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.

Get fed, get entertained, get involved -Get to Aberdeen

The Virtual Shed in partnership with the Upper Hunter Museum of Rural Life invite men and women in the community to meet and hear the internationally acclaimed artist, Greg Wilson, speak at Aberdeen on Thursday, February 18.

At age 24, Wilson was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Paddington, severing the main artery in his neck and being pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene before they were able to bring him back to life.
During a traumatic four-year recovery period, plagued by depression, anger and confusion, he called upon previously acquired skills in art and woodwork to begin sculpting and painting. It was the beginning of an exciting and rewarding journey.
“Greg’s story is inspirational and a reminder of how doing something you love and keeping active, whether it’s painting, working with clay, turning wood, tinkering on old machinery, or anything to keep your hands and mind busy, can have a huge positive effect.” said Bernie Rischke, project officer for the Virtual Shed.

John Scriven from the Upper Hunter Museum of Rural Life said, “The Museum Committee has been very interested in being associated with a Men’s Shed for a number of years. We’d love anyone interested in being part of a Men’s Shed committee to come along on the night and offer their support. We see the Shed as being somewhere men can come and have an outlet to do things or just spend some time out in a place with other men. One thing we want to encourage is passing on skills that are being lost to the community.”

“This is an exciting development for the Virtual Shed Project,” said Mr Rischke, “We will be hosting functions for the men of the Upper Hunter to the end of June in the format that’s become familiar, but having others come on board to keep the concept going beyond the end of the project, and work towards the establishment of a permanent Shed for men, is something we welcome. Not only has interest been shown in Aberdeen, but early March will see another function in Scone at which the committee will be formed to press forward with the idea.”

Greg Wilson can be heard at St Marks Hall, Aberdeen on February 18 with a BBQ starting at 6:30 pm. A gold coin donation to support the Project is requested and bookings are essential. To book, contact the Scone Neighbourhood Centre on 6545 2562 by close of business February 10.

Christmas Greetings from the Shed

It's that time of year when we can be overcome with stress and do things we may regret if we're not careful or look after ourselves. Christmas and New year brings out the best - and worst - in people; making it potentially a great time or one you'd rather forget. Relationships Australia has some great advice on how to survive the season including:

Budget well and plan ahead

Try to work together as a team, rather than aim to be the “Masterchef” yourself
Have realistic expectations of yourself and of others – try not to expect people to be what they are not

Find time to “chill out” – everyday

Don’t try to do it all on Christmas Day - spread your family visits out over a few days

Practice forgiveness – it will make you feel better

Limit your intake of alcohol – behaviour can get out of hand

If you are alone, plan in advance to do something you enjoy or get together with a friend who is also alone

Listen and show respect

Agree to disagree on issues

Say thanks to people that help out.

And finally don’t try to resolve year long hurts or disagreements on Christmas Day – use the next 364 days to sort out relationship issues.

So, take some time to think about how to make Christmas a time of joy and pleasure - one where the important things are remembered and celebrated.

Merry Christmas to all from the Virtual Shed.

Bunnan Blokes' BBQ

The first of our activities for the Virtual Shed kicks off on Sunday 8 November at the Bunnan Hall, Bunnan at 6:30 pm.

We'll be hosting a free BBQ for the men out at Bunnan and surrounds with two guest speakers; Linden Green from Interrelate and John Fowler.

Linden talks about and explores ideas on building community resilience and in particular how men can help keep their local communities thriving - and in so doing, keep themselves thriving. John has been doing work with men's groups and young males and has seen first hand the powerful positive effects of becoming a mentor. John will share some of his experiences on the night.

We'll want to keep it pretty informal so bring along some drinks, enjoy the food and join in on the conversation. We're not about speaking at you but speaking with you - we love to hear your stories and experiences too. What happens in small communities in particular is an education for our speakers as well as the audience.

We had a great turn out last time we were in Bunnan and look forward to seeing you again.

Bookings are essential and can be made by contacting the Scone Neighbourhood Centre on 6545 2562 by close of business November 1.


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Celebrating Dads with Family Insight

It's great to see other activities happening in the Upper Hunter that celebrate the positive role men have in families and communities. Recently Phil Watts from Family Insight in Muswellbrook organised "The Celebrating Father's Project" which was was designed to acknowledge and empower dads in their family lives.

Through a bicycle maintenance workshop at the Merriwa Mens Shed, dads and families were encouraged to pursue bike riding as a fun and healthy family activity. The workshop attracted twelve people including three dads and their children. Those who came along had a great time tinkering with bikes, learning good tips about maintaining them and just spending time together in a fun, productive afternoon.

Photos taken at this workshop became part of the Celebrating Fathers art exhibition held at the Merriwa School of Arts over the Fathers day weekend.

The art exhibition also included works from the children at the Merriwa pre school and the Merriwa Activity centre, all along the theme of Celebrating Fathers and what their fathers mean to them. The drawings by the kids showed how important their dads are to them.

68 people attended the exhibition over the Fathers day weekend in September 09.

Family Insight would like to thank the funders of the Celebrating Fathers Project: the Scone Neighborhood Resource Centre and the Upper Hunter Shire Council.

For more information about Family Insight visit http://www.familyinsight.org.au/

What's Happening?

Well, time for a bit of an update - the Project has a very rough timeline now but we need some ideas for filling in the blanks. Specifically, ideas about who you'd like to hear as a speaker - whether a celebrity speaker or a fascinating local.

If you're involved in community Agencies or networks we're always willing to hear from you if you know anyone who is available to promote your services - especially those that fall into the broad theme of health whether it be mental, physical, relationship or financial help. Spreading the word of who you are and what you do through Virtual Shed functions is an excellent way of getting your message out to people who may not know much about what is on offer.

We're looking at having a mix of activities and functions to the end of the Project including, hands on workshops about mentoring, community building, resilience building and more. In addition to these, we'll be hosting guest speakers with interesting stories to tell, BBQ's and other social gatherings.

So, to make this work better for you, please phone the Scone Neighbourhood Centre on 02 6545 2562 with ideas and suggestions.

Mentoring

One thing that's become apparent in the Mens' Shed movement is the potential for mentoring - not only younger males, but all men who connect with Sheds in every capacity.

So, what exactly is mentoring? Mentoring is sharing wisdom, skills and experience with others to help them grow and learn and involves a relationship where both parties learn from each other, trust each other and respect each other. As Issac Newton said, "If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants." - and while you don't need to be a giant to pass on your wisdom and experience, what you can achieve in helping develop another person is gigantic in its effect.

Mentoring can be formal or informal; it can have clear outcomes or it can be simply offering a helping hand. Showing someone how to use an angle grinder or giving them the confidence and skills to just have a chat can be more powerful than you imagine.

Mentoring is often used in business to develop staff or re-energize those who've become jaded. But it's not just confined to the world of business. We all live in a community and need social contact and support whether we acknowledge it or not. Men's Sheds can offer this in a real way to benefit all those involved. Beyond the walls of a shed, mentoring can continue and seep into our everyday lives - it's not much different to the traditional Australian world of "mateship".

During the next twelve months, the Virtual Shed will return to the idea of mentoring and hold some workshops on how mentoring can become a part of our lives to strengthen our communities and ourselves.