“Have we lost the glue that holds our rural communities together?”

At a recent meeting of Christians who work or are involved in rural matters from local authorities, businesses, agriculture, the third sector and churches, one of the concerns that became apparent was the loss of the glue that binds rural communities together.   This glue was not one particular aspect of rural life which had been lost but rather something less physical; something like magnetism or the rhythm of the tides, the loss of which has meant that people are less connected and less supportive of one another.

For several months I have been reflecting on this and then a comment at Rural Action Yorkshire staff team meeting the Chair, Jan Thornton used the words “Social Ballet” to describe community life.

This was like firing the starting gun in my mind and I was quickly making some notes as I reflected on this phrase and the idea that living in a rural community is like being part a “dance”.  What’s more I could see connections with the idea of God as Trinity.  In some branches of Christian theology is the idea, that the three persons of the Trinity (Father Son and Spirit) are not only co-equal but that they are in a perpetual loving and supportive relationship as they dance together.  As Jonathan Marlowe puts it “The early church fathers and mothers looked at that dance (perichoresis) and said, (That’s what the Trinity is like.) It’s a harmonious set of relationship in which there is mutual giving and receiving.”

Reflecting on this I can see that in a traditional villages such as the one where I was born there were several shops, church, Chapel, village school, women’s institute, pub, village hall committee running events such as fruit and veg shows and a Cricket club which held an annual barn dance and pig roast which was attended by young and old.

I can even remember the first village hall folk dance I attended where a band lead the music, a caller explained the steps and called the moves of dances such as Strip the Willow and the Gay Gordon’s.

Since then many of these touch points where people meet and interact have been lost. The result is that people see each other less often, have less interaction and will clearly know and appreciate one another other less well as the relationships have become weaker.

It also perhaps explains why people in towns and cities feel they are isolated. As although there may be a myriad of places to shop, play sport, eat out or worship, the people that are at each of these places are different so relationships are, as a result, likely to be superficial and shallow.

In terms of addressing the loss of glue in our rural communities it’s not so much as their being one magic bullet or even one particular initiative such as a luncheon club, fresh expression of church that’s required to turn things around. It’s the development of a whole series of these so that people are able to make connections throughout the week with all members of the community at some point.

Two things I think are needed to be borne in mind in this process. Firstly, the need to realise that community and context has changed. Patterns of work and demographics have changed in rural communities so that the age profile is likely to be older. So perhaps rather than say constantly trying to prop up a cricket club perhaps  the answer is for a cricket club to transform itself into croquet or bowls club.  

Secondly the answer is not one particular initiative or one group such as the church or the village hall to see themselves as the saviour of community life but for each to look for ways to act in concert so that all may thrive.  Generating different occasions and providing places where people can come together and build their common life together.

Rural Action Yorkshire has perhaps put their finger on this by producing a list of 52 (Almost) Painless Things Your Community Can Do!. With ideas ranging from: Setting up an oil-buying cooperative, starting a community choir or holding a wine-tasting evening.

From a church perspective this isn’t about the church being the centre, it’s about recognising that God works through all people of peace and goodwill in the community to bring about change for the common good.  We are called to seek and proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.  If we open our eyes and ears we see and hear stories of the Kingdom all around us, of God at work in and beyond our churches. If God can use an ass to direct Balham in Numbers 22 or the King of Salem known as (Melchizedek) to bless Abraham then surely he can use people beyond our churches to speak and bless our communities. We shouldn’t be like Balham and his ass and ignore them at our peril but rather like Abraham and Melchizedek seek out people of peace, acknowledge the blessings they bring and then working with others as co-workers bring blessings to the whole community.

Perhaps this is what’s so special about the rural church. Where the edges between church and community become fuzzy and where people in churches embed themselves in the community so that everyone is blessed.

Producing a myriad of initiatives providing opportunities for people in our communities to come together building up our common life and join the social dance as Jan puts it.  Rather than sitting on the side watching others.  May be we will then regain that community glue of the social dance.  Perhaps we can then dance like the community of Mabou on Cape Breton Island in Canada I once visited. Here folk-dancing is so imbedded in village life that there was no need for a caller at the village Cèilidh, everyone joined in and all knew the steps and the tunes. 

