Copyright bbc
Kurt Walton, 56, from nearby Marton, joined just a month ago. After being medically retired and undergoing multiple surgeries to rebuild his ankle, he found himself isolated and struggling. "I've gone from a reclusive wreck that had nothing. In 2024, I lost everything, literally everything," he says. "I lost my job, my health, I lost my car, I lost my mobility, I lost my partner. There was nothing there, nothing at all." He went to therapy but "got literally nothing from it" and was recommended the Men's Shed. "Now, it's like I've got everything to look forward to and it's really good." Michael Bush, 78, joined the shed after his wife died five years ago and then his son two years later. "I was in a bad place, I was seeing a therapist and they would encourage me to get out." He says since making friends at the shed "it's hard to describe what a difference it makes to you". Michael now spends his time making models, a hobby that suits him well since arthritis in his knees makes gardening difficult.
