Free Community BBQs

An important facet of what the Virtual Shed project has been all about is to get the message out to men in the Upper Hunter that taking care of your health is important. That includes physical, mental, relationship and financial health.

Now, there is no denying that visits to your GP, contacting support services when in need of help and having regular checkups is vitally important. But aside from that, there is ample evidence that being actively involved in your family or community has massive health benefits too.

Social isolation can literally be deadly.

And so, in promoting healthy lifestyles for men, we believe our community BBQs are an ideal way to connect with your neighbours and community in a fun, relaxing way.

And so, the Scone Neighbourhood Centre through the Virtual Shed project is hosting free community BBQs for men in the Upper Hunter, the first of which will be at the Bunnan Hall on Saturday, April 16 from 6:30 pm.

Guest speaker at this BBQ will be Todd Andrews from the NSW Department
of Industries and Investment who will share some interesting insights into
international farming practices that should prove to be instructive.

The Bunnan BBQs have proven to be very popular in past years with a great
turnout and I look forward to the men enjoying their get-together.

Also in April, there will be a Community BBQ at the Upper Hunter Men’s Shed
located behind the Senior Citizens’ Centre in Oxford Rd, Scone. The lunch
time BBQ will be held on April 21 from 11:30 am and featuring Stuart
Torrance, Coordinator for the Hunter Cluster of Mens Sheds.

Men of all ages are invited to attend and learn more about the value of getting
involved in the growing mens shed movement across Australia.
Bookings are essential for catering purposes and can be made by phoning
the Neighbourhood Centre on 6545 2562.

Bunnan and Scone Update

Bunnan: Rural towns and villages have a strong history of close knit communities where people know and greet each other in the streets and look out for each other in tough times. The blokes of Bunnan kept that tradition alive on Sunday night when they gathered at the Bunnan Hall for a BBQ hosted by Scone Neighbourhood Centre’s Virtual Shed project.

A good turnout of some seventeen men from Bunnan gathered together to enjoy each other’s company, relax, share stories and hear speakers Linden Green and Tony Rockley.

Linden Green, from Interrelate in Newcastle gave an overview of the range of services offered by Interrelate including relationship counseling, family mediation and classes in parenting. Linden also spoke about the importance and value of developing and maintaining close knit communities especially as a way of “inoculating” against potential health problems. Mr Green said, “A real problem where communities have disintegrated is people lose their connectedness. This can increase the risk of depression in particular. Having a place like a hall, a shed, a tennis club or any other regular social get-together has huge benefits in reducing that risk.”

Tony Rockley, publicity officer for Muswellbrook Toastmasters entertained the gathering with a range of stories and offered valuable information about the NSW Ambulance service where he works as a paramedic. Mr Rockley spoke about how his involvement in Toastmasters has opened many opportunities for him and how it could do the same for others who are interested In participating.

This project is due to wind up at the end of June, so it was great to get back out to Bunnan. Blokes enjoying an evening out, getting a perspective on how things can change for the better; learning more about services, getting involved in activities and simply spending time with each other in a relaxed atmosphere is what this project is all about. Well done Bunnan!

Scone: Hot on the heels of the BBQ in Bunnan, the Virtual Shed had an evening in Scone last Friday. Thanks go to Michael Dooley from the Christian Information Centre for making the venue available to us, helping promote the evening and setting the venue up so all could go smoothly on the night.

It was a bit disappointing to see only about fifteen men turn up on the night, but despite the small turn out, it was a great evening. Dr Steve Sylvester from the Scone Medical Practice gave a very informative and entertaining talk about important men's health matters. As always, he was well received. Ollie Hall spoke about his experience with prostate problems and stressed the importance of getting checked out by your GP early. Many thanks go to Ollie who stepped in at the last minute to fill in after another speaker was unable to attend on the night.

The keynote speaker was Chris "Buddha" Handy who shared some fascinating insights into his life as a rugby player, commentator and community worker. "Buddha" proved to be very entertaining and interesting.