Watch the people of Mabou dance in their village hall here 

Cows, Cattle Breeds Milk Proteins & Enjoying Milk on Breakfast Cereals, after a Sixteen Year Gap

Since I was young I had always had milk on my breakfast cereals and was partial to real dairy ice-cream, hot chocolate made with milk as well as strong cheeses such as Stilton and Shropshire Blue. 

Then some sixteen years ago I started getting bouts of severe upset stomach, we thought at the time this was due to a recent visit to India and so after a discussion with my G.P. I was treated for Giardia, as one of the side effects of Giardia can be as intolerance to dairy products and I had noticed a connection between being ill and eating cheese or ice cream.  The majority of my symptoms got a lot better immediately but still some sensitivity remained.

It was therefore suggested that I was tested for lactose intolerance at the local hospital. The day came and the test involved drinking a lactose solution and then breathing into a machine that measured expelled hydrogen; as it has been found that people with a lactose intolerance on eating lactose expired hydrogen. I fully expected the needle to jump but nothing happened. Afterwards it was explained to me that it must be the milk protein I was having problems with rather than lactose.  

I was still having a grumbling problem and it was suggested I consulted a dietitian who explained that milk and whey found its way in to many products such as bread and margarines so after I removed even the slightest element of milk from my diet I found I was completely back to normal. Unless I accidently ate a product containing milk, I even joked I could be used as an expert witness to detect milk in cakes and biscuits.

One day I was eating in an Italian restaurant with a colleague, who I discovered had a similar problem.  He explained to me that different animals produced different milk proteins and that I would not find any problems from eating Buffalo mozzarella cheese.  I enjoyed my pizza and to my surprise he was right, I next tried goats and sheep’s milk feta cheese all produced no ill effects but was still affected by cow’s milk.

So now sixteen years later with a taste for black tea and coffee, high cocoa fat dark chocolate and goat’s cheese has come the latest twist in the story. For a while I had been wondering whether different breeds of cattle produced different milk proteins. So I decided to do a web search to check this out.  To my delight this was indeed the case and the story is even more fascinating.

There are two main types of cow’s milk protein know as A1 and A2, however a few thousand years ago there was only one type A2 then due to a genetic mutation cows started producing A1 protein as well.   So now most cattle herds in the UK are made up of cows which produce milk containing either both A1 and A2 protein or only A1 protein, with only a minority of cattle producing solely A2 protein.  However certain breeds of cattle in India, Africa and Guernsey cattle produce nearly all milk only containing only the A2 protein. In fact it is thought that 95% of Guernsey cattle and some 50% of Jersey cattle produce milk only containing the A2 protein.

What was even more pleasing to find out was that an Australian company had started selling a brand of milk which only contained the A2 protein. Via an arrangement with a British dairy company they have worked with a select group of British farmers to supply milk only containing the A2 protein to supermarkets in the UK and this was available in my own town, sold under the banner A2 Milk. www.a2milk.co.uk  

I decided to take things slowly at first drinking what amounted to less than 5cc of A2 milk. Over a few days I built this up with no adverse effects whatsoever culminating in a mug of hot chocolate.  The next day I enjoyed milk on my cereal the first in some sixteen years. My next idea is to make some yoghurt and to track down some ice cream and cheese made from milk containing only the A2 protein.  

Not only am I pleased that I can enjoy milk on cereals but I am also pleased that I can once again personally support the British dairy industry by consuming their products as dairy farmers have been suffering from low farm gate prices for their products down as low as 18p a litre.

One farmer supplying milk to the A2 milk company in May 2026 was being paid 30p a litre. 

So if you find, if you have a problem digesting cow’s milk you may find that A2 milk is the answer to your problems. However; if you are allergic to milk you must check with a doctor first before trying any milk products.

One a wider scale many people in Asia are intolerant to A1 milk protein so this potentially offers new markets for milk which can be produced free of the A1 protein.  

A recent Radio 4 You and Yours program looked at the issue of A1 and A2 milk protein; you can listen to the program by clicking HERE and then on  A2Milk. 

