August was a busy month for Donabate Portrane Men’s Shed, as our regular weekly activities resumed after the July break, with croquet in Newbridge Park on Tuesdays and our Thursday morning exercise classes and get-togethers over a cuppa. Our plots at Turvey Allotments were a hive of activity where the daily watering and weeding is being rewarded with a bumper harvest.

In keeping with the motto of the Donabate Portrane Summer Festival - “a festival for the community by the community” - the Men’s Shed music group, Gerry and the Plonkers, provided entertainment on Portrane Green on the Saturday afternoon of the festival. By all reports, the Plonkers played their part in making it a great weekend enjoyed by all. The Plonkers celebrated their third anniversary by playing at the annual Turvey Allotments barbecue. The Plonkers also played a slot at Vintage Picnic, a free, age-friendly music festival for adults over 55, which this year was held in Millennium Park in Blanchardstown.

On a more serious note, last month we had a very informative presentation by a community nurse, arranged through the Marie Keating Foundation, about men’s health issues, including awareness of prostate, testicular, lung, bowel and skin cancer.

Over the next months, we hope to have a few outings to places of special interest in addition to our regular weekly activities. So if you, or someone near to you, would like to join us, don’t wait; contact our PRO, Jim, now on 086-3694316.