News - March 2020

I'm feeling rather pleased with myself right now. Probably for the first time ever, I have carried through with a New Year's resolution and now have a shiny new fire extinguisher installed in my home shed. With luck, this will be as effective as the garlic I hang by the door to ward off vampires!

And I have finished the rack for my lathe tools. Having endured weeks of debate regarding my chisel rack at Greystones about whether the chisels should be point-up or point-down, I have gone for a 50:50 design which should please everybody and nobody! I expect a visit from the village elders any time soon.

An apology

Ron's wife, Linda, has complained that I continually mangle their family name in Shed emails. (Allen Henna and Keith Vinycomb are other potential trip hazards!) So, my apologies for any distress caused to Linda Saves Lions and anyone else whose name I have misspelled.

Christchurch Men's Shed Southern Area Breakaway Group?

What are the chances of two of our members, who without any prior discussion, booking a family holiday for the same two weeks and in the exact same hotel? Well it happened to Richard Edwards and Mack Truss. Reports are coming in of a new Men's Shed in Tenerife!

Friars Cliff Forum: "I Love Highcliffe on Sea"

For anyone residing in the Friars Cliff area, look out for an article on Christchurch Men's Shed in the March edition. If you take a look at the "I Love Highcliffe on Sea" group on Facebook, it features a picture of of us at hard at work in the Shed.

Workshop

Len has been busy again. He has carved a superb face of a Saxon Warrior which is destined for the Saxon Bar in Christchurch .....and his Bug Hotel is the latest "Shed Works" creation .Jerry completed (3) more bird boxes made to order in return for a donation to CMS

Workshop Tools

The two wood working lathes are getting more use now. We have sharpened up a lot of the tools and purchased a drill chuck and adaptor that it will fit both the "blue" and the "green" lathe tail stocks. Rob Heels has been turning spindles for a stool and Jeff has produced a pair of goblets in laburnum.

If you haven't done any wood turning before, please ask one of our "turners" for some basic instruction and safety training - once you get going, it becomes strangely addictive.

Workshop Safety

We have a good track record so far with nothing more than a few minor cut fingers so let's keep it up. So please don't leave machines running unattended, wear appropriate safety gear and switch off at the wall socket when your session is finished.

Tools and Equipment Donations

Recent donations included a load more screws and fasteners complete with wall mounted storage racks. Ken Nash gave us a JCB brand angle grinder.

The Old School House - Progress

The locks on the (3) doors have been changed (1-key fits all) and we can get direct access to the lower hall. At present, the key-holders are our four trustees plus Nick Mowll, the HRA and Highcliffe in Bloom who will need access to their storage shed in the courtyard. We have made good progress clearing out the lower hall ready for when we can start converting it into our new workshop. he downside is that in clearing out the old cupboards and partitions, we have generated a lot more rubbish which needs to be removed from site. HRA are currently preparing a draft lease for our review and hopefully we will soon have some news on our various funding applications.

CMS Funds

Thanks to CMS members generosity, our finances are in much better shape. The various fund raising initiatives also made a great contribution. A thought to keep in mind is: a sale of "Shed work" in the run up to next Christmas - but we will need to get started on this in good time. I know from selling my Christmas Trees last year. You get a nice feeling when people appreciate your work and are prepared to pay good money for it.

CMS Membership Fees

At our March general meeting at Greystones, members voted on increasing our annual membership from £15 to £20. The vote was carried with one exception. I will start taking 2020 - 2021 membership fees at our next Mudeford Club lunch. We will issue new membership forms to keep our records up to date.

Please note that any members who use the workshop facilities at Greystone's House also have to be members of the Highcliffe Community Association (HCA). HCA membership fees of £10 per annum are paid direct to HCA at their reception desk. There is also an additional £2 "capitation fee" - see below:

• If you are planning to attend the workshop at Greystones, I will need £20 plus £2 from you and you also have to renew your membership of HCA at the front desk.
• If you are not planning to visit the workshop at Greystones, I will only want £20 from you and there is no requirement to join HCA.

Forthcoming Events

The next Mudeford Club Lunch is booked for Friday 27th March starting at 12.00 noon

Our next General Meeting at Greystones House will be Tuesday 7th April starting at 2.00 pm

The forecast for next week is for more rain. So, best come down to the workshop where it is nice and dry with plenty of hot air guaranteed!

John Pegram

Christchurch Men's Shed