To find a supplier of A2 Milk click here: https://www.a2milk.co.uk/find/

Farmers wishing to test their cows to identify the cows which only produce A2 protein should contact a DNA testing laboratory.  One company that carries out this service is Weathersby’s Laboratory www.weatherbys.co.uk/laboratory-services/bovine-services  

DNA Laboratory
Weatherbys Ireland Laboratory
c/o The Irish Equine Centre
Johnstown
Naas
Co Kildare
Republic of Ireland
00353 4587 5521

dnalab@weatherbys.ie

The test is noninvasive and simply involves sending a sample of  c15 cow's hairs with their roots to the laboratory and costs around £8.00p per sample. Samples must be clearly labeled to identify the cows it's from and that the test is for A1 A2 DNA testing.  (Cost correct in June 2016)

More information on some of the science of the genetics of cow's and A1 and A2  Beta-Casein in milk see http://www.nodpa.com/a1_a2.pdf

Let's hope that greater awareness of the difficulties that some people have digesting A1 milk protein and the solution will go someway in restoring the fortunes of the British dairy and farming industry and may even open up new markets.  

You may also find my post: Vertically Integrated Milk - How some Yorkshire Diary Farmers are Increasing the Profit Margins of interest. 

Lessons From Two World Wars - Peace in Our Time

When I was a child I remember talking to Charlie who was in his 80's about the Great War. He told me about the mud and cold most of all he told me about the mud. Guess he couldn't say anything about the death and mutilation of the other men from the village whose names are on the long list on the war memorial in porch of the village church.

I also remember talking to my uncle and asked him about the war. He told me about Dunkirk and being rescued by the little ships, most of all he told me about the little ships and how the rescued him and his colleagues from the beaches.

My dad's memories of the war including being in a convoy from East Africa to India with a regiment of Africa soldiers to fight in the Burma campaign, one of the troupe ships was torpedoed and half the regiment was lost including a group of Queens Alexander nurses.

My mum worked a Red Cross nurse working in England nursing soldiers and airman who had been injured some had lost legs or suffered terrible burns.

So why am I telling you these stories now? It's because one of the reasons we have lived in one of longest if not the longest periods of peace in Europe is due to the vision of leaders such a Winston Churchill who saw the need for a united Europe and the need for the European Community.

So if you have the slightest bit of respect for those who fought for peace in Europe learn from history and don't follow the rise of nationalism. Our place is in Europe contributing to a community which in so many ways has brought peace in our time.

My Mother, as a result of what she has seen and experienced says vote remain for the sake of our children, she for one has seen the consequences of a divided European.

On this occasions I am going to do what I am told, but I was anyway.

Lessons from Bremen on Living in Community for the Common Good

A few years ago I had the privilege of visiting the city of Bremem to study the local authority’s work on sustainable transport. Their work on cycling and integrated ticking, combining the transport pass with a pass to tourism attractions was both innovative and excellent.

My friend and colleague on the morning we meet rather than take me to the bus station or to see a cycle parking scheme or the way cycle routes had priority at a roundabout asked if I had visited the church. 

I don't think was due to faith reasons as faith or God was never mentioned but rather to see the list of names on the war memorial.  There were literally 100s, if not 1000s, and these were just people from Bremen that had been killed in the bombing of the city during the Second World War. In fact most of the city centre was a 1960 concrete rebuild with only a few buildings of the historic centre remaining.

It wasn't that he wanted to be critical of the RAF as he also knew, what had occurred in cities such as Coventry and London but rather as we both knew that it was a complete and utter tragedy that our countries had been at war. We both agreed that this must never happen again.

The war was never mentioned again by either of us yet we both knew that part of the reason we should be cooperating on helping each other’s cities and regions improve their sustainable transport infrastructure was to build mutual understanding and respect across European countries so that we all might prosper. This is part of what it means to live in community to forgive the past and to cooperate for benefit of the common good of each and every one who lives in that community.

Therefore consider the lives that have been lost in our country and those in cities across Europe and please like me commit yourself to the common good of us all both in this country and in the rest of Europe. Now is the time to remain not run.

