(L-R) Antony Metcalfe and Rob LloydDespite the rather inclement weather, a large crowd enjoyed the Men in Sheds Festival weekend at Sandown Airport last weekend. The well-received event, presented jointly by WAM (Wight Aviation Museum) and Island’s Men in Sheds groups, was sponsored by the Royal British Legion and Wight Aid, with support from Community Action, Isle of Wight. It was officially opened by Antony Metcalfe, Head of Community Engagement, Royal British Legion and Rob Lloyd, from Men in Sheds. The festival included a wide variety of stalls, of Arts & Crafts from a number of the Island’s Men in Sheds, which were Bembridge Shed, Nettlestone & Seaview Shed, Sandown Shed, West Wight Shed and of course WAM Men in Hangars. Visitors were entertained with live music from Wootton Acoustic Music Shed and Whippingham Music Shed. There was even a small Beer Festival. Due to the rather wet weather, this all took place in WAM’s new Hanger 2 with additional indoor space kindly provided by neighbours Ability Dogs 4 Young People. Helen Blake, chair person of WAM enthused:
“It was a great co-operation between WAM and ‘Men in Sheds’. We were very pleased that the Royal British Legion and Wight Aid agreed to sponsor the event. A lot of hard work from the WAM Team and all the Men in Sheds groups resulted in a fabulous weekend for nearly a thousand visitors over the weekend.”
Keep an eye on the WAM website https://wightaviationmuseum.org.uk/ and the Sandown Airport website http://www.eghn.org.uk/ for information about other events throughout the summer. As usual the museum will be open to all visitors on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 10:00 to 15:00 each day. For more information email ‘WAM Opening’ to [email protected] or phone or text to 07949 704052 or visit our website https://wightaviationmuseum.org.uk
