Yesterday was a normal day at Men’s Shed…
In the workshop there was Larry making planters, Paul making a guitar, Bruce making a Christmas game. You could have seen Francis retrieving useful wood from pallets, Robbie tidying the garden, Steve replacing a rotten fence… Al was winning at cards, Kenny was playing pool…. Ray was chatting, doing the ‘Daily Mail’ crossword, Trevor organising the Christmas meal…
At 10.30 activity stopped. Mick had cooked the bacon for bacon rolls; Martin had made the tea; Gerard had brought in birthday cake. There was a lot of cheerful noisy banter; there were quieter, more serious conversations about grandchildren, hospital appointments, the anniversary of a wife’s death.
All pretty standard. But then…
…We assembled in the hall. Larry, Paul, Bruce… everybody. At eleven o’clock, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, along with thousands across the country, we stood for two minutes.
Of course, there’s history about 1918 guns falling silent and peace agreements, but for those two minutes, noise, laughter and busyness stopped as thirty-five older men stood together in respectful silence. Some had served in the armed forces, all had memories of family life after the Second World War.
There’s always a good feel of united friendship at our Men’s Shed. Yesterday, for those two minutes there was something deeper, that wasn’t based on doing things together. Just standing together felt special.
Later returning to ‘normality’… Remembering Paul McCartney’s Frog Chorus:
Win or lose, sink or swim
One thing is certain, we’ll never give in
Side by side, hand in hand
We all stand together
We just a bunch of old frogs – choosing not to croak on that occasion – but choosing to stand together.
…Remembering were that St Paul said a lot about standing… In particular I recalled: ‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.’
…Relating those words to my faith… and to my friends with different faith and no faith… standing with courage, strength and love.