Rebuilding Dry Stone Walls & the Renewal of the Church in the Yorkshire Dales

In the Yorkshire Dales dry stone walls are everywhere and are an important feature of what makes the Yorkshire Dales special. Some date from the medieval period, others are monastic boundary walls and many result from the various Acts of Enclosure, which divided up  common land and laid out the field patterns we see today.

Many dry stone walls are well maintained providing boundaries for fields in which cattle and sheep graze and are an important habitat for wildlife.  Regrettable some dry stone walls have gaps and holes, have lost their tops stones, or are simply piles of stones lying in a field or are just lines on maps as the stones have been completely removed for other building projects.

So it is with the churches in the Dales, we can see patters of churches going back centuries with remains of ancient Abbeys and other places of worship from small remote chapels of ease to larger parish churches and non-conformist chapels.  Some churches have been closed and are looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust and some chapels have been turned in homes or even knocked down.

The renewal of the dry stone walls in the Dales is gradually underway. Different agencies from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Committee, The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust farmers, land-owners and contractors are working to renew the Dale’s walls and barns and restore them to their former glory. The pattern of restoration may seem, opportunistic, uncoordinated, and sporadic yet over a period of time we can see a significant difference as these important features of the Dales landscape are being restored to their former glory.

So it is with the renewal of churches in the Dales in some areas congregations are small and declining, in other area there is a lot going on. People are actively engaged in seeking, proclaiming and demonstrating the Kingdom of God in word and deed and in making disciples.

We see different denominational streams working together on youth projects such as the Lower Wensleydale Youth Project and Reverb in Wharfedale.  In some villages Christian communities are being reformed as congregations agree to worship together and share resources such as in Hebden, Kettlewell and Grewelthorpe.

In other places congregations have been totally rebuilt for example  at Bolton Priory, where at one time the church was proposed for closure yet is now one of the largest congregations in the Dales.

There are also new worshiping community’s springing up in different places or around different themes such as the Forest Church congregation at Grinton or Splash that meets in a children’s play area in Brompton on Swale or Funkey Church in Richmond.

On top of this there has been death and renewal of the Christian Community at Scargill House in Wharfedale; which less than ten years ago was closed and put on the market. Also in Wharfedale, Yorkshire Camps has with the help of the Brammel Trust purchased Netherside Hall as a home for their evangelistic youth camps.

We also see churches developing their work of loving service with; food banks in Richmond and Skipton and debt advice services being offered by Hope Debt Advice in Bedale and Skipton Baptist Church.

So just as with the dry stone walls, progress with the renewal of the Church in the Dales may seem, uncoordinated, and sporadic. Yet if we are prepared to stand back, we will see that there are many encouraging and significant signs of growth as people respond to the spirit of God and the new contexts they find themselves in. 

Good King Wenceslas 19th Century Carol with a Contemporary Message for Rural Communities

I was recently reflecting on the words of the Carol “Good King Wenceslas" and realised that the song may have a contemporary relevance for rural communities today.  For the words to the carol Click HERE

The fictitious story depicted in the carol was made up by Czech poet Václav Alois Svoboda in 1847.  (Hymnal) However there was a Duke of Wenceslas who lived between (907 & 935) in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Wenceslas was a Christian who ruled the country well, establishing education and law and order systems. However when he was 22 his brother Boleslav plotted against him and Wenceslas was murdered by Bolslav’s followers while on his way to church.  (Christmas.com)

The words of the Carol based on the story were written by the 19^th century writer J M Neale who put the words to the 13^th century Swedish Easter (Flower Carol); which compares spring to resurrection and praises the maker who brings resurrection to all.      (Hymnal)

However despite its lack of historical accuracy the carol I believe has a powerful and relevant message for us today.

The context is the feast of Stephen, December 26th or Boxing Day. In medieval times the arms boxes in churches would be opened and the money distributed to the poor in the community. In later times it was a day when the servants of big houses would be given a day off and Christmas boxes would be distributed.

