Selkirk Community Shed

A post about a post.....We were asked if we could make an octagonal newel post for the Parish Church to help older members of the congregation when mounting the steps to the lectern. We managed to locate some appropriate Pitch Pine from shelves no longer needed as part of the refurbishment at the United Reformed Church. (Thanks to the gentleman who donated these). A bit of cutting and laminating followed by head-scratching on how to cut the required angles and we produced a reasonable facsimile of the one on the other side of the dais.

A new play written by Matt Dunn with men from men’s sheds across Scotland -St Andrews, Glenrothes, Galashiels, Leith, Barrhead and Stonehouse- will be performed for the first time to an audience at the Black Box Theatre, Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh.
This play tells the story of what is a men’s shed and why is men’s shed so important. You can expect humour, music, friendship and even a tear as we share the real life stories of over 50 men who are in sheds across Sc...otland right now!!
We follow Harry, Mike, Jim and Simon, four men later in life who decide to change the hand they have been dealt and start their own men's shed. This play is about a total loss of community and four men’s fight to bring that community back to life as they contend with their own issues of; isolation and loss of purpose. Life has changed and so must they. ‘If we want it, nobody is going to do it for us…’
T in the Shed will be performed at Queen Margaret University’s Black Box Theatre on Thursday 1st August and Friday 2nd August at 7.30pm with a matinee performance on Sunday 4th August at 2.30pm. Tickets can be bought either as a Standard Ticket or a Concession Ticket. We invite; children under 12, students, and any member of a Scottish Men’s Shed to purchase a concession ticket (£10). Available at https://3in1theatre.com/t-in-the-shed/tic kets
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Scottish Borders Versus Arthritis (SBVA) Support Group held their first meeting at the Shed on Saturday, a very interesting and enjoyable Powerpoint presentation by Lotti Blades-Barrett and Patricia Quiroga Lopez about a recent trip to Mongolia, to research the ethical issues surrounding the cashmere trade in that country (and Afghanistan). Their presentation concluded with this delightful photo showing Lotti and Patricia in traditional Mongolian costume! (PS More info on SBVA's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Scotbordersversu sarthritis/)

It is amazing what can be achieved in a few days of warm weather. In the community shed garden this week many thanks go to Rob, Brian, Kevin and Frank who have taken on the massive task of weeding the allotments and clearing the gravel; to Jim for strimming the grass paths and around the raised beds AND finding time to make signage for the herb garden; to David and Helen who have patiently weeded around courgettes, butternut squash and carrot/beetroot/radish seedlings; to Steve who has made a start to cleaning the roof of the large greenhouse. Next week is a planting week - cabbages, sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower plants all ready. Also is there anyone out there who can provide our tomato plants with some TLC? Join us for an hour or two on Sunday (2-5), Tuesday or Thursday (10-4) - all welcome.

Another day and another "Simply the Bench" production! This one was a restoration for one of our members, Helen J, who did the painting and helped out with the installation of the slats from Cheshire Oak. And very smart too!

A recently formed group, Scottish Borders Versus Arthritis, will be meeting in the Social room at the Shed on the first Saturday of each month at 11am for a couple of hours. The first meeting is on July 6th - anyone with arthritis or anyone supporting someone with the condition are welcome to come along - as indeed are any people who are just interested to hear more about the group. For this first meeting a guest speaker will give a talk on Ethical Cashmere from Mongolia. If you think you would like to come along please let us know so that we can arrange the facilities accordingly.

Our 'Drop-in IT Clinic' starts on Sunday!

On Thursday last week we were delighted to have Andy Ellwood and his friend Gary Robertson visiting SCS – arriving in a vintage Series III Landrover – “Andy’s Landie”. In a previous life Andy was a bloke dangling off the end of ropes under helicopters helping to save lives. He also served time in Afghanistan as a paramedic on the RAF battlefield rescue helicopter. Some of the situations he found himself in have left a lasting impression on Andy and he is acutely aware of the... need for people to talk about traumatic experiences and the benefits of positive mental health and resilience. Andy was latterly based at RAF Lossiemouth and is touring Scotland with a focus on the Mountain Rescue teams but including other emergency services who also find themselves in situations that can have lasting impacts. The Scottish Men’s Shed movement is just one way of getting affected individuals to talk and share their experiences. Andy is writing a blog -https://www.andyelwood.com/blog/ - and will be producing a short film to document all the great work which is happening around the country.#chinwag #itsoktotalk
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We would like to pass on our thanks to Selkirk Colonial Society for their generous donation to the "Shed" at last week's Colonial Society Bussin' Concert. It is greatly appreciated and will be put to very good use to improve the facilities at the Shed. We also wish to congratulate Colonial Standard Bearer Stuart Smith for a tremendous casting on Friday morning! @selkirkcolonialsociety

Don’t crumble or be a cowardy-custard in the face of a drop of rain! There will be free PYO rhubarb for anyone coming to the shed sale on Saturday morning (10am to 1pm). You’d be a fool to miss it!

