Shoulder to Shoulder: shed opera tour 2023

We've covered this wonderful partnership betwen Men's Sheds Cymru and Swansea City Opera several times on Shedworking, but if you've unaccountably missed it, here's the blurb:

Moving, uplifting, and funny, Shoulder to Shoulder tells the real-life stories of men overcoming loneliness and social isolation. A top-flight ensemble of singers and musicians bring stories to life on stage this October. Shoulder to Shoulder is produced in partnership with Men’s Sheds Cymru.

Libretto by Brendan Wheatley, score by Lenny Sayers, Shoulder to Shoulder toured half a dozen venues in Wales in November last year and they're now looking into a 2023 tour so do look out for more information. Here's a clip to get you in the mood:

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Shoulder to Shoulder: the first opera about sheds

Swansea City Opera has been working with Men’s Sheds Cymru to produce the world's first opera about sheds. The new work - Shoulder to Shoulder - is still at the development stage but already around a quarter of an hour of music by composer Caradog Williams has been finished, a duet between a daughter and her father before he joins a shed, and a rap by three men working in a shed (see below).

The opera company has a strong history of community involvement and did its research properly, visiting numerous Men's Sheds in Wales and talking to members to guide the storyline - written by Brendan Wheatley - which takes an honest look at the issues that members have faced but also the comradeship which the sheds projects offer. Here's what Men's Sheds Cymruu project manager Robert Visitainer said:

They have been able to meet 'shedders' in person (when it was permissible under Covid-19 rules) each visit they spent time meeting the shed members, quickly putting them at ease and really encouraging them to take part and tell their stories. Brendan took time explaining the project, what they were looking for and plans for the piece. Most importantly the whole process was fun and creative. We're looking forward to doing more together.

To follow up this great start, they are now looking for more funding to finish the work this year and are working towards an August 11 concert date at the Acapela studios in Pentyrch. Anybody interested in taking part or telling their story is very welcome to get in touch with the opera company.

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Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men’s Shed Movement

A new addition to the shedworker's bookshelf, ‘Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men’s Shed Movement’ by Professor Barry Golding is a follow up to his 2015 The Men’s Shed Movement: the Company of Men and looks at the state of men's sheds around the world today in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Denmark, as well as Women’s Sheds. Barry is a Professor in adult and community education of Federation University Australia in Ballarat.

The book includes 130 case studies - 20 from the UK - and additionally looks at how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the movement. "The book captures the essence of Sheds and answers how and why they work," says Charlie Bethel, Chief Officer, UK Men’s Sheds Association

If you order both books here, you can get a 25% discount by using the code SHOULDER 2021. 

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  Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of                    contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of     which do not require planning

Can working from home damage your health?

Shedworkers and other people who work from home are more likely to suffer from work-related injuries such as neck and back problems, according to research from Bupa.

Its study indicates that slightly more than half of homeworkers have sustained injuries, aches and pains as a result of their working environment and are 10 per cent more likely to do so than those working in a ‘traditional’ workplace.

The research highlighted that not having the right work set-up at home is one cause - one in four homeworkers do not have a dedicated workspace at home (not something shedworkers need to worry about of course) and half admit to hunching over while working. Around 40 per cent said they regularly work from their bed or sofa. All these factors increase the risk of musculoskeletal injury, with the most common problems experienced being backache and neck ache.

Additionally, nearly half of those interviewed say they work longer hours when at home compared to their primary place of work, and often longer than stated in their contract. Over a prolonged period this can result in increased levels of fatigue and stress.

But there is some good news. The study found that the flexible nature of homeworking means that three out of five people are able to build exercise into their day, and the same proportion say they eat more healthily. Two thirds say they are able to take regular breaks from their work area, which is good for both mental and physical health.

Bupa's home-working health checklist is:

• Work in a room with adequate light so you don’t have to strain your eyes
• Sit in a chair where your feet can reach the floor, or are supported by a footrest
• Ensure your monitor is at least an arm’s length away from you and the top of the monitor is at eye level
• Try to use a hands-free phone line and avoid typing/writing with a phone between your ear and shoulder, as this can lead to neck problems
• Try to break more regularly than you would in an office as your posture is likely to be worse at home, ideally every 20 – 30 minutes
• Make time to stretch out to avoid stiffness, particularly if you spend a long period of time in the same position

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Men's Sheds Anthem

We've covered Swansea City Opera's play 'Shoulder to Shoulder' based on Men's Sheds before on Shedworking, so we were delighted that they have released a little preview of the theme song - music by Lenny Sayers, words by Brendan Wheatley, performed by Only Men Aloud.

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Shed colouring book

Started in 2013, originally as one drawing a day, Lee John Phillips’ Shed Project documents item-by-item the contents of his late grandfather’s shed, including everything from rusting hammers and saw, from rivets and nails to scissors and paintbrushes.

