Category Archives: Announcements

Please complete our Men’s Shed Survey

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CaptureIn today’s BMS monthly meeting we agreed to issue a Survey to find out more about our members and what you want in a Men’s Shed. The responses will help us understand our membership better, what you want in a “Shed”, where you want it to be, what your priorities are.

We would be delighted if you could find the short amount of time needed to fill in the survey and promise that the information will be put to good use.

Depending on how we need to present the results, we intend to ultimately publish the results, either via our web site or perhaps a Newsletter, but the information will definitely be available via our social and business meetings. Indeed, publication may take some time to gather sufficient responses, but the interim picture will be available via our meetings as it builds.

I’ve sent an e-mail out to all current, past and social members, however, the survey is not limited to current and past members – if you know anyone else who might be interested in joining, even tentatively, we would like to hear from them too, so please let them know about this

The survey is at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHY83ksZTZT45E8bZPUL-V7fhJaHPJRvIgIUESufkulS7JPA/viewform

The survey is anonymous, though you can input your e-mail address at the end if you want, so we can contact you. Anyone can use the link, there is no login or sign-up required.

If you would prefer to complete a paper copy, then please contact the BMS membersip e-mail given on the Contact page and we will send you one.

Many thanks!

August Business Meeting – Change of normal date

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Will everyone please note a change in the normal 2nd Thursday date for August’s business meeting:

August’s meeting will be on Thursday August 3rd, (not 10th Aug)

The agenda is as follows:

  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of previous meeting
  3. Membership Questionnaire
  4. Reconstitute Premises Team
  5. Milton of Crathes
  6. Ravenswood
  7. Fund raising
  8. The Royal Regiment of Scotland at Crathes event
  9. AOB

This is an important meeting and will discuss some key questions raised over the last couple of weeks around the premises issue and how we go forward.  We would encourage everyone to attend.

Thank you.

Is it nearly August already?

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Hello to all from a dreich Sunday morning.  It seems only yesterday we were having great Spring weather and yet next weekend it will be August.  We’ve not had a bad year for summer weather overall though, with some lovely days and some Proper Rain betweentimes to keep the growing things growing.

Anyway, just to keep you up to date with a couple of things:

The Banchory Men’s Shed Contacts Directory is now in existence and has been e-mailed out.  If you have not received a copy it is because, for privacy purposes, it is only being circulated to those BMS Members already on the directory.  If you want to be added please contact bms.membership@gmail.com and let us know which out of your landline, mobile and e-mail details you are willing to share.

Whilst you may be familiar with and a regular user of Facebook, and follow the Banchory Men’s Shed goings-on there, we know many people do not use Facebook.  Whilst we don’t cover all the everyday goings-on here, we do try to keep you reasonably up-to-date on this blog page.  However – if you would like to hear from us by e-mail whenever we update this blog, you can easily do this.  Look on the right hand side of our home page, and you will see a section “FOLLOW THIS BLOG BY E-MAIL“.  Pop in your e-mail address there and these posts will auto-magically appear in your inbox soon after release.  You can unsubscribe at any time and we absolutely don’t and won’t use these e-mail addresses to send anything else, or pass them on.

SignsAnd by the way, if you’re not on Facebook but want to see the Shed postings anyway, you can do this easily from here – at the bottom of the page is a wee Facebook logo, under the heading “SOCIAL MEDIA”.  Click that and off you’ll go to our Facebook page, which is open and public and does not need a Facebook account.

Over there just now is an explanation for this picture…

Look forward to seeing you at Tuesday’s social (10:30 at the Legion).  With a critical stage being reached on one option, there’s a fair bit of constructive energy buzzing around the premises issue at present, which can only be good to help things move forward.  See you there.

July Monthly Meeting

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Hi everyone.  Just to let you know our regular monthly “Business” meeting is on this coming Thursday 13th July at the Legion at 2 p.m.  All welcome.

To update you briefly from the 2nd May blog post below, things are progressing again with the favoured option for a permanent Banchory Men’s Shed site and premises.  Advice from those more familiar than we are with the planning process has confirmed our own feelings that Aberdeenshire Planning’s likely objections are themselves “unsustainable”.  We are therefore in communication with the Planning department and hope to hear more by the date of the meeting; please come along and find out.    We have also therefore put the alternative back on the back burner.

