THE DIAMOND DOGS

The stresses and strains of daily life are many, of that we can all be very certain. Throw into that daily life what we are all going through nowadays, with Covid, flooding, fires, and storms, and you certainly could be forgiven for feeling some anxiety and depression.

Some friends have commented to me that they are going stir-crazy not being able to travel safely these days. In the scheme of things, that stress is probably way down the list of what to feel anxious about but, nevertheless, it’s a worry for some and therefore valid.

There will be many Shed readers who had been planning some years of regularly travelling or cruising and that is on the back-burner till who knows when. In fact, one of our Shed team members was in that first quarantine group from a cruise ship that was placed in the army camp at the end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula at the very start of the pandemic in early 2020.

I was thinking about how many of our readers’ plans will have changed this past 18 months and it occurred to me how lucky we are that we have our workshops and the security of our sheds in which to keep being creative and active.

On almost the same day as I was thinking that, I opened an email from Mark Seek, a mental-health specialist, with the offer of a column relating to mental-health issues. Stress is everywhere and some of us, especially males, are not good about talking about it or even acknowledging a stress-related condition. So, we welcome Mike to the magazine and urge you to read his light-hearted article, The Shed Shrink, on page 70. Many Kiwis are going through a lot currently so let’s make sure we consistently offer our support.

If you were wondering about that Diamond Dogs heading at the top of the page, here’s why it’s there.

I have just binged-watched a comedy series online called Ted Lasso, which I thoroughly enjoyed; I was sad the series ended. It’s very funny, with great actors and a fantastic script, plus good always triumphs over evil. It’s about an American managing a London football team. Anyway, when any of the guys have a problem that’s really troubling them, they call their group together to discuss, share the problem, and seek a solution. “They call them[selves] the Diamond Dogs”.

Thanks, David.