Lee is an artist, teacher and illustrator based in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He estimates that there are 100,000 objects in his grandfather’s shed and has currently drawn 4,600 of them, painstakingly cataloguing each item to help to keep the memory of his grandfather alive.



Drawing has resulted in problems, back, neck, shoulder, elbow and hand problems, admits Lee. “I have regular physio, but have not had the pleasure of a full night's sleep since last October”. But he still gets a great sense of satisfaction knowing that with each passing day, the project is slowly but surely getting closer to completion: “I finish a jam jar and it feels great. I see them lined up, tagged, numbered and ready to go back to the shed. It makes it easier to push on”.

On 23 September, Laurence King Publishing is releasing a colouring book which includes 50 of his illustrations.

They are also publishing Toolshed Journal which they describe as "a beautifully designed journal, featuring three different stocks and 40 illustrations (both full-page and details)". It will feature a wood effect cover, a page of stickers and a mixture of illustrated and blank pages to write on.

Quick look inside my #Toolshedcolouringbook. #illustration #tools #colouring pic.twitter.com/Bc8CzX3yuL

— Lee John Phillips (@LeeJohnPhillips) July 22, 2016

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Outlandia: treehouse shedworking

Outlandia is an off-grid treehouse garden office, an artist studio, meeting pklace and fieldstation in Glen Nevis, Lochaber, Scotland. It's the work of London Fieldworks and Malcolm Fraser Architects and apparently inspired by "childhood dens, wildlife hides and bothies, by forest outlaws and Japanese poetry platforms". The goal of Outlandia is to encourage links between creativity and the environment. Here's what Malcolm Fraser says about it:

Sitting half-way up the opposite side of the Glen to Ben Nevis, a visitor approaches Outlandia through the path we cut through the dense woods behind, descending out the musty dark of the trees into a big view which, from dark-to-light and framed by old, tall larches, opens-up across the Glen to the shoulder of the Ben.

The building itself sits out from a 45 degree slope: a treehouse, part-built out the trees cut down to form the site, entered across a bridge from the slope behind; a simple box, leaning-out into the view with big windows opening-up to it. Part of the building of it was a low-impact, eco-friendly use of material recovered from the site; part the opposite, high-impact and hairy landings of concrete, for the foundations, from a helicopter. Construction was part-joinery, part-forestry and part-mountain rescue, with a local contractor who nicely combined all three, and an unusual set of Risk Assessments.

Below is an interior shot of the structure, a trompe l'oeil library by artist Adam Dant in the style of the Scottish Enlightenment: visitors can write their own titles onto the spines of the books.

More photos here
Via dezeen
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Peerdrum: helping bosses spy on homeworkers

We had hoped that we were seeing the end of the bad old days when bosses didn't trust their homeworking staff to get on with the job in hand. These managers are the dinosaurs who insist on presenteeism and - despite all survey results to the contrary - secretly believe people who work from home wear pyjamas and watch daytime television all day.

Well, they'll be rubbing their hands with glee with the launch of Peerdrum. This web application takes screenshots every ten minutes and tracks time spent on projects with the aim of 'managing' remote workers' performance. Yes, there's a kind of 'pause' button but let's be honest, if you know your boss is peering over your shoulder then that's not really an option you'll be keen to use very frequently.

And what does it say about the trust within your working relationship? There are many, many great applications out there which are useful for people working remotely on a project to share their work and thoughts. This isn't one of them. However you dress it up, it appears to be a way for bosses to spy on homeworkers and we don't like it. But maybe that's just us - what are your thoughts?
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Celebrity rotating shedworking health tips

Bernard Shaw’s Rotating House Is an Aid to Health appeared in the August issue of Modern Mechanics (which has been revived at the Modern Mechanix site). In the article above, Shaw suggests that he is in the pink thanks to the amount of sun his rotating garden office affords him. "Mr. Shaw has a plan to keep the sun shining on him constantly while he works," runs the feature. "He has constructed a small hut on his grounds that is built on a turntable. When the morning sun shifts, he merely places his shoulder against the side of the hut and gives it a push so that the warming beams fall through bis window at the correct angle. Mr. Shaw’s plan to keep the sun shining on him is a simple health measure, and not a wanton eccentricity. The author has spent most of his life out of doors, but when he moved to London he didn’t get as much sun as he thought he needed. Hence the hut."
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Laptop cases

When you're away from the garden office shed, you need something nice to carry your portable electronic goodies around in. And Built has several nice solutions ('Solving problems, with style' is their mantra). First is the neoprene Electronic Pocket which comes in three sizes and which is just perfect for your Blackberry or mobile. Attach them to a belt or bag and you can also whack them in the washing machine if you drop them in the mud. Then there's the gorgeous Laptop Portfolio Case made from the same stuff that stops scubadivers ripping themselves open on coral and fits 15" laptops (includes shoulder strap). Finally, the Laptop Sleeve, again neoprene and again very handy. With Shark Gill Grips on the sides, you won't drop it. Available in three sizes.