All hands on deck

School holidays are a time for having fun and spending time with your mates.

A group of Boggabri boys have taken that one step further by helping their mate and their mate’s grandparents.

Fourteen-year-old Aiden Greatrix recently helped his grandmother Maria Greatrix build an annexe out the front of her woodworking shed.

Maria is well-known for her furniture restoration and building furniture from recycled wood.

To finish the workshop job, Maria decided that she needed a cement pad under the annexe, so she spoke to family friend Peter Hall and asked him to give them a hand.

Arrangements were made for Peter and Aiden to lay a cement pad in front of the workshop on Tuesday.

Come Tuesday morning, Peter turned up at 6.30 along with Bruce Sanderson to help mix the cement and much to Peter’s surprise, Aiden and three of his friends also turned up.

It wasn’t something that had been discussed or organised with Maria, her husband Dave and Peter, but Darcey Mosley, 15, Zac Devine, 15, and Chase Campbell, 12, decided that they would come and help their friend with the job and learn how to lay a cement pad.

Peter said: “It’s great – they are keen to learn, they are doing a fantastic job, and I really haven’t had to teach them very much, just show them and tell them and it’s done.”

Maria was ecstatic, “how good is this? The boys have just turned up and it is such a help.

“My son is also here from Melbourne so he is helping mix the cement with Bruce but these boys have done this on their own initiative.”

“It’s so good to see them doing things together, supporting each other, enjoying learning something new and staying out of trouble during their school holidays.”

Maria’s husband, Dave is vision impaired and cannot help with this job and his comment was, “what would us oldies do without these great kids.”