As reported in Bradford's Telegraph & Argus, the city now has a new shed-themed pub called, appropriately, The Garden Shed. The new look hostelry was formerly the Wibsey Sport and Social Club but was refurbished and upmarketed by owners Kelly Shaw and Mark Lawn, a former chairman of Bradford City FC. There have been a few issues with vandalism which have slowed down the project but now customers can enjoy a selection of real ales, pizzas fresh from the overn and features including chandeliers.
The shed has been enhanced with some homemade weather-proofing, a lick of celestial black paint, three otherworldly armchairs, and a Japanese DIY star projector. Oh, and fitted with microphones to record our babble. We don’t have the budget for a device to control the weather, so any atmospheric sounds you hear are from the garden just beyond the shed’s thin wooden walls.
A few of our favourites from the first two weeks of the beach hut advent calendar (more here). More details about the last week, perhaps ever, of this marvellous event.
Dramatist Jimmy McGovern, whose one-off drama Care recently aired on the BBC, is also a shedworker. In several interviews he has waxed lyrical about his space although also commenting that he spent £30,000 on it without realising some of the tax implications (always check with your accountant if you're intending to claim) and now thinks he might have been better putting it on wheels.
He invites me inside the workroom in his garden, which he calls “the big hut”. He thought he could claim back the cost of its construction as a tax break – only afterwards did his accountant tell him that the requisite clause does not apply to buildings. “I should have put it on bloody wheels,” he says, having written it off as a funny story instead. The big hut is carpeted, kitted out with a bookshelf and soft chairs, and heated to a soporific temperature. It doesn’t seem the sort of room where a working-class man writes working-class dramas, but that must be what happens in here, although McGovern does admit that prosperity and comfort have made him less productive.
In a recent interview with Big Issue North he added: "At 69, “I’m slowing down,” but as for retirement, “I’ve got a hut in the garden and I can’t see me not going over to that hut”."
And in the video below he discusses his writing methods including why he likes his garden office birdfeeder and the amount of time he spends watching the birds, weeding, and admiring his chestnut tree blowing in the wind. As he says: "If I can't work there, I can't work anywhere." He starts talking about shedworking from around the 4.28 mark.
This garden office build from eDEN Garden Rooms did not start smoothly - when the team started the groundworks to put in their screw pile foundations they found an old 3m x 3m bomb shelter, filled with old gas cannisters, rubble, and old tyres which was all news to the client too. Rather than abandon the project eDEN contracted a specialist groundworks company to clear the hole with fill it with compacted type 1 sub-base. A replacement slab was placed on top and the project continued. The final build measures 6.6m x 3.8m has an integrated store to the side and triple bi-fold doors.
This lovely pavilion by architect Anders Hermansen is described by him as "a movable piece of art" which as he says "regardless of wind and weather - whether it's used as a workstation, gallery or just a free space, it's only the imagination that sets limits."
It measures 3.6m x 2.5m x 3.4m and has one fixed wall with built-in cupboards, large double door doors plus a floor-to-ceiling window. There are adjustable feet to help with uneven terrain. It is aimed, says Anders, "at the creative, experimental, imaginative or just those who want an inspiring architect-designed scenario that can create many good memories and bring you closer to nature and beautiful surroundings with the opportunity to experience all the beautiful from this picturesque pavilion."
Continuing the excellent series by Richard Fearon which started last month here.
If this is whetting your appetite for building your own garden office, then keep a look out for more updates on the Haynes Shed Manual which I've been working on this year with John Coupe. The latest position is that it's been delivered to the publishers, gone through the first copy edit successfully, and is now at the final design stage. We hope to bring you at least the cover by the end of this year before it's out in the shops next spring.
The AA is encouraging people to consider their shed and garden office safety with a new video (see below). One particularly interesting point they make is that if you ensure that you lock up your shedlike atmosphere then you’re covered by your home insurance.
Maybe for the last time, the Beyond Church beach hut advent calendar in Brighton and Hove opened its first doors this weekend. Here's Hut 17 owned by Sarah Sutherland-Rowe (more images of it here) created in collaboration with children from All Saints Hove - it featured an angel with wings made from the children's handprints, and a modern day dress Mary and Joseph. If you can make it to the daily openings for the rest of Advent, the organisers would be delighted to see you and offer you a warming drink and a mince pie. You can also follow @RevMartinPoole for pictures.