COMEDIAN Timmy Mallett has joined forces with hundreds of men around the country to build a series of ‘buddy benches’.
The benches are designed to spark as many as 200,000 extra conversations among men.
Comedian Timmy Mallett is fronting the new campaign for men’s mental health[/caption]
The first stage is to get men building benches together in sheds[/caption]
The ambitious initiative comes in two stages – the first, to get men building benches together in sheds.
While part two will see them installed in parks, in the hopes they will get people chatting in spaces they may not have before.
The drive comes after a social experiment by alcohol education platform DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association (UKMSA), observed public benches across the country to see how often they were actually used by people to chat.
The analysis of 21 benches in public spaces in the UK, from Scotland to the South West of England, found they facilitate an average of 5.5 conversations daily, adding up to more than 2,000 each year.
Timmy Mallett joined ‘Shedders’ at Black Park Shed in Buckinghamshire to help create their bench – one of 100 that will appear nationwide.
But he was more of a hindrance than a help, as his cartoonish creation came out looking more like a bizarre car than a bench.
The former Wacaday host said: “We need to get people talking. If you put two men in a room and ask them to have a deep and meaningful conversation, they might scarper.
“But if you put them at a work bench, shoulder to shoulder, you often get work-bench buddies.
“They might not fix much, or build much, but they’ll get chatting, and those conversations can brighten a day – or even change a life.”
The project, titled: “Mission: Shoulder to Shoulder”, comes after research of 2,000 adults found half of men find it easier to engage in conversations when doing an activity – than if they’re just sitting across from someone.
But 41 per cent of blokes wouldn’t ever strike up a conversation or share a problem with someone not in their ‘close circle’.
And 37 per cent of these simply assume other people wouldn’t be interested.
While 30 per cent are too shy or awkward to engage someone else in a chat.
Elisabeth Rochford, DRINKiQ ambassador, said: “Older men consume more alcohol than any other cohort, with around four in 10 men between the ages of 55 and 74 drinking more than the Chief Medical Officer’s ‘low risk’ guideline of 14 units per week.
“That level of consumption, which is characterised by more frequent consumption than other age groups, doesn’t always happen in a vacuum.
“But rather because of a vacuum created by life-stage and age-related factors such as retirement, empty-nesting, separation or bereavement.
“Men’s Sheds are a demonstration of how social community outlets can provide a different option for men in this age bracket.”
It is hoped the benches will spark as many as 200,000 extra conversations among men[/caption]
Timmy joined forces with a team in Buckinghamshire[/caption]
The comedian said: ‘We need to get people talking’[/caption]
