This story in today’s Trumpet of Truth (South Wales Echo) is about a nursery school in Penarth, South Wales, who use the cabin as an extra classroom for the tots are being told to tear it down by Vale of Glamorgan Council.

Photo :Media Wales / Picture by Andrew Davies

CHILDREN have launched a campaign to save their nursery’s play cabin after planners ordered it to be torn down.

The wooden cabin, in the grounds of St Aubin nursery in Archer Road, Penarth, was built last July.

Nursery owner Sue Evans claims she was told at the time that the structure did not require planning approval. It has been used as an outdoor classroom ever since.

But Vale of Glamorgan council planners have now decided the cabin breaches conservation area planning rules and will have to be demolished.

Jodie Evans, a manager at the nursery, said there was confusion over when the nursery was included in the conservation area. But she said that, in any event, the cabin was not obtrusive and had not sparked any complaints, except from the planners.

“The classroom plays a crucial role in the children’s learning and is in line with the Welsh Assembly Government’s foundation phase of education which encourages outdoor learning,” she said.

“Yet we have been told to take it down because the wood does not match the red brick of the nursery building and is therefore out of character in the conservation area. It’s hard to see what the problem is when you consider that it’s built on the site of our former, smaller cabin.”

ABC reports

I wish who ever wins the election here today in the UK, would have more policy’s on mensheds and other organisations for men. anyway the Ozzie are way ahead.

The Federal Government has launched Australia’s first national male health policy, appropriately at a men’s shed at Whittlesea in Victoria.

The policy provides nearly $17 million, to set up men’s sheds, fund studies on social and economic factors affecting men’s health, and ecourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to become more involved in their families’ lives.

Minister for Indigenous, Rural and Regional Health, Warren Snowdon, says Australian men have had the “she’ll be right” attitude for too long.

For more info on MenSheds

BBC director Dan Rees, has posted a picture on Twitter of legendary broadcaster and naturalist

Image from Dan Rees

Sir David Attenborough in Scott’s Hut. He spoke movingly of how powerful the weight of history is inside

There is a team of people there restoring the hut

Photo from Dan Ress http://twitter.com/bbcexplorer_dr/status/7743668113

The team restoring Scott’s Hut made David Attenborough and all the team very welcome. Mt Erebus volcano is behind.

We wish them well, maybe it could be Hut of the year 2010 on readersheds!!

Me and the mrs spent a couple of days in the Winchester area and the highlight was seeing 90 sheds in the shadow of the cathedral for their Christmas fayre.

Well worth a visit as they have a skating rink as well (we did not make it on there as it was raining at the time) but managed do get some great chutneys and some smelly saucisson with various fillings including figs , olives and a wild boar one.

At the Santa Pod raceway for their Flame & Thunder 2009 event on Saturday 31st October..

Would love to know who this sheddie is!

Thanks to Rob for the heads up

Garden ‘pub’ probe

INVESTIGATIONS are continuing today after police raided a makeshift pub set up in the garden of a Hampshire home.

Officers busted the venue in Guest Road, Eastleigh, where they found fully working beer pumps and used beer kegs in the back garden.

Neighbours alerted police to an illegal set-up after complaining about excessive noise and offensive language coming from those inside the property.

The Daily Echo understands that the home-made pub was set up by a former employee of a nearby pub, to lure customers away from his ex-employer.
>>

of course if it was for private use and not selling beer can the law do anything? apart from the noise that is and our Pub sheddies would invite the neighbors over.

Sheddies those lovely people over at Best badges are putting some great badges together for me at readersheds/shedblog, but I can’t decide what design to go for.

So sheddies which one would you like (I will be giving them away to you lot anyway)

I will buy the one with the most votes… and be randomly giving them out to commenter’s and my sheddies.

[poll id="8"]

The gudaueinan says

For your money you don’t just get what the agent Cundalls describes as a “detached one-bedroom bungalow requiring full refurbishment and/or redevelopment” (but most other people would describe as a shed), you also get two acres of land in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors national park.

Homebase have a 15% Off Voucher code valid for two days this weekend, you can only use it from Friday.

Offer: 15% Off all products
Start Date: 28th August
End Date: 29th August
Code: DISCOUNT15

Today I soft launch (like a first coat of creosote) a new website called WWW.SHEDS.US, it’s aim is to provide a one stop shop for buying garden sheds online in the UK.

I know the majority of the sheddies build your own!, but if someone is looking to buy a shed, then hopefully the site will provide a jumping off point and then they could share their sheds!.

The site takes data from various shed suppliers such as Garden Buildings Direct, B & Q and Focus etc but you will be able to search in one place, hopefully readersheds will then get a small percentage of the sale, so will help to pay for Shed Week 2010 and that storage shed Mrs Uncle Wilco is after.

Please pop over and take a look, it’s work in progress at the moment so bear with me.

Why SHEDS.US well I would loved to have got sheds.co.uk but could not afford it!, I have been sitting on the domain for a while so thought I should us it for something useful.

Some example products from the site.

Shiplap Sheds

Garden Offices

Cabins

If you are a shed company who has a data that you want to include then contact me.

Something that would interest the logblogbloke Chris, according to the Telegraph (who else!) the ongoing MPS shed expenses scandal.

Mr Hain, who served in both Tony Blair’s and Gordon Brown’s Cabinet, also charged the cost of a new tin roof for his “log store” to the taxpayer

He said he had to replace the log store roof “as the old plastic one had been destroyed in a gale. I use logs when I can to offset oil heating bills and have never claimed for such logs”.

