“We Come Together, Drink a lot of Coffee, and Slag the Government Off”: Behind the Scenes of Men in Sheds Cheltenham

[Featured Image ID: A workshop with two wooden benches perpendicular to the camera on either side of the image. Behind them, furthest from the camera is a wall with a green sign saying ‘Men in Sheds C&G’ in yellow text. Underneath are 17 older men stood together facing the camera all smiling. Some are wearing dark green jumpers and t-shirts with yellow ‘Men in Sheds’ text.]

Scents of sawdust and freshly brewed coffee swirl around the room, met with the screaming of drills and the crunching of saws on wood, but above all else, rising through the sounds of men at work, there’s community, chatter, and a whole lot of laughter.

While I was talking to Stuart Mackay, the Cheltenham Men in Sheds group leader, the second – no exaggeration – that his mug was empty, it was being replaced by a fresh americano by another one of his fellow shed members. It’s clear that the men are close, a family of sorts they told me. “I’m the chairman of the trustees but that’s all I am,” Stuart said, “the guys make the place, without them there would be no shed.”

Stuart joined as this particular shed’s seventh member and the shed itself was only the fourteenth under the Men’s Sheds Association. The concept of Sheds began in Australia and made its way around the globe - there are now over 2,000 Sheds worldwide. Each Shed is a little different, too. Some, like this one, specialise in woodworking, making and mending, others may work on gardening or photography. “You don’t need to have any skills, so long as you want to come,” Stuart explained before adding with a grin, “really, we come together, drink a lot of coffee, and slag the Government off.”

Dave Winter, who was the fourth member of the Shed here said, “Sheds is for everyone,”. There are no age or gender requirements for joining Sheds, and despite the name, nationally 20% of Shed members are women - there’s even an all-female Shed in Lydney. Stuart swivelled around in his chair and gestured towards the crowd of men working on various projects, “you can see by looking around, most of the guys are older, but we have members who aren’t retired, and we have a female member, too.”

[ID: wooden table with an open booklet on top filling the image. One page is visible with a hand holding it open at the spine. The image on the booklet is a biplane made from palette wood in front of a white regency building in Cheltenham, there is a crowd of people behind the plane. Text above the image in the booklet reads, ‘The Sopwith Camel on Remembrance Day in front of the Cheltenham Council Building on the Promenade.’ and an image of a poppy underneath.]

The group have worked on projects for organisations including Riding for the Disabled, Gloucester Royal Hospital, and various local schools, to name a few. Every man I spoke to proudly pointed towards the numerous pictures pinned up around the shed and in a specially made booklet of the projects they’ve worked on. Stuart said, “the kind of things we do, people appreciate.” Adding to that, Chris Holms, another shed member told me about a job at Croft School. Last year after they completed making an outdoor seating area for the children, the men were ushered into the school hall. “The children all stood up and said thank you.”

When asked about how important mental health support is to the heart of Sheds, Stuart said, “it’s all about it, it’s not part of it, it’s all of it.” Research conducted on behalf of the Men’s Sheds Association in 2023 found that two in five members felt lonely before joining a Shed. Loneliness in men, especially older men is increasing. That same report says it’s estimated that around 1.4 million people over the age of 65 are chronically lonely in the UK. That’s just over one in eight over 65-year-olds experiencing extreme loneliness across the country.

 [Embed ID: Instagram post from UK Men’s Sheds Association, white background with yellow post-it-note and handwritten green text saying ‘it’s okay to ask for help. We’re stronger together!’]

The men at the Shed told me that they all believe it’s easier for women to make friends and be social than it is for men. “That’s why the existence of the Men’s Sheds Association is vital - get them out the house,” Stuart said with a smile, “or get their wives to kick them out the house!” He also explained why helping to reduce men’s loneliness is so important to him personally - he used to volunteer for the Royal Voluntary Service providing meals on wheels. “I had about thirty drops each Monday, probably half were made to men living alone,” he brought his hand to the table in front of him to emphasise his point, “sat in the same chair,” bang, “watching the same TV programme,” bang. He paused as his hand stayed on the table, “that’s sad to me.”

As part of the research, the men were asked how they felt after joining a shed. Only 3% said they still felt lonely. Stuart while humble, can be proud of what he’s doing and has done at the Shed in Cheltenham. He added finally, “something we’re doing must be right.”

Hear more from the Men in Sheds on what being part of a Shed means to them plus advice to their younger selves in the latest episode of 5 minutes with GL Twenties.