Further Effects of "The Voice" debate

[old man emu]

16 hours ago, spenaroo said:

the issue I have seen is more about finding them a place and a passion. something to focus on (boxing, dance etc..)

This problem applies to all school-aged children in our smaller rural towns. The root of the problem is that these towns have small populations so that there are not the "critical masses" that are necessary to sustain any activities for them.

 

While a lot of little towns have a football or cricket club, there is not the population to be able to establish more than one team. So any team that is formed enters into competitions involving other one-team towns. However attending matches involves a lot of travel For example, from Gilgandra it is about 100 kms to Coonabarabran and Coonamble; 80 to Warren; 80 to Narromine; 50 to Gulargambone, and 65 to Dubbo. They are the one-way distances, so it is expensive, especially for low income families whose kids are the ones who need these activities to participate in the same sort of grassroots competitions that city kids can.

 

I could be really controversial and point a finger at organisations like Men's Sheds. Men's Sheds are very well funded and equipped with the best of light machinery for wood and metal work. They are a gathering place for the town's elders who have a wealth of experience that could be passed on to the young people of the town. But those elders seem to refuse to open their doors to the young.

 

As put in Said Hanrahan, the membership of Men's Sheds

stood about,
Coat-collars to the ears,
And talked of stock, and crops, and drought,
As it had done for years.

 

As well, they bemoan the lack of initiative of their grandchildren while filing to agree to do what grandparents are supposed to do - teach. 

 

[spenaroo]

yeah that annoyed me tbh.
I love the idea of the mens shed. when I discovered it I thought it would be the perfect way for me to socialise.
other men, all experienced enjoying crafting as a hobby etc.. what an opportunity to learn more about life

and then I found out the age limit.... 

[spacesailor]

AGE LIMIT

Isn't that Discrimination. 

And " men only " 

spacesailor

[red750]

There are problems, not insurmountable, but limitations, never-the-less. When our shed was in it's old location, we had a youth program, primarily for kids who were not fitting in (school dropouts, minor run-ins with police etc. Every member of the shed, whether directly involved in the progam or not, had to get a police check and Working With Children certificate. When we had to vacate our premises and share facilities with another similar men's shed 10 km away, there was not sufficient room to continue the program, which had turned a number of the kids around. We are waiting for the council to provide a temporary premises until the new shed they plan to build us is ready. Negotiations on the temporary accommodation have been going on since November last year, and while a location has been found, it is not in a fit state for our use (toilet facilities, electrical work, provision for disabled, etc.). It could be another couple of months until it is made ready. As for the new shed, land has been selected, but building and fitout may take five years. Councils move at glacial speed.

[red750]

11 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

And " men only " 

While there are sheds which are open to women, it is a decision for the men involved. Many want to get away from the nagging wife, etc., and want the freedom to "man talk". Many subjects discussed are not suitable for mixed company, and the presence of women may discourage some men from discussing their own problems, which the shed environment helps to sort out.  

[old man emu]

I can agree with gender restrictions - show us your Y-chromosome - but I think that for all the money that is allocated to the movement by government in order to deal with male health issues, the facilities should be open to males of all ages.

 

Consider men's health. Old blokes get together and try to break the custom of bottling up your problems and seeking help. Teenage boys will be old men one day. What's wrong with telling them about what happens as one grows old?  What is so mystical about the fact that men suffer from prostate problems in older age and the problem is only made worse by not being aware of it, that young men should not be given that information? Do you think that middle-aged women don't get advice from their elders about menopause, and then pass that information on to their daughters? Better than telling them fables such as "if you keep doing that, you'll go blind".

 

Consider the passing on of skills. The younger generation learns a lot from YouTube. An Old Fart like me sure has. However, I am lucky in that I have accumulated the equipment to use to apply what I have learned. Young people haven't. The equipment is present in Men's Sheds. Surely, one can see that allowing young people to apply what they pick up from YouTube is more than a win-win situation. It's 1 + 1 = 3 or more.

 

Are we so wise that we can abandon the practices of the Ages whereby the young learned from their elders and later in their lives expanded on that earlier knowledge through their experiences and passed that greater knowledge on to their grandchildren?