However this can be a cold period in the year as hinted at by (the moon shining brightly) a sign of clear skies resulting from a high pressure weather system. If a high pressure system settles over the country this can result in severe frosts and if there has previously been snow and a slight thaw the ground will be frozen hard like iron making it impossible to collect any wood, which may be lying on the ground and frozen under the snow’s surface.  Hence the peasant has wandered far from his home to gather winter fuel. The distance he has traveled being a league which is about five and a half km and even in good walking conditions would be over an hour and half walk illustrating his desperation to find fuel to keep warm. Ironically the page notes that the peasant lives near the forest fence, so why had he wandered so far if he was in need of fuel when there was forest near-by?  Perhaps the forest was fenced and that peasants were banned from entering it.  

 

The carol starts with King Wenceslas looking out and observing and then asking his page about what he saw.  This is perhaps an example to us all to look around us and observe what is going on in our local community and then asks others about what we see.

The king’s response, when he understands that the peasant is in need is to gather supplies and to go to where the peasant lives. He gathers together both quality food and drink, illustrated by the flesh or meat, which is sustaining food and also considers, in addition to the food, the need to provide fuel so that the peasant can cook and keep warm.

He then proceeds to journey with the supplies assisted by his page to where the peasant lives.  The king is personally getting involved in this incarnational task and at the same time involving others in the task.  Just as in our churches we might consider inviting others to partner or join with us in the service of the community. In fact it’s clear that in this charitable action the King and the page are journeying together. Perhaps a reminder of the story in the Gospels where Jesus sends out the disciple’s in twos ahead of him.  Luke 10v1

As they journey the page expresses anxiety about the task and refers to the darker night and the wind blowing stronger.  The King encourages the Page to keep close and follow in his very steps. Certainly to be separated when conditions are deteriorating would have been treacherous  for both the King and the page and emphasises the importance, that this is not a solo task.

The last verse highlights that it’s not only by keeping together and working in partnership that all can be blessed through engaging in service to the most vulnerable in their community. In that it doesn’t matter if you are a King or a page or have little yourself your will be blessed as you look around you at your community identifying the communities needs and inviting others to join with you in meeting those needs.

On reflecting on the Carol and looking around at our rural communities I can see that perhaps it also has a prophetic word for us today as fuel poverty, which just like in the carol, can be particularly acute in rural areas.

Fuel poverty is when a household’s fuel costs are above the national average and were to cover the costs of the fuel would mean the household is left with a residual income below the official poverty line.

Patterns of fuel poverty are often higher in rural communities for several reasons.

Firstly rural communities are usually well beyond the reach of the national gas grid which provides one of the cheaper ways to heat properties so people have to rely on oil, bottle gas or solid fuel which is more expensive. Even the price of logs has been rising steeply over recent years due to the popularity of wood burning stoves making logs less affordable.

Secondly properties in rural areas are often old and poorly insulated. With planning restrictions in areas of protected landscape such as conservation areas and National parks making it either more expensive or impossible to fit heat conserving features such as double glazing or to clad a building.

So how might rural churches and other people living in rural locations respond to the needs of the poor or vulnerable as winter approaches?

Firstly we can follow the example of King Wenceslas and look around is to identify those who are vulnerable or are likely to be in fuel poverty and then we can invite others to work with us to make sure people are looked after.

This might be as simple as providing insulation advice or helping people insulate their homes.  It could also involve making sure people are on the cheapest tariffs for electricity or gas if available. As a community we could perhaps start a fuel purchasing co-operative so that everyone can befit from lower prices for heating fuels.

As Christmas is a time of giving and receiving gifts we might also follow the example of King Wenceslas. For example, in Greystoke in Cumbria, a parish charity used to provide a sack of coal for older people, which in more recent years has been replaced by a gift of a Christmas hamper.  In Skipton, the Baptist Church provides Christmas hampers which has evolved in to the establishment of a food bank.  

More ideas on how your community can help people cope with winter weather and fuel poverty check out the Rural Action Yorkshire website and their Energy and Fuel Poverty Resources by clicking HERE and for Winter Weather Resources click HERE  

Bibliography

Christmas.com, W., n.d. Some Stories behind Christmas Carols. [Online]
Available at: www.whychristmas.com/customs/carols_stories.shtml
[Accessed 28th Oct 2015].

