Trainee Blog

Magnificent Seven

2011-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Seven of our Navigate Life participants received their well earned tool bags last week to a round of applause from staff and volunteers. Some good friendships were formed among them and all said they had a great time on the course. Two of the guys are moving on to volunteering roles with other organisations and some are looking at staying on for a bit to volunteer here.

Well done to all and good luck for the future.

The will to work

2011-04-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

The workshop remains as busy as ever with a full waiting list ready to take up the next two intakes for Navigate Life.

Some of the past participants who have stayed on to volunteer are now mucking in on the various boat projects that are ongoing on while others are using their skills to see how we can make a range of GalGael products to generate some income.

There's a real good energy in the workshop and it proves the point that given a bit of respect and some meaningful activity people, often with unemployment through three generations of their family- just love to get stuck in to some good honest work.

At the benches.

2011-03-09T05:22:00.001-08:00

It just seems to get busier and busier at the Navigate Life benches. Our course is still in big demand and making a real difference to the confidence, motivation and sense of identity to many who join up. On a recent Friday outing we had our biggest group so far of nineteen people. Last Friday we visited the ever popular Wallace Monument. We hope to get participants to contribute to this blog on a more regular basis but hear are a few impressions of Friday's trip.

"I had a great day out. It was really interesting to visit the Wallace Monument and learn more about Scottish history" Matthew.

"Tremendous, my first time at the Wallace Monument and a look back at Scottish History."

Alastair Mor Dickson.

"What a brilliant day again" Sean

"I really enjoyed myself, thanks for a great day" Gary.

" I really enjoyed myself, it was a perfect day out" Brian.

(pics to follow)

Presentation

2010-11-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

Toolkits were handed out to Jenny McCarry, George Todd and Norie Somerville who have all just completed our Navigate Life course.

Well done to all three, they are great folk and have been wonderful to have in the workshop as you can see by all the clapping hands in the background.

Visit from The Rock Trust

2010-11-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

We were very pleased to receive a visit from "Step Up" participants and staff from the Rock Trust, an excellent project from Edinburgh who wished to come over and see what we are up to at GalGael.

We gave the Group a tour of the workshop and got them involved in carving a sign on a piece of oak to put up in their base. The picture shows GalGael's Ian Bogle passing on some carving skills. Well done to the guys for getting so much done in a short space of time.

Visit their site at;

www.rocktrust.org

More participant successes.

2010-09-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

A few more pictures of Navigate Life participants either showing their work or receiving their toolkits. A special mention to Joe Gray on gaining a years placement on the construction crafts course at The Metropolitan College. Joe (in the orange shirt) start on Monday and we wish him all the best of luck.

Participant activity

2010-08-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Galgael workshop in Fairley St continues to be a hive of industry with available bench space constantly sought after. Visitors are always taken aback by the site of so many people working away on various wood projects and by the atmosphere of creativity and community around the benches.

Well done and thanks to all the latest group of participants who have just completed the Navigate Life course and who received their belated bag of tools last week. They were good enough to hold back till we got through our recent funding difficulty, many volunteering for us through a very busy summer. Special congratulations go out to Brenda on receiving her tool kit.

Latest NL Intake

2010-07-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our latest intake of Navigate life participants. We hope they enjoy their time here as much as previous groups have. The workshop continues to jump with activity and the atmosphere is as vibrant and creative as always.

We take in an average of ten new people every six weeks for our twelve week training course with volunteering opportunities available towards the end.

Much of what we do is about building personal capacity to move on in life by building on confidence, motivation and instilling a good work ethic. We like to say that we offer "a venue, some tools and a bit of respect" and the folk on the course do much of the rest themselves, though trained staff are always on hand to teach and give support. And, it's not just a case of us teaching them, we continually learn together as a community.

Congratulations

2010-06-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

Well done to all the Navigate Life participants who have recently received their GalGael tool bag and certificates from Cardonald College on completing of our twelve week course. In the photo we see Liz with some of her fellow participants and volunteers after being handed a full bag of tools to keep.

