Howard Drysdale has conducted many funeral services in his role as Aberdeen Harbour Board chaplain since 2001.
But it recently struck him that he was reading eulogies and paying his respects to mariners, who had lived and died in the north east without ever crossing their path.
That was the catalyst for his brainwave that it was time to offer an outlet for retired and lonely ex-seafarers, along the lines of the Men’s Shed movement which has been a huge success in so many different parts of Scotland.
And now, with the help of the Merchant Navy Welfare Board, which contributed £15,000 towards the project, Reverend Drysdale has launched a Sea Shed initiative which offers a meeting place and a chance to swap stories for people in the Granite City.
The group meets fortnightly at the Seafarers Centre on Fridays, from 9.30am to 12.30pm, and allows retired (or redundant) mariners access to a range of facilities, including computers and IPads, in addition to a complimentary lunch.
The response so far has proved the success of the Sea Shed mission and Mr Drysdale – who will hand out festive gifts in the city harbour next week – believes there is plenty of scope for expansion in the future.
He said: “I found myself carrying out so many funerals, year after year, of people I had never met and who were just slipping through the net.
“It set me thinking ‘What can we do to address this problem?’
“Seafarers tend to be quite difficult people. They travel a lot and, in many cases, they don’t have any fixed workplace such as a factory or an office.
“So, when they retire, they can often feel lost and suffer from social isolation.
“So I came up with this idea, based on the Men’s Sheds, and we have already doubled our numbers in the last few months.
“We share yarns, allow the men to use modern technology and we have also arranged a number of visits to different places.”
Those attending the Sea Shed have already enjoyed outings to the Peterhead Prison Museum and the Gordon Highlanders Museum.
Several visits and events have already been lined-up for 2020.
Mr Drysdale said: It’s making a real difference to these men and we want to spread the message to others: ‘Come and join us.”
The next meeting takes place on January 10.
Further information is available by emailing Mr Drysdale at seachaplain@gmail.com.