“In other news” and as some will know, the Lions in Banchory have closed (see here) but our friends at the Banchory Legion Scotland have taken over the well-known and much-loved monthly Book Sale.  The Legion’s book sale will be held as usual on the first Saturday of each month, at the Legion’s own premises in Ramsay Road rather than at the Town Hall.

For the first such sale last Saturday (1st July), the Banchory (and District!) Men’s Shed took the opportunity to hold a tool sale at the same time, which raised some useful funds as well as recycling some tools, old and completely new, back into the community.

Tool_sale

Tool sale at the Legion

Annual Meeting, Premises Update and Premises/Land Appeal

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Men's Shed Logo 180 by 200Greetings to everyone.

The Banchory (and District!) Men’s Shed will be holding our…

  • Annual General Meeting
  • next Thursday, 11th May 2017
  • at 2:00 p.m.
  • at the Banchory Legion in Ramsay Road

Everyone is invited.

The agenda is the usual fare – as follows – but this standard and rather “dry” list of topics conceals an interesting year for everyone, with some recent disappointments but also some further promising developments – more on this below.

  1. Apologies
  2. Minutes of last meeting
  3. Chairman’s report
  4. Treasurers report
  5. Progress of Bancon proposal
  6. Planning permission application progress
  7. Alternative location
  8. Election of officials
  9. Appointment of Trustees
  10. AOB

Do please come along whether you are interested in getting the Shed up and running and into new premises, or whether you would be interested later on once things are fully kicked off.

Without wanting to steal too much thunder from the Chairman’s report or the agenda items covering premises, we have recently had our most promising premises option so far kicked into touch – this time by Aberdeenshire Planning who have firmly advised us that the proposed location would not meet the Planning Guidelines in terms of “sustainability”.  This means that they believe it would be necessary to drive there, rather than being able to walk or cycle – in spite of the location being on the Deeside Way (which, er, facilitates walking and cycling there?), is on the bus route, and is adjacent to other much-used facilities well known to those in the Banchory and District area.  We disagree with their conclusion but now have had yet another possibility raised, possibly more promising, so we will be pursuing that first.

Come and hear more at the Meeting.

In the meantime, it remains the case that we are still looking for a “Shed” premises in or near Banchory and would be very interested to hear from anyone who could help us along.  In summary we need either a building or land which can accommodate social rooms and a workshop, of around 100 sq metres (or more) in all.  If land is offered we have the option on Portacabin style buildings along with a number of transport containers which we were going to fully convert into buildings (with pitched roofs).  If the offer is of a building, barn, shed, whatever, we are able to make adaptations / conversions as required.

It also needs to be affordable and within the means of a small charitable organisation.

So if you have anything available or know of anywhere, please get in touch via our Contacts page.  Thanks!

A Happy New Year to all

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Welcome to 2017 and we wish a Happy New Year to all existing Banchory Shedders and to anyone interested in the Banchory Men’s Shed.

needles_doonAs tonight is Twelfth Night, by now your tree and ornaments are probably down (along with Many Needles!)  and you are thinking about the forthcoming return to “normality” as the festive season recedes.  This is just a quick blog post to remind you of a few things coming along to kick off the New Year.

Our first full meeting of the year will be our meeting next Thursday, 12th January, at the Legion Banchory at 2:00 p.m.  Topics on the agenda include progress reports on the two options for a permanent “home” for us, with, I believe, a wee surprise in store.   If it’s your first time at a Banchory Men’s Shed meeting and you’re not sure where to go, see our Where page.

Before that our first social meeting will be on Tuesday 10th January at the same place, at 10:30 a.m. for about 1-1/2 hours. Tea, coffee and a blether are the order of the day.

All are welcome to both meetings and you don’t have to be a member – just come along and see what’s going on.

To keep up with the Banchory Men’s Shed, our most up-to-date information is posted on our Facebook site, Howard doing sterling work as always to inform and usually amuse as well.

The full web site (this page) is updated as appropriate.  To save you having to visit the site if nothing is currently happening, you can deliver updates automatically to your e-mail inbox. Sign up on the right hand side of the page, where it says “Follow this blog by e-mail”, by entering your e-mail address and clicking the “Follow” link.  (If you’ve already done the “Follow” area will tell you you’re already signed up).

We all look forward to seeing you soon and to a constructive New Year with positive developments for Shed Premises!