Rhiwbina Living Issue 48

The Men's Shed in Rhiwbina offers a place for a group of men to
come together, chat, and create things for the community
There's a problem down in the
village.
"The water's off."
There's an uneasy sense of alarm
among the men down at The Den.
Iolo is stood there with an empty
kettle, looking a little worried.
"A cuppa is very important in our
little world," says Mike.
Mike is the Chairman of Rhiwbina
Men's Shed. Not many people know
it but they meet weekly at the small
shed, also known as The Den, in
Canolfon Beulah.
For generations, a shed has been
a place for men to escape the
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stress and strain of life; a haven to
gain much needed sanity; to be
surrounded by familiar items; and
to make things. For the Shedders
in Rhiwbina, this thinking has been
expanded to more of a social thing.
And the community of Rhiwbina is
benefiting.
"We set up Men's Shed Rhiwbina
in 2016," says Mike. "The movement
itself actually started in Australia
and has spread to countries
all over the world, including
Wales, where there are now 50
Sheds. Fellow Shedder Gareth
and I are Rotarians and what we
found was that there was a large
number of men who had time on
their hands, whether it was due
to unemployment, retirement,
bereavement or because they were
wanting to involve themselves in
the community more.
"We put some flyers in local
supermarkets and put notices in the
local WI newsletters - telling them
that if they had any members who
wanted to get their husbands out,
to send them to The Den."
The group has now grown from
two or three members to 13.
"We've actually become a victim
of our own success in that we're
having to turn people away. We've
all got different skills. Gareth is very
good at boiling a kettle," laughs
Mike.
And a varied bunch there are. Mike
worked in the Patent Office. Then
there's Colin:
"You name it, I've done it. But
mainly, I was a draughtsman. I
designed ships."
Graham was in the Civil Service
but was also a mechanic for a long
time.
"I had a moment in my life and it
was a bit of a eureka moment," says
Graham. "Many years ago, I went
to a training centre for six months.
It was down where Tesco Extra is
now. And it was while I was there
that I realised that I had transferable
skills, which meant that I could turn