The Royce Residents Celebrate Official Opening of Their Workshop

Earlier this month, The Royce residents Norm Lincoln, Jim Copland, Alan Golding, Ross Creighton, Joe Gray and Ralph Forsythe officially opened the ‘Royce Residents’ Workshop’ with the help of Cathy Bennett, Village Manager and Glen Thomson, Maintenance Officer.

The idea came from a discussion at one of the Friday afternoon happy hour sessions, where the residents expressed their desire to be involved in workshop projects.

Jim Copland, one of the main instigators of project ‘Workshop’ said, “Designing and fitting out the Workshop has been a fantastic project in itself. We downsized from a big house with a double garage that was full of tools, so creating this space has meant I can make use of them again.”

Ross also added, “I was going to the local Men’s Shed in Penrith, but now we have our own space at The Royce, and we can use our tools, it makes it so much more enjoyable.”

Ross went on to say, “At the moment the Workshop has seven of us that regularly use it, but I do not doubt that this will grow. We are encouraging all residents both male and female to take advantage of the 'The Royce Residence Workshop.'"

Judy, Ross’s wife, said, “I understand the whole Men’s shed concept, but this was an opportunity for us all (men and women) to share tales, fellowship and work together. It’s created a new space to meet, share stories, explore and enhance new skills with or without our other halves.”

Recently some of the project leaders took a day trip to Kintyre, another Retirement Village that the Tulich Family own in Dubbo, NSW. They took the opportunity to visit the Kintyre Workshop, look at the setup and see what the residents have made and are planning.

Debbie, Norm’s wife, said, “We all thoroughly enjoyed the time away, especially after the COVID restrictions, and it was so wonderful to meet the Kintyre residents.”

Joe, Ralph and Alan are all pretty handy on the tools and said it was good for them on many different levels; using their brains, having a sense of achievement and purpose, and connecting with the others in The Royce community.

Joe smiled, “We have all been on a work health and safety induction with Glen, so now we are all raring to go and open for business and of course looking forward to welcoming new members!”

Alan commented, “The Residents Workshop is not only intended for woodwork, its a versatile place for doing all the little jobs that crop up, like, repairing the grandchildren’s broken toys or fixing the odd gadget instead of using the kitchen bench.”

So whether you have a craft hobby, need to fix something, or you’re looking to learn new skills the Workshop is a new go-to communal space for The Royce Residents.

If you are interested in moving into The Royce, please call Maria Carew, The Royce Sales Manager on 4744 6000 or email maria@theroyce.com.au.