By Rachel Meadows – Head of Development
Earlier this month, I took a trip to Wales to visit a couple of Sheds around Cardiff. These were not just any Sheds….these were UK Men’s Shed of the Year Award finalist goodShed in Cardiff, and Shed of the Year Award winner Men’s Den Blaenau Gwent!
GoodShed is located at the Cardiff Railway Gardens, set up in a container in a secure space with other containers used as a cafe, and spaces for other community groups. While we were there the Shed were being visited by Cardiff Council’s Waste Management team to discuss working with them on bringing new life to donated items and saving them from landfill. The council take delivery of small household items at ‘community recycling zones’ around the city in libraries and hubs so they can be recycled, but the Shed are in talks to breathe some life back into these items.
The Shed already work on projects like this in their container, or at their local high school who they partner with to use their large power tools outside of school hours. The Shed are currently developing a second site at a former scout hut and are keen to work with UKMSA to run a ShedConnect event for Sheds in the South Wales area. It was lovely to visit them and we were made to feel very welcome!
The visit to Men’s Den Blaenau Gwent was part of our partnership work with Diageo, allowing their ESG Lead, Beth Rochford to visit the Shed of the Year. As part of Diageo’s sponsorship of our 2025 Awards, Beth sat on a panel alongside UKMSA Trustee and Ambassador John Latchford and UKMSA Chair Rob Lloyd that helped crown Men’s Den BG as 2025’s winner.
The Shed is currently situated at a Rugby and Cricket club with a standalone cabin set up as a workshop which offers a decent amount of space and privacy, car parking, and the opportunity for the Shed to use the club facilities for social events. The Shed’s exciting news is that they are currently working to develop a new location in Brynmawr in a former shop front which will see them placed on a small high street with increased footfall and connection to the community.
UKMSA CEO Caroline Ellis, UKMSA Trustee Chris Griffiths, National Development Manager for Wales Robert Visintainer, Beth Rochford and I were able to meet and chat with Shed members over hot drinks and breakfast rolls while they hosted a health and wellbeing event featuring local health organisations giving information to Shedders and members of the Shed’s women’s group.
The clubhouse was packed with members who told us about how and why they had come to find the Shed and what they loved about it. Members ranged in age from Jim who was 91, down to a young guy in his early 20’s who had been signposted by his social worker. We also chatted to Gabby, a lady that had moved to Blaenau Gwent after spending her whole life in London and then found herself homeless. She had only been in her new community for five months and had already found the Shed’s women’s group to be a great source of support.
After the clubhouse we headed to the workshop. During our tour of the workshop the Shedders got Beth suited up in PPE and gave her a turn on the lathe (pun intended!) and we got to see the UK Men’s Shed of the Year 2025 trophy settled into its new home.
eseAfter the workshop we went en masse to have a look around the new shop site. The shop is a great size, easily located, has its own parking and needs some light renovations… and a good clean. The new site development is supported by a local Housing Association, Tai Calon, and the local authority who have supported a lottery bid to fund the redevelopment.
Members of the Housing Association and Local Authority were also in attendance to show their support during our visit. With such a show of member and supporter involvement it was clear how much impact the Shed makes in the community and how valued they are for the work they do. To add a final touch of excitement throughout our day, we had a film crew in attendance who were filming a short piece for the Shed. This video is being funded by Diageo as a prize for the Shed winning the UK Men’s Shed of the Year title and will showcase the Shed’s work, impact and journey to their new space. The piece is being filmed by Ian Smith from helpu Wales, who has filmed for us at ShedFest in the past.
Huge thanks to goodShed and Men’s Blaenau Gwent for their hospitality, it was inspiring to see what Sheds are doing in Wales, they are so clearly at the heart of their communities and having an impact on so many people around them. Thank you also to our staff team, Robert and SImon in Wales, and Welsh UKMSA Ambassador Rob Thomas; keeping Sheds thriving is a vital part of their work, and this was extremely evident at these visits.
