Jim Grant, who is under the care of Princess Alice Hospice, was introduced to their Man Shed before the pandemic and attends most Friday afternoons.
Despite its name, the Man Shed also welcomes women and offers an easy-going but structured and safe environment for people to socialise, chat, learn new skills and produce practical or artistic objects – mainly out of wood.
Jim, who suffers from a life-limiting disease that affects his ability to speak, soon learned that the volunteers who were supporting him in the Man Shed were all wood carvers and he was encouraged to try his hand at carving.
He started by carving a dolphin and then moved on to a more challenging Celtic cross.
He worked at it patiently and painstakingly for several months, before and after the lockdowns, communicating with volunteers via a small whiteboard and marker pen.
Jim took his half-finished project home with him during August, while the volunteers had their summer break, and continued with sanding and polishing it at home.
When he returned to the Man Shed, he proudly showed the other attendees and volunteers how well it had turned out.
Families and Carers Lead at the Hospice, Rosie noble said:
“Jim’s success in seeing his project through was a tribute to the supportive ethos of the Man Shed.
Jim has been coming along since before the pandemic and is one of our most regular attenders.
Like others who attend, Jim finds that it’s not only a place where you can socialise and have an informal chat about all sorts of things, it’s also very satisfying to use practical skills to produce useful or beautiful artefacts, like his Celtic cross.”
Jim is now moving on to an even more ambitious three-dimensional carving of a man, which he has designed himself.
Princess Alice Hospice: For Compassion. For Excellence. For People. For Living.
Princess Alice Hospice has, for more than 35 years, provided free, high-quality, specialist end of life care to tens of thousands of people across a large part of Surrey, south west London and Middlesex.
Today, at any one time, Hospice nurses, doctors and other specialist staff are looking after more than 900 people in need.
The Hospice’s mission is to reach out to even more people by delivering outstanding care to those that need it. To enable us to do this, we must rely on the commitment and support of our communities who help us to raise vital funds.
£10.1 million is needed each year to provide our vital services. With limited NHS funding provided by CCGs, which represents circa 24% of our expenditure on charitable activities, in more normal times, the balance is raised through legacies, fundraising, dedicated shop units and investments. It is only the generous support of our communities and beyond, that makes it possible to do our work.
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