Hymnal, C., n.d. FLOWER CAROL. [Online]
Available at: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/l/flowcaro.htm
[Accessed 28th Oct 2015].

Maypole Dancing and the Trinity

Many years ago I heard a lecture on missionary work by Lynn Green, the then International Director of Youth with a Mission. Lynn outlined the work of Don Richardson an American Evangelist who worked from the principle that God is always ahead of a missionary and it’s the missionary’s role to identify where God is already working and to connect with this and interpret these as signs of God at work to the community.  See Don Richardson’s books: Peace Child and Eternity in Their Hearts.

One example of this is the concepts of redemptive analogies; these are stories and traditions embedded in a culture which speak of the Trinitarian God of love.  For example Don Richardson refers to Saint Paul on Mars Hill using the altar to an unknown God as the starting point for his proclamation of the good news of Christ. He  goes on to recall stories from his missionary work of various cultures and different redemptive analogies and how building on these has resulted in the successful proclamation of the gospel.

In many ways the work of Don Richardson is similar to the work of the Catholic Missionary, Vincent Donovan, who engages in a process of dialogue with the Masai people of East Africa.  Donovan finds that in Masai culture there are many stories; which can be used to point to the one true and living God.  Donovan’s work is outlined in his seminal book “Christianity Rediscovered”.

Since I heard Lynn Green lecture I have always been asking the question: what are the redemptive analogies in English Culture that speak of the Trinitarian God?  It’s taken me many years to start to identify these and in many respects I am only just beginning but I do believe if we seek and look hard enough we will find examples and, as ever, it’s often in the most surprising of places that we find that God is a work.

May Pole Dancing

Looking for signs of God at work in English culture we perhaps should start with  one of the customs that can be seen and experienced in some rural villages today; perhaps frowned on by some as being of “pagan” origin or having aspects of fertility ritual is Maypole dancing.

I can still remember children from the village school performing a Maypole dance at the village fate in rural Worcestershire and on arriving in the Yorkshire Dales finding that a number of villages still have Maypoles. Those villages include Kettlewell, Kilnsey, Burnsall and Thorpe and in starting work for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds noted that some villages have incredibly tall Maypoles. It almost seems that they wish to outperform one another by having a taller Maypole.  These villages include Nun Monkton, Aldborough and Barwick-in-Elmet Maypole who have their own Maypole Trust and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/barwickmaypoletrust

The Dance of the Trinity

One of the ways that theologians describe the Trinity is as a dance, with each person of the Trinity being in motion around one another so although they are three persons they are also one as they are in in a dance with one another like particles in an atom; held together like gravity by love yet moving in dynamic relationship. In our Christian life we are also called to enter in to this dance with the Trinity and with others in relationship in community.

So in looking for redemptive analogies in our English culture we can look at the tradition of Maypole dancing and see the patterns of interrelationship weaving a beautiful design as the brightly coloured ribbons are woven as the dancers dance around the Maypole. None of the interact patterns being possible unless the dancers where moving and responding to the moves made by other dancers.

Flowers From the Farm Re-connecting us to the Seasons

Sometimes in my work I come across an organisation that is doing something that just seems brilliant and I just want to encourage them in what they do and to share the good news of what they are doing.

Through my work in networking with other organisations working to support rural life I have come across “Flowers from the Farm”

Flowers from the Farm is a marketing network of flower growers from all over the UK working to promote British flowers and get local flowers in to every vase.

The network has over 200 members from right across the UK as their map shows http://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/growers-map/ therefore there is likely to be grower close to where you live.

Buying locally has many advantages, the flowers will be fresher and more fragrant that flowers that have been transported across the world.

Imported flower often make a complex journey from a farm in Africa via road and air to a wholesaler in the Netherlands’ before a further road and ferry journey to a shop in the UK.

This all adds to the carbon foot print of buying cut flowers and does nothing to support British Agriculture.

