Llanelli Pride took delivery of the shoe a few days before the Llanelli Christmas Parade. The pink paint was delivered and the place was booked . Davinia Harrison is the resident expert painter for |Llanelli Pride, painting all the Men’s Shed’s items which included the Wishing Well and the benches made previously for other occasions. Now it was the time to perform her magic on the shoe. By the time she had finished it looked magnificent.
On the day,the Llanelli Pride convoy was ready to make its way to the parade The men from the Men’s Shed arrived to fasten the shoe securely to make it safe for young Daniel Williams to sit at the top while the convoy would be travelling. He would be up the height of the shoe and truck so about 7 ft high. It would be a slow process through town but even so he was a very courageous young man to do it. They were all immensely proud of him.
The shoe has been made to show off the work that Llanelli Pride are doing , showing the pride that we all have in Llanelli for its diversity and acceptance of every kind of person and belief. A wonderful place to live !!
The convoy arrived at Festival Fields where all the other floats and vans etc. were getting ready to set off on the slow trek into town. Various people came to try sitting on the shoe including most appropriately Cinderella. There were people asking if they could borrow it but Llanelli Pride refused. It was their magnificent shoe and they would re-use it and show it off again and again in the future. Members of the Men’s Shed were supporting the Llanelli Pride convoy as it was a joint effort between the Men’s Shed and Llanelli Pride.
The volunteers walked alongside the shoe truck giving out Llanelli Pride leaflets and talking about the shoe to local people en route. There were many Ooohs and Aaahs seeing Daniel at the top of the shoe waving the Pride flag. The walkers beside the shoe truck had to explain about the Llanelli Station Men’s Shed. Local people were so impressed with the standard of the work, they could not believe it had been done by local guys volunteering at the Men’s shed. Well done!
Over the past 9 months since they moved to their new premises near Llanelli Station, the Llanelli Station Men’s Shed has gone from strength to strength. People are coming by to purchase their planters, benches etc. and also they are placing specific orders. This has brought money in and they are gradually becoming more and more self-sufficient. It is a slow process but they are getting there. They still need grants and support but their achievements are outstanding.
Because it is their own space they can open several days a week. They can have a women’s day once a fortnight which has become very popular. They are spreading their wings and the shed is a real triumph. They are happy to take on more big projects now that they have shown their ability with the pink giant stiletto shoe. In fact, they cannot wait for them. So Llanelli people, if you want something made for you personally or for your organisation, please don’t hesitate to pop down and talk to them.
BUT the Men’s Shed isn’t just about the work. It’s about giving men a place to come and talk and laugh and have a cup of tea. They don’t have to feel lonely or isolated. There is a real welcome for them.
They also have a sense of purpose when they feel they are helping each other and other organisations too. A fine example of this is their work for Prince Philip Hospital. They were asked to build some high planting structures so that the hospital could have a little sensory garden where people with disabilities such as wheel chair users could have a chance at growing vegetables or flowers. The hospital cannot afford to pay the Shed for the work at the moment and in cases like this the Shed is happy to let the hospital have the special structures. The hospital can then start the sensory garden so that the patients with disabilities can gain pleasure from this. When they can afford to pay for them, they can reimburse the Men’s Shed. That way the men know they are helping other people who would not be coming to the Shed but they are benefitting from the Shed,anyway.
The Shed is becoming bigger and better all the time. In those few short months, with the help of Lottery funding, they have equipped the Shed with all the necessary electric woodworking tools and machines to do any kind of job. Hence they were able to build this fantastic gigantic shoe. The Men’s Shed would particularly like to thank their landlord , Mark Davies,of Ty Gofal Care, who donates £30 a month of their rent to them.
If you’re a man on your own, for whatever reason, or you just want to have a go at something, there will always be someone there to give you a helping hand. Men helping each other and being supportive or just having a laugh and a joke over a cup of tea, what more could you want!
Happy New Year ! Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
