Men’s Shed shovelers prep site for slab

RECENT excavation and trench digging means a slab can soon be poured at the Linton and District Men’s Shed’s new location behind the CFA.

President, Michael Hough said the last five weeks have seen the community group’s members band together, while still social distancing, to start works on their facility.

“The blokes have been coming up all day Thursday and Saturday, I’ve been cooking sausages, we’ve been having cups of tea, my daughter’s made bickies, and we’ve worked through a really tough job,” he said.

“Half a dozen blokes have been doing the bulk of the work, and most of them are in their mid to late 60s, so it’s impressive, all done with the shovel by hand.

“The weather hasn’t always been kind, we’ve had lots of mud, but it’s all been fun. Work and social.”

Now ready for Shire approval, the slab will be poured soon after the team receives the okay.

“We’ll get some tradies to do that properly, and we’ll work there as labourers,” Mr Hough said.

Respectful of COVID-19 restrictions, it’s been hard for the Men’s Shed to engage in the activities they normally enjoy, so they’ve relished the opportunity to spread out and be proactive at the new base.

“It’s made it easy to get together and do something, which we couldn’t have done if we had to stay in our current shed, which is a two-car garage only big enough for two people.

“We’re all looking forward to getting the new building up because we’ll be able to have a conversation without someone starting up a wood saw and drowning everything out,” Mr Hough laughed.

Bunnings has been “generous,” providing bracing, and a couple of layers worth of gravel has been sourced from the Sago Hill pit.

The new Shed’s yard will flow into the Linton Community Garden, also progressing through the cold weather.

“We’ll get veggies and Winter stuff planted, ready for the next season. Hopefully by September we can take an opening photo,” Mr Hough said.

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