One of the positive aspects of purchasing British Flowers is that you are purchasing flowers in their natural season and thereby connecting with seasonality. Seasonality connects us with new joys at every turn of the calendar rather than an endless monotony of the same throughout the year.

Flowers from the Farm is still a new organisation and still relatively small and has a personal feel about it as it you will be dealing with the person who actually grows the flowers.

Some growers are also flower arrangers and combine their skills as growers with their artistic talents offering a complete package for a special event such as a wedding or special occasion.

They tell me that a number of brides are now attracted by the theme of a very English wedding with British grown flowers filling a church and the reception with their colour and fragrance.

For more information on flowers from the Farm see www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk

Men's Sheds Reaching Men

When I mentioned I am member of a men’s shed it usually results in puzzlement or a joke about garden sheds on an allotment.

However there is a serious side to what is becoming known as the Men’s Shed Movement.

One of the problems in modern society is the feeling of isolation and loss of self- worth for men on retirement.  Some men get depressed turn to watching endless day time TV or sitting in a pub slowing sipping a pint.

The men’s shed movement started in Australia where men started getting together in a common work space to work together on practical tasks like woodwork; making toys, planters or other projects.

Working together in this way, friendships are built and a sense of value is generated.  

It has also been recognised that often men find it difficult to talk about their feelings; yet working side by side men find it easier to talk and share what’s on their mind.

More recently, building on the Australian experience, men’s sheds has taken off in Ireland which now has its own Men’s sheds association http://menssheds.ie.

The pattern has continued in the UK, with the development of the UK Men’s sheds association http://menssheds.org.uk/ now reporting nearly 200 men’s sheds with more opening every week.

A great video on the development of Gosport Men’s Shed can be found here: https://vimeo.com/84392065

The Men’s Sheds that I am connected with is Resurrection Bikes www.resurrectionbikes.org.uk . This has grown from small beginnings of one member, John, fixing bikes in his garage to raise money for Christian charities to a men’s shed involving over a dozen people.

After I started working with John fixing bikes we realised the potential for others to be involved. After enquiring locally we were offered premises in a church basement in order that the project could grow.

The basement was in a real mess and some partition walls had to be removed and other walls plastered and painted and lighting and power installed. However, with the help of the Big Lottery, a local venture scout group and small local contractors, the bike cave as it’s become known was ready and equipped as a cycle maintenance workshop.

The group now has a growing band of over a ten volunteers with about 50% having church connections and the others with no church affiliation.

The shed meets three days a week with the Thursday and Friday teams made up of retired men.    

        

The Saturday team is made up of working men plus a growing group of teenage lads who want to learn bike maintenance skills.

Everyone engages in an apprenticeship process starting by cleaning bikes and then moving on to stripping bike frames when a bike is beyond redemption. Through this process you learn the use of the tools and how all the components of a bike fit together. You can then progress to working with experienced volunteers learning all the skills of maintaining and servicing a bike; from checking for faults, to adjusting breaks, front and rear mecks, replacing cables and greasing wheel hubs and bottom brackets etc.

The whole process develops team work and work place discipline, as it’s often necessary to seek the advice of others and it’s important that all tools and storage boxes are returned to their proper places.

Saturday afternoons are one of the busiest days as this is when many people come to purchase a bike or to make a donation. So again there are further skills for the lads to pick up including looking after customers and coping with pressure in a busy retail environment.

The whole teamwork process is cemented with plenty of homemade cake and optional recreational bike rides.

From a church perspective there are many positive aspects of a men’s shed:

Serving the needs of community by:

·    Addressing social isolation amongst retired men by providing a supportive community of men engaged on a common purpose.

·      Developing the life and work skills of teenage lads through being involved in practical tasks together with older men.

·      Reducing waste through recycling donated bikes

·      Providing affordable transport for local people by selling serviced second hand bikes.

·      Encouraging the use of sustainable transport

·      Providing funding for charitable causes

In the future its anticipated there will be opportunities to develop a Christian nurture group, and may be from within this community will develop a form of church as people meet talk and serve one other and the wider world together.

So what can Churches learn from the men’s sheds movement.

·      Firstly there are men who are interested in gathering together around a common task.

