Greystones Men’s Shed Active On-line Courses; organised through Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board’s Community Education programme, has “opened up new possibilities”, according to Jim Rice, one of the organisers of the group.
Initially, some of the men were afraid of breaking the iPad or laptop or iPhone. Now they are booking cinema seats on-line, using google maps to find out how to get to new places, keeping up-to-date with what’s happening in the world using RTE and BBC news apps.
One man is learning phrases in Greek to use when he travels there shortly on his holidays. Others are keeping in touch with sons, daughters and grandchildren who are living in far-away places like California and Australia through email or Twitter.
The men praised Finola Brady, their tutor, for her patience and her teaching skills. She manages to keep everyone learning at a pace that is comfortable, but challenging at the same time. Even though the men may have different levels of experience and knowledge, they help each other in keeping with the spirit of men’s sheds generally.
The Active On-line classes take place in the Greystones Men’s Shed on Church Road (opening times: Mon, Wed, Fri; 10am to 1pm) and the learning has greatly boosted confidence. One man was looking forward to surprising his wife by texting her a message for the first time. “This kind of learning makes you feel good about yourself”, he said. The whole group agreed.
GREYSTONES MEN’s SHED CONNECT ON-LINE
Greystones Men’s Shed (left to right: Jim, Michael, Martin, Joe, Johnnie, Murt, Frank and Kevin and tutor Finola)
Anyone interested in joining Greystones Men’s Shed, please telephone;
089 2540586
or email HERE