Mike Ashford first experienced a Shed' whilst staying with his son and family in Canberra, Australia. An Australian neighbour stuck his head over the garden fence and told Mike he was doing too much work on his son's garden, needed to 'take a rest and come down the Shed.' The rest is history.

 

Mike came back to Thame full of enthusiasm for the Shed movement, spoke to Thame Council about how much he felt a Shed could enhance social provision in the town and then set to work finding like-minded people and suitable premises to create the community workshop that is now Thame Shed.

 

With twenty four years of school headships and ten years of training teachers who thought they might want to be headteachers, Mike has used his bureaucratic expertise to secure over £26,000 to fund the development of the workshop. He then used his free time and energy to work alongside a significant number of local tradesmen who gave their time and valuable skills to create Thame Shed.

 

'Unlike the children I used to teach and the staff I trained, a building does not walk away. In teaching I never saw an end product. Now, everytime I walk into Thame Shed I get a thrill to see what we've created. It is beyond my expectations and now a great credit to those who are continuing to develop its value to the Thame community.

I am a Rycotewood College (Thame) trained furniture maker and restorer and have taught and led Rycotewood since 1994. Over this time, I have had the privilege to work with the best designers, makers and restorers developing craftspeople and craft leaders to serve their communities.

 

I believe that anyone can make and be creative. I have observed that by making and fixing things, people find friendship and self-worth whilst they produce a physical object to be used.

 

At the Thame Shed I am a trustee and have set up the workshop through my industry partnerships. I met our chairperson, Mike Ashford in 2016 when we started exploring a workshop for the community.

 

Having been involved with other local Thame projects like the Sustrans Phoenix trail seating, I am delighted that we have been able to plant a workshop where we can see others come together, enjoy friendship, and find support whilst we make and fix things.

 

I am the design director of the Creative Industries faculty at Activate Learning. Also, an Assistant and Chairman of the Education and Training committee at The Furniture Makers Company.

 

I live in Thame, with my wife Sarah and two daughters.

I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Thame Shed from some time before the COVID lockdown and was delighted to be able to become a member in mid October 2022. 

 

My interest and such expertise as I have is mostly in woodwork and diy repair and I am happiest when making noise and wood chippings. Having a fairly comprehensive set of tools and associated equipment I also get pleasure in introducing our less confident members to the safe and productive use of such equipment as can now be found in our wonderful shed.

 

You can usually find me during any of our open shed periods but more particularly on Friday mornings, the session I am responsible for.

I am a retired civil engineer having worked almost entirely in the water industry in the UK and the Middle East.  Since retiring in 2020 I have moved from London to Thame to be closer to family.  This is a very friendly town and my wife and I have met many lovely people in the clubs and organisations available to us.

 

I am a member of the Thame Cycling Club and generally ride on two mornings every week.  Fortunately the days do not yet clash with Thame Shed’s days of opening and the riding keeps me fit enough to cope with a bit of DIY.  One day, I would also like to develop my railway modelling skills and enlarge my daughters’ train sets that we found while packing up to move.  Apparently, I am not alone in this regard – maybe something to do with being male, retired and a second childhood.

 

As Secretary to Thame Shed I aim to support the Management Committee in developing the skills and hobby opportunities available to our members and, in doing so, encourage friendships and add value to our community by virtue of the projects we undertake.

I am a retired General Practice Chartered Surveyor having worked in my 45 year career for the Inland Revenue, Buckinghamshire County Council and latterly as a Partner with Bruton Knowles a national property consultancy.  I have lived in Haddenham since the late 1970s  Unfortunately in May 2022 I lost my beloved wife Judy to cancer after nearly 50 years of marriage.  While having been a keen birder and outdoor conservation volunteer for both the local wildlife trust BBOWT and Butterfly Conservation, I felt that I needed something else to keep me from dwelling on my loss.

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It was at this point that I discovered the concept of Men-in-Sheds.  I have had a lifelong interest in DIY, making and repairing things.  I initially approached Thame Shed in the hope of finding someone who could help me with woodturning, a new hobby I was eager to take up.  I immediately found a community of  people with a fund of knowledge and experience that I could relate to.

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I have been able to find the help with woodturning and be lucky enough to be asked to become a Lead Shedder, tasked with the management and development of Thame Shed.  I currently run the Monday afternoon session and particularly like to focus on managing new and repair projects,  drawing on the resources of the Shed members and the amazing range of equipment that we have been fortunate enough to acquire in a short space of time from a range of corporate and individual sponsors and supporters.