THE launch of A Shed Load of Stories was done “a blokes way” at the 2012 Men’s Shed Expo, with the book tossed several metres from one pair of hands to another yesterday at the Dubbo Showground.
First bloke and Men’s Shed patron Tim Mathieson visited the event with former deputy Prime Minister John Alexander attending the expo as a speaker along with other men who also shared their life experiences.
Mr Mathieson spoke to members of the 30 various sheds and was presented with a copy of the book.
He also participated in workshops at the expo helping to create a quick project from metal but did not shy away from the tough issues.
While men “have progressed” in asking for help when it comes to opening up about heath problems, Mr Mathieson said statistics still were “not good enough”.
“Our male youth have to start at 15 to 16 and go and visit their GP,” he said.
“The statistics for men is 28 to 30 years of age when we start going to a GP and that is not good enough.”
Former deputy Prime Minister John Alexander spoke at the expo about the role of men and the hardest moments of his political career, including the week of 9/11.
“In those sorts of moments your family is incredibly important,” he told the crowd.
The book contains the life stories of 12 members of the Dubbo Community Men’s Shed as told to writer Kathy Stone.
Phil Knight read an abbreviated version of his chapter in the book about his life serving as a police officer for nearly three decades.
“I thought about it for a while because it mean baring my soul, which I had probably never done before in my life,” he said of his involvement in the project.
But Mr Knight told his story with 11 others to “benefit other men” who could relate to their experiences and know they were not alone.
Founding member of the Dubbo Community Men’s Shed, Garry Tosh read the introduction of A Shed Load of Stories, written by Peter Bradley, to those at the expo.
“I have found the stories true to life, funny, moving, informative but most of all well worth reading,” he read.
“The account of the child’s internment in a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, the escapades of a young truant who ditched school to go trucking, a man who emerged from an abusive childhood to discover beauty in art and
nature - stories that underline the fact that there is no such thing as an ordinary life.”
Founding member of the Dubbo Community Men’s Shed, Frank Dolan thanked writer Kathy Stone for helping make the book a reality.
“When you read the stories in the book you will run the gauntlet of emotions, they will make you laugh and they will make you cry,” he said.
Ms Stone thanked the members of the Dubbo Community Men’s Shed for the opportunity to be involved in the book.
“I think the really powerful thing about the stories when you read them is [that] it sounds like the men are talking directly to you and you can hear their voices,” she said.
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