Nailed it! IRT Macarthur residents show off revamped workshop
Retirement village residents of IRT Macarthur have a spring in their step as their favourite neighbourhood activities are back in full swing.
IRT Macarthur resident Ray Bowman is a member of the village men’s group that meets every Tuesday morning in the big hall.
“We’re just starting to get going again now that we’re past the COVID lockdowns, and with spring here we’re getting a bit of spring back in our step,” Ray said.
For their first big project since the lifting of public health directions which prevented so many group activities, the men’s group turned their attention to the workshop.
“The tools were all rusted and broken and we fixed a lot of them up and organised them on a peg board we have that hangs on the wall. They’re there for anyone to use who lives in the village,” Ray said.
“A lot of people have donated tools to the workshop as well. It may have been something they had from yester year, something that would have been set in a corner and gone to waste otherwise. We’re able to make use of it.
“IRT has also helped us out with providing a new pedestal drill, bench grinder and a vice,” Ray said.
Ray made the workbench himself from mostly found and upcycled materials and says that the men’s group will happily help their neighbours fix anything that needs fixing.
“There’s a lot of walkers that people use around here, so some of the guys will adjust the brakes, put new wheels on to get them to work a bit longer.
“We’ve got a veggie garden out the back of the main hall, and sometimes there’s something that needs to be fixed up for the garden.”
Jim Traves, another resident of IRT Macarthur, is also a member of the men’s group.
“I’ve been involved with the men’s group for 15 years. We spend a lot of time in the workshop doing little jobs that come up. The ladies will come down with their walkers and we’ll adjust their brakes, things like that. We try to look busy, even though we’re not,” Jim said with a laugh.
The men’s group is quite popular with about 25 members who regularly get together to play cards, indoor bowls, share lunch and a drink after a game of golf on a Wednesday or play snooker on a well-worn table that the residents are hoping to get replaced in the future.
The men also cook the sausages for the monthly sausage sizzle held for the village on the first Friday of the month.
“Usually about 80 to 100 people from the village come along for a sausage, salads and potato bake,” Jim said.
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About IRT Group:
IRT Group is one of Australia’s largest community-owned, not-for-profit providers of retirement living, residential aged care and home care. With more than 50 years’ experience and locations throughout NSW, the ACT and South East Queensland, we employ almost 2800 people and play a significant role in promoting seniors as dynamic, influential and valuable members of society.