By Lisa Ramsden
THE hard work and dedication of a small team of volunteers, whose goal has been to provide a social and creative space for women, will be celebrated this weekend when the Mourne Hen Shed holds its official launch event.
Based at the Moneydarragh Hub, just outside Annalong, and open to women aged 18 and over from across the greater Mourne area, this new initiative is the brainchild of Kay Nellis and Geri Smyth.
Whilst it will officially open to members at the start of September, this Saturday’s event, which will run between 10am and noon, will give local ladies the chance to meet the committee, fill out application forms and make suggestions on courses and workshops they would like to be considered.
Kay, who lives in Annalong, said she and Geri came up with the idea as they wanted to have a dedicated ‘shed’ for women “to develop new skills or reinvigorate old ones.”
The women had been attending a local men’s shed, once a week, as they wanted to hone their woodworking skills. After a few months, they realised that having a facility open for women more than once a week would be the best way forward, so they needed to put out some feelers to see if there would be an uptake.
And, almost immediately, the idea got local ladies’ seal of approval. “We were swamped with expressions of interest, it was amazing,” said Kay.
Encouraging people to attend this weekend’s event, or if unable to do so, to get in touch via the mournehenshed@gmail.com email, Kay said the purpose is to develop “a creative, educational and social space for women”.
She said it will be shaped by the interests, skills and needs of its members. Activities will be fun, accessible, affordable and varied and every woman will be more than welcome to try new things in a supportive and friendly environment.
“Activities planned for our first term include creative, educational, social and practical courses. Members can participate in as many or as few of the activities as they wish,” Kay continued.
She added that the shed will also provide the perfect opportunity for local women to expand their friendship circle and hopes that it will be intergenerational.
