Lawnmower Maintenance Workshop Starting at The Balsam Centre
A variety of practical workshops and classes are being planned at the Balsam Centre to encourage people who are retired or out of work to come in and learn a new skill or develop existing ones. The latest one to start is a Lawnmower Maintenance Workshop which came about after a conversation with Dave, one of our café regulars.
I asked Dave what workshops or classes he would like to see run; he came back a week later with a list - typing skills, coping with retirement for married couples, wildlife gardening, and lawnmower maintenance. What an excellent list!
Although not exactly typing skills, we are running a computer class and an iPad class, both for beginners. Wildlife gardening is a class I would like to start running in the spring.
Coping with retirement for married couples – everyone looks forward to retirement, don’t they? But the reality of spending all your time together after years of working apart, or one of you being at home during the day whilst the other works away, can take some getting used to. My dad’s friend was sent forlornly down to the garden shed every Thursday with a packed lunch so his wife could continue holding her coffee mornings. And I know that when my husband decided to work from home for a while, I found myself a studio - for HIS health and safety. (If I was asked one more time what was for lunch...). So I’m working on this one.
Dave was rather surprised when I announced that the Lawnmower Maintenance would be starting. We have an excellent retired mechanic in Pat, who is running the workshop every week. You can bring your own lawnmower to work on with Pat or work on one brought it by someone else. Dave has quite a stock of lawnmowers, apparently. Learn the correct way to remove the fuel over winter, to put a new pull cord on, and to sharpen the blade - safely! - along with fixing any minor issues. Pat is willing to take on anything mechanical, so it doesn’t have to be a lawnmower; it could be a petrol strimmer, for instance. For safety reasons I’d like to leave off chainsaws, though.
The class will take place every Wednesday, 11.00am, in the Men’s Shed at the Balsam Centre in Wincanton.
If you have any ideas you’d like to see run then do get in contact with me, Annette, on 01963 31842 or email . It could be basic skills, like putting up level shelves without destroying the wall or how to make a rocking horse. And it could be related to arts and crafts or cooking rather than DIY.
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