The power of human contact: Shed your fears

THE closest most men get to a contemplative life in a monastery, one bolstered by a vow of silence, is a visit to that relatively recent innovation — the men’s shed.

That idea has been so successful that it has been incorporated into many facets of life. It has, just occasionally, replaced the collegiality once found in our pubs but without the downside.

An art programme run at Marymount Hospice, as part of the 30-week Our Heroes project as part of the men’s shed initiative, has been a huge success. It has, according to Marymount “created awareness of the positive impact the project is having on participating residents in terms of how it has touched the spirits of the men involved”.