We would also like to welcome the latest intake of participants to join the course and we hope they enjoy their time here and are as brilliant as the last group were. There continues to be a growing demand for our services as funding gets tighter and as things worsen on the economic front. The workshop is jumping and there is a wonderful energy. Lets try and keep it that way.

GalGael Song Writing Workshop

2010-02-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

Read up on our recent song writing workshop with Luke Concannon.

http://galgaelsong.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/urbanclansman#p/a/u/0/a_rnLvp9uGw

http://www.youtube.com/user/urbanclansman#p/a/u/1/_5zuIoAco9o

School Boat Building Initiative

2010-02-11T03:53:00.000-08:00

GalGael are working with young people from Smithycroft and St Mungo's Secondary Schools as part of an exciting new project to build a new kit form boat which will offer pupils a chance to get out on the water. The St Ayles skiff designed by Ian Oughtred was specifically developed for community boat building, also allows technical teachers to use the kit to fabricate a 22ft boat of marine plywood to involve pupils at all stages of construction. The project is funded by Sense over Sectarianism.

Find out more about the St Ayles Skiff at:

http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/

Personal Projects

2010-02-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of examples of recent personal projects made by our participants at the second phase of their twelve week project. George made this stunning chess table as well as cast the pieces, copies of the famous Lewis chessmen.

Patsy is looking forward to placing her work in her garden to admire when the better weather comes. Well done to both of you.

More Toolkits Awarded

2010-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the latest batch of course participants who have recently completed our Navigate Life course. From left to right; Patsy Anderson, Lucy Keays, Gerry Miller and Kevin McGran.

Winter at Barmaddy.

2010-01-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

Barmaddy farmhouse continues to progress as more of our participants tackle the many jobs needed make the accommodation more habitable. Things are now at the decorating stage and the picture show the difference a fresh coat of paint can make.

A good supply of wood is required to keep the stove burning and its a full time job when it comes to chopping wood into kindling and the task itself is a good one for keeping you warm.

We now have a new flat bed van for transportation of people and equipment to and from Barmaddy and the good thing is the additional crew cab will allow three extra participants to access the trips to Argyll. Seumas is trying to source some furry dice as we speak.

Progress at Barmaddy

2009-11-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

The weather is getting colder but our participants are still keen to rough it a bit up at our farmhouse in Argyll. On this months excursion, Seumas took Lucy, Dougie and Gerry- all participants on Navigate Life, up for some fresh country air and a bit of honest graft. Apart from harvesting (and munching) the spuds planted by an earlier visiting group, progress was made with internal decor and gathering wood for the winter.

Condolences

2009-10-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

Our respect goes out to our volunteer Jinx who fashioned this wonderful table as a gesture of support to Margaret McKenzie (both pictured)who in September lost her son Ian in tragic circumstances. Ian was due to start on our course at Galgael and was the nephew of one of our most valued volunteers, Rosie McHarg but unfotunately it was not to be.

Also pictured is David Henry who created this wonderful carving in memory of his dear Mum Janet who passed away this May. We wish David and his family our sympathy and would like to say well done to him for all the effort he put into this lovely piece of work.

Well done!

2009-10-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to David McColvin, Carol Anne Leitch, Dougie Munro and Billy Taylor on recieving their tool kits after completing our Navigate Life course. They have been a great group to work with we hope they enjoyed the GalGael expeience. All four are still working on personal projects including furniture, carvings and historic weaponry.

Friday Excursions

2009-09-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Our Friday outings continue to be a popular element of the course where we offer our participants an opportunity to get out of the city for a bit to enjoy some history and nature. Our last outing seen us back at the "Whangie"- a wonderful craggy hillside with amazing views over Loch Lomond. With some spare time left we headed a mile or two up the road to a hidden gorge that looked like a film set with some good pools that we had a good splash about in. It was a very enjoyable day out and the craic was great.

Course participants take to the sea.

2009-08-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well done to Navigate Life participants Kevin Kerrigan ans Chris Gallagher who were part of the crew on Orcuan on her recent trip sailing on the wayers off Argyll. The lads had a great time on the water and the craic was good.

