally started when our secretary, whose wife works at St Thomas’s Primary in Keith, said that the school had been looking at buying storytelling chairs but they were too expensive.
“We went ahead and made some for them and then thought it’d be a good idea to make some for our local school, as well as a mud kitchen.
“Looking ahead, we’re hoping to make wigwams and other items for the school.”
Although only around a year and half old, the Men’s Shed has made great progress despite spending most of its existence in the grip of a pandemic and already boasts 36 members.
Mr Bremner continued: “We’ve been progressing very well and hopefully will get the first units up on our permanent premises down at the Sanny Craig.
“We’re always on the lookout for projects which will benefit the community. One of the things we’re hoping to do is spruce up the bus shelter as you come into Findochty from Buckie , we’ve been working with the community council on that. One thing we don’t do is work in people’s houses as we feel that would be taking money away from local tradesmen.
“However, the Men’s Shed is about more than simply making things, it’s about combatting social isolation and promoting wellbeing. Men are more than welcome to come down and have a chat, they don't have to do any work.
“In the old days there were groups of retired fishermen in the village hanging about who used to go for a walk about the place and have a chat, but that’s all gone now. The Men’s Shed is an ideal replacement for this.”
Mr Bremner went on to praise the community support for the group, including generous donations and added that new members were always welcome. Members must be aged 18 or over.
To get in touch with Finechty Men’s Shed, visit their Facebook page or catch up with them on Twitter.
Welcoming the donation from the Men’s Shed, Findochty Primary headteacher Dawn Thompson said: “The children are loving the chairs and the mud kitchen.
“P1/2 have already had a storytelling session from their Once Upon A Time chair and are looking forward to hearing more stories. The pupils have also been sitting on it themselves and reading a book.
"The children think their chair is cool, comfy and awesome and have written their own thank you letters to the Men’s Shed.
“We are delighted that the Men’s Shed created these fantastic chairs and mud kitchen for us these will provide many happy times and create lots of memories for our youngsters.
“We are looking forward to being able to work more with the Men’s Shed whereby they can share their skills and experiences with our children whilst at the same time creating items that enhance and enrich our school environment.
"We feel that this project has helped to re-establish wider community links and rebuild community spirit.”
