In early July I went to Shedfest, the annual gathering of the UK Men’s Sheds Association. These are groups of men (some spaces admit women!), getting together, sometimes in a shed or other community space, to talk, make things and generally hang out and support each other in the way that women have done since time immemorial.
It’s a fantastic movement with plenty of characters. The wonderful thing about exhibiting as part of the Warm Welcome Campaign – and encouraging Men’s Sheds to sign up to be part of our campaign – was meeting other likeminded folk. Including Maff and Yvonne from the Association of Camerados which operates around 270 public living rooms across the country and overseas, often in the most deprived areas of the UK.
Camerados deliberately has no barriers to access. They’re often ad hoc sitting rooms put together with sofas, chairs, rugs and cushions in the open air – there are no referrals from any other ‘authorities’; they’re not in churches or any space that someone might think isn’t for them. And they have some clear, deliberate rules including ‘No fixing – just be alongside one another’ and ‘It’s ok to disagree respectfully’.
But, as Maff explained to me, living these principles is becoming hard in polarised Britain. Organisations such as Camerados, Warm Welcome, the Marmalade Trust (which runs Loneliness Awareness Week) and so many others including warm hubs, even Scouting and Girl Guiding groups, are making a positive difference to people’s lives.
As Maff said, the world can feel like a bin fire. Here’s to celebrating and raising awareness of the positive aspects of our lives, that bring people together, not set us apart.
This week I was at a fantastic community space, Spark in Portsmouth, which has been running since the end of the pandemic, bringing people together for a pay what you can café, with a second-hand shop and various activities from creative workshops to wellbeing sessions.
I was there with the energy company OVO who were handing out energy advice and freebies including low energy light bulbs and fleecy electric blankets which were literally flying out of the door as fast as the volunteers could unpack them. There were also advisers from Incomemax which advises people on grants, benefits and other financial support and from a local water utility company.
Again, it’s brilliant to see people pulling together to help others. Let’s tell more of these positive stories.
Finally this week, I’ve been helping Good Faith Partnership celebrate the positive impact of its Welcome Hubs which have welcomed more than 1,000 Ukrainians to Bristol since Russia invaded Ukraine. A survey of more than 100 Ukrainian families shows two of three Ukrainian families ‘feel part of the Bristol community’, as a result of the work that Good Faith, Bristol City Council and Refugee Welcome Homes among others have done to support Ukrainian families in the city.
In other news
This was interesting from The Guardian, encouraging the government to prioritise boosting people’s happiness as well as pursuing economic growth as a main objective. Hear, hear.
With some holiday on the horizon, that’s enough for this month. Enjoy August and I’ll publish again in September.
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