Welcome to our August intake of course participants who started on Tuesday, we will keep you updated on their progress.

Congratualtions

2009-06-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

Well done to James who on completing Navigate Life was awarded a full bag of tools by our workshop manager Ian Bogle, congratulations mate.

Also pictured with with James is Tiny who is also on the course and who has just moved into his new house. We wish them both all the best for the future.

Well Done!

2009-04-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Thomas Fitzsimmons on completing our Navigate Life course. He is seen above being presented with his bag of tools by Martin Hughes, our training manager along with some of his fellow trainees and Galgael volunteers. Thomas has been volunteering meantime in the workshop. We would also like to welcome the latest batch of Navigate Life trainees who joined at the beginning of April and we hope they enjoy their time here and get some valuable experience during their time at Galgael.

Oot and aboot.

2009-04-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

We found a new destination for some of or future Friday excursions. The "Whangie" is a hill just South of Loch Lomond and offers commanding views of the loch and surrounding countryside.

Also in the vicinity, an amazing gully with a burn runnuing through it like a mini Scottish Grand Canyon with an overhanging rock known as the Devil's Pulpit. The trainees and volunteers were raving about it when they got back so it looks like we will be going back.

Barmaddy March 2009

2009-03-20T03:06:00.001-07:00

The "expedition" arrived at Barmaddy around 2pm and the first job in hand was to "get the fire going" the first of Seumas' many and varied instructions (commands). Barmaddy farmhouse is set in a fairway off the main road, overlooking extensive woods and hills, a beautiful sight, and from a distance the house is in itself quite a commanding scene.

Accommodation, though basic, is comfortable and as with anything else, it is what you make of it. lots of work has already been done on the house but there is still much to do, with the enthusiasm of the Galgael crew this will certainly be achieved.

Work at times was hard, always enjoyable and in the evenings a healthy meal was had along with some long and often hilarious chinwag. For some odd reason Yanos, our hungarian friend tended to fall asleep.

Anyway, the few days spent at Barmaddy will always be memorable and given the chance I'd be off like a shot again and if anyone at GalGael gets the opportunity to go, take it with both hands.

Chris Doyle, GalGael "Navigate Life" participant.

Tool Kits Presented

2009-03-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Davy Whiteside and Grant Davidson on completing our Navigate life course.

The pictures show the lads being presented with their full bag of tools by Ian Bogle our workshop supervisor.

2009-03-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

Friday 6th March. Instead of our typical Friday outing, we were very happy to welcome back Luke Concannon with his mates from the Manjinga 7. We had a brilliant day! We started out by writing up key words then rhyming them into a rap then added chords and a melody. The pieces of music were performed later as Luke and the band done an excellent set of songs in our workshop, which is becoming a venue for film and music more and more these days. We witnessed some very expressive dancing too from various quarters of the GalGael posse. Thanks to Alastair for a cracking performance of "Homage to young men". It just goes to prove, you can still have a good time and get into the vibe without spending what little cash you have on drink and drugs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-2_EsAbFQo

Thanks to all who helped set up the area for the event and to our special guests who were a great bunch of guys and who we hope will come back again.

Two more participants complete the course.

2009-03-02T07:31:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Alec Ogilvie and Frankie Scott who both recieved their tool bags on completing our Navigate life course. Both are still at GalGael doing a bit of volunteering though Frankie will be starting a new job this week while Alec is working with Ian Wade our blacksmith, learning how to use the forge and anvil.

Friday Gig at GalGael

2009-03-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

Luke ConCannon from chart topping band Nizlopi will be at Galgael on Friday the 6th of March with his friends from the Manjinga 7. They will be doing a songwriting workshop with our trainees followed by a performance and we will be breaking out the scran (food- for the uninitiated) later on. Times are still to be confirmed so give us a phone (0141 427 3070) before Friday. Check out Nilopi's no. one single at the link below;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3WhQB7Hq0Q

The Manjinga 7 can be seen at;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcispfABHho

New Participant Intake

2009-03-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

We have just welcomed our latest group of participants onto the course and they seemed to have got off to a good start. A trip on the Clyde is always a good way of getting to know each other, especially when you have to hold onto the person next to you when flying out of the water on an inflatible rib doing a rate of knots. Yes we had a great time, zooming downriver to Dumbarton for fish suppers on the Seaforce inflatables. The weather was great for this time of year and it was good to see so much birdlife on the Clyde.

