Author: cmsadmin

Last week, Teri Towner, one of our favorite city councillors asked us if we could do a little work for someone who really needed help. There were two tasks, so this is a 2 for one deal.

First we had to consult the tea leaves. This is done by putting some dry leaves into a container, pouring boiling water over them, drinking off the water and throwing the tea leaves over your shoulder. Don’t know why we do this but it seems to work fine.

The tea leaves hit Doug 2 and Cal in the face so they were given the job. Being a bit of a traditionalist Doug 2 went out looking for some child labour.

Cal on the other hand employed some technology, old tech in the form of a 1969 Barracuda with 400hp.

Our conclusion was that child labour is more environmental friendly.

Next we had to paint a couple of walls.

Yes that is Doug 2 again getting some pointers about painting from his grandson.

Mo, who had never painted before, turned out to be an expert. He left saying he was going to paint his house (I think we may have created a monster).

Once the painting was finished the plates on the electrical outlets had to be replaced. This is our version of “how many Shedders does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”

Upon completion we had another tea ceremony and a good time was had by all.

Well my friends it has been quite a month, it started with a BIG cheque curtesy of Vancity Credit Union. The cheque was to update our tools. Wow! Now we had to decide on priorities. As usual everyone came around to my way of thinking in the end.

Susan Devlin of Vancity Credit Union presents the cheque to Mike. Dave Q came along to make sure Mike put it into the CMS bank account.

Then someone else gave us a generous donation if we would refurbish a kayak that had been built by their farther.

Jack and Mohammad get down to business.

And, finally it was Christmas in May. Doug 2 and Dave 2 went shopping and came home with the goodies.

A dust collector system, and a very nice miter saw.

Doug 2 is reading the directions while Don 2 tries to figure out where this bit goes.. It would have been better if Doug 2 had read the English version.

Quality control checks the base.

And miraculously, a compound miter saw on wheels appeared. I suspect it is actually a transformer.

Only a few tealeaves were drowned during the assembly process.

We saved the dust collector for the next issue.

On Tuesday the 14th. August 2018 we had the pleasure of a visit from Doug Mackie the founder of the first Men’s Shed in North America, the Woodhaven Men’s Shed in Winnipeg.

Over breakfast Doug (with the white moustache) filled us in on what is happening with Men’s Sheds in Canada and around the World.

Then we took Doug to see our project at the local Transition Housing garden. The produce goes directly to the kitchen. We derive a great deal of pride and joy from this project and it gives us credibility with our allies as we develop our Shed.

Then we took him for a ride on the miniature trains at Burnaby Central Railway. Well worth a visit for young and old. The steam trains built by the members are fabulous and a ride on the approximate 2 miles of track through the park is always a thrill. A jewel in North Burnaby.

Today we were given the use of a Booth at the Coquitlam Farmers Market thanks to The Coquitlam Farmers Market Society. This was the first time we have done this so we really didn’t know what to expect. We put 60 brochures together and printed a couple of Coquitlam Men’s Shed Society signs (all very low tech.) and headed to the market. We offered our brochures to young and old, male and female with a quick explanation of what Men’s Sheds are about. Very few refused the brochure, almost all wanted more information and knew of someone who would be interested, some were added to our mailing list there and then. We ran out of brochures (should have had 100 for the 4 hours) and thoroughly enjoyed talking about our Shed. We will see what the response is in the next few weeks but it seems likely to be very positive.

Mike Jennings.

December 20th was our last meeting for 2016, and we met at Dan’s place to make some bird houses. We used a couple of cedar planks, and made these two:

It was a team effort. Everyone was involved from selecting the design, measuring cutting, re-cutting, drilling, nailing to management and quality control.

The boxes will be going to be installed somewhere nice in time for the spring. After the meeting we adjourned to the Black Sheep for lunch. Next meeting in 2 weeks. Big thank you to Dan for his hospitality.

Duncan

August 25th, the Coquitlam Men’s Shed visited the Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club.

Our host Paul, VA7JHW was there to give us the tour, explaining all about their new antenna towers that were completed this spring.

There is a lot in common with the Coquitlam Men’s Shed and the Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club. The focus in the latter is around Amateur Radio, where we focus more on building things. The Coquitlam Men’s Shed has a long way to go yet, to form a society and get funding and a location to call our own. Looking at the Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club, gives us hope that we can get there.

 

An Australian-born men’s health movement is making its way to City of Coquitlam.

The concept behind the growing Men’s Shed movement is to give men of all ages a place where they can socialize and work on projects of their choosing.

The idea began in Australia but quickly spread to New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom before making its way to Canada.

The first Men’s Shed in Canada was started four years ago in Winnipeg, and now has about 51 members.

Members meet twice a week to play card games, go for walks and work on projects, among other things, said Doug Mackie, founder and chair of Men’s Sheds Manitoba.

“The highest rate of completed suicide in Canada are men 67 or older,” Mackie said. “And why do they do this? Because they stop working, they no longer have a paycheque, they’re underfoot at home, they feel that they’re not worth as much as they were before.”

The Men’s Shed gives men a place to talk openly about anything they want, Mackie said.

“They know that they can come every Tuesday afternoon and there’s going to be some camaraderie, there’s going to be some kidding… It allows for open conversation,” he said. “If you don’t, then you’re less happy, your mentality can deteriorate because you’re not able to have an open discussion.”

Meanwhile in Coquitlam, it is still early days. The shed has less than a dozen members, who meet once every two weeks. Their initial goal is to get enough members to form a non-profit society, and then go after some funding. Later they hope to get a place of their own, where they can work on projects, meet for coffee and talk.

“Our last meeting was in Blue Mountain Park, where we met and did some wood carving. It is a good opportunity to get out of the house and meet others,” said one member. “Next meeting we are going to visit the Coquitlam Amateur Radio Club.”