new workshop

NEW residents at the Ryfields Retirement Village who are keen to develop their creative skills need look no further than the exclusive on-site woodworking shop.

There will be opportunities to craft wood and produce ornaments and furniture as personal gifts, for residents' homes, or as a contribution to the village itself.

The village woodwork shop is set to include a lathe, grinders, chisels, power drills and saws. Ideal for those with limited mobility but good with their hands, the facility will be open to novices and experts alike, with a tutor available to develop residents' skills.

George Turner, a resident at Ryfields' twin village, Berryhill, in Stoke-on-Trent, which is run by Ryfields' development partner The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, has used his woodworking talent to produce a whole range of wooden gems, including bird tables, windmills, wishing wells and even dolls' houses.

A lorry driver for 18 years, George, now aged 70, says that the Berryhill woodwork team sells produce to residents and visitors and this helps to buy new wood and materials. He is planning to visit Ryfields to show future residents his work and try out the new woodwork shop.

He said: "Woodworking gives me enormous satisfaction and keeps my brain alive. It's so much better than watching the goggle box all day. I'll look forward to seeing the Ryfields facility."

Ryfields' £1.5 million fundraising appeal needs your support in the form of donations towards the woodwork shop, which has cost £20,000 to build.

The following wish list also needs your support, in the form of financial donations and/or the provision of:

One radial arm saw at £1,220; a multi-system woodworker at £1,500; a bandsaw and blades at £600; a drill with stand at £500; wood supplies at £500; a disc and belt sander at £500; four work benches at £400; a dust extractor at £250; a woodworking lathe at £250; three wall cabinets at £140; discs and belts at £100; a scroll saw at £100; a grinder and stand at £60; chisels at £50; an engineer's vice at £40 and safety notices at £40.

For more details of how to help, contact fundraising manager Ken Spencer on 443181.