A Hive of Activity

2009-01-28T05:32:00.000-08:00

The Galgael workshop is really buzzing at the moment with the new intake of participants and folk from the previous intake. The workshop staff are keeping them all busy and most importantly they seem to be enjoying it. Thanks to one of the new participants, Hughie who made a fine pot of soup (beef broth) for all the troops today.

New Trainee Intake

2009-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

We would like to welcome our new intake of GalGael trainees who joined the course two weeks ago. Among them we have a Hungarian, an Eritrean and a Georgian as well as four Glasgow lads.

We all got a bit better aqauinted when we visited Hampden park on Friday, getting a tour of the stadium as well as the Museum of Scottish Football. We had to lift Wee Rosie over the turnstile and James got a high-five from one of his Ibrox heroes (see pics).

The craic was good and big Janos was delighted to see a photo of Ferenc Puskas, the Hungarian football genius who almost won the European Cup single-handedly for Real Madrid in 1954 by scoring four goals at Hampden (see pic). Most of the gang were football fans and it was great to relive some old memories of classic games from the past.

The guys are back on the benches this week and we will keep you posted on their progress.

2009-01-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

GalGael are back into the swing of things in 2009 and we were very happy to award tool kits and Galgael certificates to Craig MacGregor and George Carroll on completion of our Navigate Life course. The lads will be doing a bit of volunteering for a spell and hopefully we will be able to support them with any future plans.

2008-12-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

GalGael Ceramics

GalGael have recently opened up a small but expanding ceramics and pottery area thanks to volunteers Luis and Norrie. Luis, who has just completed our Navigate Life course, has valuable skills to bring to GalGael as a volunteer and working with clay is a very accessible medium for anyone to get involved in. Hopefully we will be seeing a small range of Galgael products coming out of the kiln in the near future.

2008-12-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

My Box

My box took two months to build. I am pleased how it turned out. It took a lot of patience to put together. I am very grateful to the staff for their help. I have learned new skills in the process. The box is now home, proudly placed at the bottom of my bed. It will be used to keep towels in.
The idea of building the box came to my mind because I was fed up with my nephew’s toys lying around my room floor. The box would come in handy to keep them in. I chose oak wood to build with as I had a different design from the others. The box is about 4 foot long, 2ft wide and 2.5 foot high. I finished it off with oil. It turned out quite a smooth surface. The most frustrating bit was when I was making the corner poles for the sides to slot into.
To see something I had started in life finished made me feel good inside.
Thanks to GalGael as they have helped me get my life back on track.

Fraser.

2008-11-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

John and Shaun along with two staff from the Forestry Commission sitting on one of the larch trees felled specially for Galgael's next boat building project.

Trainee & Volunteer Page

2008-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

The main thrust of what we do at Galgael is about empowering people within our community who find it difficult to get into work or who have difficulty in finding an outlet for their talent, creativity and positive energy. Working with natural materials within a supportive environment can be a powerful way of building on human potential and community values. Here are some images of the people who come through the doors of Galgael every day who inspire us as much as we inspire them.

Some of the lads celebrating, having earned a full bag of tools on finishing the course.
The first element of Navigate Life is aimed at gaining SVQ modules, then the participants go on to make a personal project which they can keep. Thirdly, we encourage them to give something back by helping out with some of our projects and in recognition for their efforts we give them a full bag of tools - now that they have learned the skills to use them.

Staff, volunteers and trainees loading an oak log onto the mobile sawmill. the wood will be used for a piece of public art to be sited in Arden, Glasgow.

Volunteer Keith Dolan at the tiller of "Orcuan on the Firth of Clyde.

Friday excursions are a popular element of Navigate Life. They are a way of getting people who don't have the means, to get out of the city and enjoy all that Scotland has to offer. Here we are. on top of the world after having climbed the Wallace monument.