September Newsletter 2025 Part One

1. Welcome to September’s newsletter. September is the month that many clubs and associations have their Annual General Meeting. WMS is no exception. This year’s is 4th September. It offers the opportunity for members to meet and discuss any issues from the previous year and to look ahead to the future. Please pass any apologies or proposals to the Secretary nlt Monday 1st September.

2. 30th July saw the NHS Health Checks team visit the WMS. Those members who signed up were given an MOT including: - height and weight, blood pressure, cholesterol test and in some cases a blood sugar level test too and a quite valuable lifestyle interview. The feedback was positive with members coming away with a better appreciation of their health situation and perhaps lifestyle changes as well which would be followed up by an email. Thank you to the NHS staff member who joined us for the day who gave us a chance to check our medical wellbeing. Here we see John Bowden going through his appointment happily, however, Derek Rustell wasn’t so impressed, as he came out stating that the medical showed that he was pregnant! Well, the tests can’t completely be wrong Derek….

3. A new member, Andy Wood, hit the ground running recently wanting to get involved with something and what a start he had! This is his account of his first couple of months…….” Upon joining the WMS, I was privileged to immediately select a restoration project, namely restoring a classic 19th-century French Flower Cart. I contacted the owner of the cart, who was donating it to the Shed. She said that, as her house was on the other side of the park, I could walk over and wheel it back, but I declined and took my car. Upon arrival, she informed me that she and her late husband used to wheel their grandchildren around the garden, and then it was left outside to be used for housing plants. It had apparently been restored by the Shed a long time ago. I walked around to the garden cart and pulled on the handle; instantly, the rear wheels fell off. Luckily, I had the car. It's been an enjoyable journey restoring it. Having the support and encouragement from the guys at Waterlooville Men's Shed has been great fun and a learning curve for me. Triggers broom comes to mind, but in this case, it could be Triggers cart, as most of the original wood was rotten, presenting a more significant challenge to me. However, with perseverance and a great deal of support from the guys, I managed to get there. Well, now finished, and sold for £250 to the owner of Keydell Nurseries, I'm looking forward to another challenge—a big thank you to the guys at the Shed for welcoming me and providing support when needed.”

As you can see, the analogy between Triggers broom and the restored cart is very apt. It’s good that it now has a new lease of life rather than the ‘mixed wood’ skip at the tip. We all look forward to the next project. Just had an idea Andy ...............