Iain Millar – Page 3 – Pentlands Men's Shed

Author: Iain Millar
Retired IT project manager / IT manager Developer of the basic website for Pentlands Men’s Shed Keen dinghy sailor – sails a Laser dinghy and a Mirror dinghy at St Mary’s Loch Sailing Club Reluctant gardener Originally from Forfar – lived in Aberdeen for 24 years before moving back to the Edinburgh area

Donation from F4B Networking

Posted on 02/03/202302/03/2023 by Iain Millar

A group of self-employed business-people covering various disciplines, e.g legal, financial, accounting, marketing, printing, design/website building and management, etc. meet regularly and have called themselves the F4B networking group. They invited Pentlands Men’s Shed to a breakfast meeting at The Dalmahoy in February 2023, where Stewart and Ron gave a presentation on the Shed, and received a donation of £300 from the group. This is very much appreciated and will help us to continue our work to support men’s wellbeing through the work of the Shed.

Murrayburn Mud Kitchen

Posted on 24/02/202324/02/2023 by Iain Millar

When we received a request for help from Murrayburn Primary School to build them a mud kitchen, Alastair “2 Sheds” McKenzie sprung into action and ended up creating a brilliant L-shaped, 2-sink kitchen that would make the average kitchen installer jealous!

Non-Project Activity – Discussion

Posted on 02/02/202302/02/2023 by Iain Millar

COMMENTS WELCOME AS FEEDBACK TO HUGH AND MARTIN, PLEASE.

Following a brilliant week 1 where 12 people attended Martin’s Raspberry Pi demonstration and fed ideas into Hugh’s discussion re potential outings (wet, dry, and both!)

Tomorrow we will have enough equipment to break into small groups and get hands on with Turing Tumble (TT), marble computer, emulators of TT on iPads, Raspberry Pi, and Pico. This hands on session should engage with everyone and over a few weeks we can plan projects.

The TT emulator is free online and if you have a tablet or pc you will be able to practice at home. There are about 40 tutorials and I’m getting to my “pen pusher” limits at about 23. Group work will definately be required.

I have a couple of iPads that can be borrowed by arrangement

We will ensure we have physical breaks and opportunities to swap tasks. Hope to see you there

(Martin & Hugh)

Gordon MacDonald MSP

Posted on 20/01/202320/01/2023 by Iain Millar

Members of the Shed welcomed Gordon MacDonald MSP on 20 January 2023, to discuss funding for the Men’s Shed movement and highlight the benefits that Men’s Sheds bring to members and the wider community. Mr MacDonald answered (and asked) a number of questions, and had a good look round the Shed. He has already shown his support for the Shed in a number of ways, and it was good to meet him face-to-face in an informal Friday setting.

*James Floyd, Gordon MacDonald MSP, Alastair McKenzie, Stewart Still, and Alister Skinner beside the mud kitchen that is being built for Murrayburn Primary School.*

Friends of the Pentlands Talk

Posted on 13/01/202313/01/2023 by Iain Millar

Members of the Shed enjoyed a talk from Andrew Marsden, Chair of Friends of the Pentlands, who explained his group’s objectives of Conserving, Protecting, and Enhancing the Pentlands to help to maintain this environment for its many users – both visitors and occupants.

Youth & Philanthropy Initiative 2022

Posted on 04/01/202304/01/2023 by Iain Millar

Three boys from Forrester High School in Edinburgh nominated Pentlands Men’s Shed as their chosen charity in the 2022 YPI (Youth and Philanthropy Initiative) competition. Having spent time meeting several members of the Shed, understanding what we do, and putting together a fantastic presentation, they ended up winning their school’s competition.

Golden Pallet Award

Posted on 27/12/202227/12/2022 by Iain Millar

2022 Award

It takes a lot to leave Stewart (almost) speechless, but the unexpected award of the Golden Pallet Trophy achieved this remarkable feat. The trophy, crafted and presented by Jim, is in recognition of all of Stewart’s efforts and achievements.

Decorated Christmas Trees

Posted on 14/12/202203/12/2023 by Iain Millar

The Shed made some Christmas trees that were donated to and decorated by members of Libertus Day Care Centre in Edinburgh. Wellbeing is much wider than just the members of the Shed, and it is wonderful to be able to help to bring pleasure to others. The following photos show the artistic talent on display.

Maggie’s Centres Presentation

Posted on 09/12/202214/12/2022 by Iain Millar

With wellbeing as a prime focus of Men’s Sheds, it is very relevant to discuss anything that can help members and their families to cope with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and the challenges that can follow thereafter.

Maggie’s Centres are a charity that supports people who have or have had cancer, and offers them, their families, and their friends a drop-in facility that can provide advice, help, or just a friendly and compassionate environment to be in.

Talk on Health Screening

Posted on 07/10/202212/10/2022 by Iain Millar

Pentlands Men’s Shed members enjoyed an interesting and informative presentation from Kathryn Sinclair from NHS Lothian on the subject of Health Screening. This focused on the National screening programmes that are most relevant for men – specifically Bowel Cancer screening, and Abdominal Aortic Aneurism (AAA) screening. As well as being interesting in their own right, these topics triggered wider discussion about other health subjects that are important for Shed members.

The ethos of Men’s Shed is to improve men’s well-being, and by both raising awareness of important topics and getting men (who are often reticent about such things) talking about these in a safe and supportive environment, this talk was absolutely in line with what we are all about.