That’s us ready for our next Shed Sale – this Saturday, 8th June, 10am-1pm. Please note – our shop on the High Street will NOT be open on Saturday, the sale will be held at the shed itself. The weather forecast could be better but hopefully you will be able to make your way up to the Argus and see the usual eclectic mix of items we have on offer - some excess donations and lots of shedder made items as well as some recycled furniture. Click through the pictures below for a selection of what you could see. The greenhouse, poly-tunnel, orchard and garden will be open for you to have a look round. The social room will be open for refreshments, catching up with friends and learning what we have planned for the summer. We look forward to seeing you there – and if you can, please share this with friends and family.

Gadgets wanted! Another detailed email has gone out to members, asking if they would donate computing devices they no longer use, to help the Shed to offer a comprehensive IT support service; this post is to ask the same question of those who follow us on Facebook. We need portable devices (laptops, tablets) running Windows 7 or later, or Linux, or any type of Macbook, iPad, iPhone, Android tablet, or Chromebook. If you can donate kit, we'd need to know the username and password for the main account on the device, so we can wipe all user accounts and data on them, in your presence if requested. If you can help, please drop off at the Shed when we are open, or we can collect if that would suit. With thanks in advance.

Hard to believe but it's here again - another Selkirk Community Shed sale! This one will be on Saturday 8th June from 10am to 1pm - usual place, at "The Shed" behind the Argus Centre. The workshop will be open along with the gardens and of course the social room for refreshments plus information about projects and classes.
We will have a limited range of vegetable plants and seedlings available for sale. There will be no bedding plants available, but St John's Coffee morning ...will be on at the Parish Church - they always have a good range of plants. So why not get there early, grab your plants and a cuppa then come up to "The Shed" for a browse, a walk around our gardens and green-houses before having another cuppa and a chat with other visitors before you set off home.
The weather is presently forecast to be fair to good - so we look forward to welcoming you to "The Shed".
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The Community Shed garden is slowly taking shape. Still a bit messy round the edges and loads of work to do both inside and out. Raised beds now in use for courgettes, butternut squash and salad veg - augmented by assorted belfast sinks and baths in our 'kitchen and bathroom' garden. 10 different varieties of potatoes planted plus four varieties of onions in one allotment (2nd allotment's cleared, covered and waiting for cabbages, sprouts etc. Fruit bushes and trees flowering... and setting fruit. Early broadbeans showing great potential for a massive harvest. Kelvedon Wonder and Onward peas hardening off ready to plant out next week. ...and there's more. Herb garden developing fast - a combination of direct sowing, seedlings and cuttings. Wildflower garden the same. Holding off on the runner and french beans as long as possible - we lost the early trial row to frost just last week. We're getting there - come and join us for a while any Tuesday (10-4), Thursday (10-4) or Sunday afternoon (2-5) 🙂 💚
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The Shed now has a good broadband connection, with wi-fi access, approx 16Mb/s download speed and unlimited bandwidth. We are thus in a position to try to set up an IT Support offering (at last!). A detailed email has gone out to members, making two requests: If we 'timetable' sessions (eg an 'advice clinic' or a 'computer club'), what days/times would be most convenient? And, we've asked for volunteers to help with 'staffing' the service; our 'IT Guru' Adrian can lead on it, but he can't do it all, since he can't be available all the time, and he has expertise in some areas, but not others. So, this post is to ask our 'likers' & the wider community the same questions; please contact us by commenting below, or messaging us. Thank you!

Mmm - interesting picture? Anyone got a chalk/blackboard going spare? We would like to put one up outside "our shop" window on the High Street.

The third 'Computers in the Community' session will be held tomorrow, 11.00 - 13.00, in the Selkirk Deli in the High Street. The topic: 'Using Social Media'. If you are reading this, you are obviously already on Facebook, but we can offer advice on other platforms eg Twitter, and point out some of the things to be careful about when posting. And, if you are thinking of setting up a 'Page' like SCS's to promote a group you are involved in, we can help with the ins-and-outs of that, too. Now, where have you seen this before? Answers on a postcard, please, to ...

The Vice-Lady cometh! (We had to do that one). We now have 3 wood working vices thanks to the generosity of Elaine Thornton-Nicol who donated £100 to SCS to enable us to purchase a further 2 new vices to supplement the one we received as a donation. This will make a significant difference to our ability to work effectively in the workshop. It also means we are now in a position to offer beginners classes on hand-wood-working (absolutely no machines other than the kettle!). So, if anyone is interested in coming along for a couple of hours on a Wednesday evening please get in touch with us. Or if Wednesdays are not convenient please suggest alternative times and we will see what can be done. Absolutely no experience needed.