·      Secondly these men have needs and are more comfortable about sharing these and supporting one another when engaged in an activity together.

·      A church basement or crypt which may be an unattractive unused space used for storing junk can make a great space for a men’s shed.

·      The key to getting started is two or more men with the vision and a church that’s open and flexible with regards to the use of its premises.

If you have a bike that need the Resurrection Bikes treatment then contact your local cycle recycling project www.ctc.org.uk/bike-recycling

If you live near Harrogate contact Resurrection Bikes www.resurrectionbikes.org.uk

    Tel 01423 593103 

     Other Blogs that may be of interest are Resurrection Bikes 

Communities and Businesses pull together to bring Superfast Broadband to the Yorkshire Dales

Access to high speed broadband is not a luxury but an essential for life in the Yorkshire Dales these days as it provides access to services and makes living and working in a remote area possible.

• Completing tax returns
• Farmers completing DEFRA forms
• Claimants accessing benefits
• School children and students studying
• Running a business or working from home
• People working from home

Listed above are just some of the activities made possible with high quality broadband and it’s clear that without it, house prices are depressed and people have to make extra journeys.

The Government is committed to providing high quality broadband to as many people as possible and is working in partnership with local authorities to deliver this.

In North Yorkshire for example this involves bringing fibre broadband to the local telephone cabinets (FTC) and then using the existing telephone wires to provide Superfast broadband to nearby properties. See www.superfastnorthyorkshire.com/wherewhen to find out if you are on the (FTC) network.

However; this is where the problem start as the rules of physics mean that FTC is limited to 1.2 Km from the cabinet so many Dales communities require other solutions.

Satellite is one solution and its available everywhere but is expensive both to install and operate as capacity on satellites is limited and the technology suffers from delay or lag as the communications have to travel to and from a satellite orbiting the earth.

Fibre to the premises (FTP) Some Dales communities are pulling together to bring fibre broadband to their individual homes and businesses. This includes the communities of Dent and Garsdale area where local people have formed  www.digitaldales.com This is similar to Broadband for the Rural North http://b4rn.org.uk which is installing fibre to rural communities in north Lancashire and is now planning on extending their network to communities across the border in the southern Dales in partnership with the local communities concerned see www.claphamhyperfast.net

However fibre to the premises is expensive to install and a 

third solution is now providing high quality broadband for many Dales’ communities. Fixed Wireless Broadband (FWB) uses wireless technology to bridge the gap between the fibre broadband networks and individual premises.  FWB is being deployed in the Dales by three Yorkshire based companies and several communities’ enterprises. The commercial companies include L N Communications www.lncomms.co.uk of Yeadon who have an expanding network in the Nidderdale AONB and in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in Wharfedale and Ribblesdale as well around Skipton.  Crabtree Hall www.crabtreecommunity.com of Hackforth near Leeming who are developing a network in Lower Wensleyday and Bedale and Clannet Broadband www.clannet.co.uk of Biggin near Selby who are developing a network around the Scotch Corner area as an extension of their Vale of Mowbray network. Finally there is www.kencomp.net from Kendal in Cumbria which has a small network in the Mallerstang area.

Two Dales community enterprises have also developed their own FWB networks; Reeth Rural Radio www.swaledale.org and the Austwick Community Broadband Association http://austwick.org  

It’s wonderful to see the gradual organic growth of the FWB across the Dales especially when it reaches some of the most remote farms in the area at the very top of Nidderdale and Littondale which are way beyond the BT FTC network.

It is also fantastic to see how local people are getting involved to make this all happen, working with the Wireless Broadband companies, Superfast North Yorkshire and Rural Action Yorkshire’s Community Broadband Development Officer to build and promote the new Fixed Wireless broadband networks.

Key to the development of the networks are the provision of small wireless repeaters that are mounted on high points, which are required as the technology works on line of sight between repeaters. It’s great to see farmers, local churches and residents all being willing to host repeaters, thereby serving the common good of the whole community, reducing the digital divide and making the Yorkshire Dales fit for the 21^st Century.

To find out what’s available in your area see the maps at www.superfastnorthyorkshire.com/ws-maps