 

It costs a volunteer no money to obtain a Working With Children Check, and by now many older people would have obtained one through their sporting club activities.

[facthunter]

The world has been controlled by a "Men ONLY"  Philosophy forever, particularly with religion. Have WE progressed at all?.  Just bear this in mind. Blokeyness in the 60's was abhorrent IF you didn't like it you were a "poof".   HAS it changed much? Anyhow your men's shed is OK if they can DO things. Men NEED sheds.  Nev

[old man emu]

41 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Have WE progressed at all?. 

I think so. Who epitomises "blokeyness" or "bogan" nowadays? The young and the uneducated.

 

Most of us have escaped from the "six o'clock swill" mentality of earlier generations that preserved the needs brought about by infantry warfare in generations lacking a broader knowledge of the World beyond the next postcode. 

 

 

[red750]

We have had younger guys as members of the shed. But funding does have a lot to do with it. We used to be funded under NDIS, but when that was changed to pay the person, not the provider, this made things more difficult. Now our funding comes through My Aged Care, where you can only register once you are 65. Without funding, we couldn't operate. Also, our hours are during school time, 10 till 3. During school holidays, like now, the shed is closed.

[spacesailor]

Let's me out ! .

I'll never be 65 ever again.  LoL.

Never been to a ' men's ' shed . Parents, would not allow us kids to be around older men .

I wonder why , after all most of our teachers were ex- army ' demobbed  soldiers ' .

AND NOT TOO NICE .

spacesailor

[pmccarthy]

My brother quit the mens shed because they all kept asking him how to do things. He felt he was the only competent person there.

[red750]

Not everyone is a handyman. I can't drive a nail in straight. But I don't do woodwork projects either. I rarely go into the workshop, unless they want a photo of something. My specialties are photography and computing. Finding stuff forpeople on the internet. And of course, funnies and funny pictures. Some guys are happy to just sit and chat, particularly widowers. Some live on their own and have few other contacts.

 

There are qualified men there as volunteers, retired carpenters, tradies, mechanics, etc. Others who just enjoy being on the tools. Some have their own projects, and enjoy having access to tools they couldn't afford to have at home, or live in retirement estates where they wouldn't be permitted to use the noisier tools.  

[Jerry_Atrick]

I think, as an argumentative SoB, I would be thrown out.

[facthunter]

No one's likely to argue with that.  Nev

[Old Koreelah]

17 hours ago, red750 said:

Not everyone is a handyman. I can't drive a nail in straight…

A decade ago I was a regular at our local men’s shed and it was heartening to see old blokes learning new skills; One old dairy farmer was using a wood lathe for the first time and a retired Senator was making quite passable wooden trinkets.

[facthunter]

Most use the tools on a wood lathe wrong and just scrape the wood off. On the  smaller diameters the rpms are very high and you can get injured easily.  Nev

[red750]

There is another group who may join us at our temporary premises, a wood turners group. One of our members is also in that group. They have half a dozen small lathes.

[old man emu]

Don't ask those woodturners to do anything around the Shed. They're lathey bastards.

[Old Koreelah]

Tewwible wythp u have there OME!

[Bruce Tuncks]

You got me old K...  whats a wythp?

[Bruce Tuncks]

I freely admit to being slow.

[red750]

29 minutes ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

You got me old K...  whats a wythp?

 

 

A lisp, spoken with a lisp.

 

 

 

[facthunter]

What goes around saying Mark, Mark.? A dog with a hair lip.  Nev

[red750]

He walked with a  limp, spelt L I M P. Pronounced 'limp'.  Spike Milligan.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Reminds me about the thundergod, who interrupted his cruise ( riding on a thunderbolt) to rape a golden blonde on a deserted beach. Later, back cruising, he said to himself " That was a bit rude, you should have introduced yourself"

So he did a U turn and alighted near the woman with a thunder noise. Bowing deeply , he said "pleased to meet you, I'm Thor"

She replied " Yeth, I'm thor too, its very thandy here.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Bruce Tuncks