Will we still be getting these shed misbehaving stories until Shed week?

OK not for ever but Alex is moving and his shed working office is not.

It’s the end of an era. As some of you know already, the Shedworking staff and family is moving house today and tomorrow (Wednesday) and unfortunately the Shedworking HQ will be staying behind to enrich the lives of a new family (coincidentally very close friends so we’ll be able to make guest returns). We’ve been in here five years now and have obviously become very attached to the place.

Sadly our new home does not have a garden office (yet – garden office suppliers take note…) so we will be cellarworking for a few months until the dust settles and a new Shedworking HQ can rise in pomp and ceremony

We wish Alex & wife and his minishedworkers a painless move… and welcome them back to the shed fold very soon!

Not shed related but of interest to you.

A jar of glass eyes, a pair of stuffed guinea pigs and a 19th century dentist’s chair have gone under the hammer as a Victorian museum held the ultimate closing-down sale.

It was a case of “everything must go” at Shambles Victorian Museum in Newent, Gloucestershire, where 2,400 weird and wonderful items were auctioned off.

The Victoriana has been collected over the past 40 years by Jim Chapman and his wife Holly, who closed the museum because it was no longer financially viable.

The guardian did a big piece on it.

John the shedman pointed this out to me the other week, but its the first time I have seen it covered in the news..

The Brighton Argus reports

The humble garden shed – a useful place to store the lawn mower, barbecue and gardening tools but also regarded as the last refuge of beleaguered husbands and fathers.

Men are renowned for retreating to their sheds to potter about and escape the hectic events of family life.

It is therefore poignant that a campaign to encourage people to reflect on the role of fathers has picked a shed as a point of inspiration.

The wooden structure has toured the country to promote a pro-dad agenda.

On Saturday, people had a chance to visit the shed, which was decked out with wellies, bikes and gardening tools for an authentic atmosphere, to talk about fatherhood.

As part of the tour, a camera crew will film the people who visit the shed to record their views on fatherhood and how the role has changed over the years.

You can find out more about the campaign “Shed Tour” which has come to an end now at www.think-fathers.org

Of cause the Punks reference is about of Punks Not Dad official shed band

I had a nice day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan last week, walked a lot and took loads of photos of non shed things, but I did manage to drag Mrs U W over to this great Shepherd’s Hut, that was used for wildlife watching, unfortunately we only saw some birds from it..

the Lost Graden’s say this about it.

The great advantage of the Shepherd’s Hut as an information point is its mobility; it allows us to position it at various sites as the seasons dictate where the points of interest are.”

It was built by The Shepherd’s Hut company

The BBC reports on a beach hut up for auction on Porthmawr beach

It may look little more than a glorified garden shed but in June auctioneers will be looking to sell this beach hut for more than £70,000.

A similar hut nearby in Abersoch on the Lleyn Peninsula sold for £85,000 in 2008 and estate agents are hoping for a similar price, despite the recession.

The 3.7m long by 3m wide detached green hut on Porthmawr main beach comes with its own free hold parcel of sand dune.

The auction will take place in Llandudno, Conwy on 12 June.

But according to estate agents Beresford Adams, the hut has already attracted a lot of attention from all over the country.

“It’s a lovely beach with lovely views and there’s a lot of safe bathing and sailing in the area so it really appeals to people,” said Martin Lewthwaite, senior manager of the agents.

“It’s a safe haven. A lot of people enjoy their beach hut with their children and grandchildren. It’s a way of life for them.

“The Lleyn Peninsula seems to be one of those pocket areas which is avoiding the recession – since Easter business has been booming around here.

What gets me is using the words glorified garden shed, as we know a shed in all it’s glory is great, be it a beach hut or a pub shed!

The Cardiff Student Weekly newspaper Gair Rhydd reports

A group of sunbathing first-year students were shocked to discover a homeless lodger living in the garden shed of their student house.

The students were making the most of the hot weather on Tuesday 21 April when they discovered items belonging to a mystery guest after they looked in their garden shed.

One of the students told gair rhydd: “We had decided to go and revise on the roof of the shed when we came across a hole up there. When we looked inside we saw a mattress on the floor, as well as biscuits, bottled water and clothes.”

One thing I am not sure about this story – Students saying “We had decided to go and revise” never in my day did we do that

Great news over at Shedworking.

After a long search for the right publisher, I’m delighted to announce that ‘Shedworking: the alternative workplace revolution’ will be published during National Shed Week in July 2010 by Frances Lincoln.

Well done Alex, I know how hard you have worked on this, and we here are happy to be involved.

Those mad sheddies have been queuing for 4 days to grab a beach hut at Mudeford according to the BBC

copyright nickhorne

As many as 50 people queued in tents for up to four days in sub-zero temperatures to be in with a chance of getting a lease on a Dorset beach hut.

Lets on the wooden huts at Avon Beach at Mudeford come up annually on a first come, first served basis.

Eighteen summer-long leases were up for grabs on Monday at a cost of £400, while two lifelong leases were available at £800 a year.

Dozens had queued in tents and on picnic chairs since New Year’s Day.

I was looking at flickr and came across Sheddie and artist Alun Ward, anyway he is having an exhibition including this shed in Oxford in January, Alun adds “My shed is still in progress, so I’ll add more photos to the group when it’s complete”, so worth checking back if you can’t make the event.

Alun Ward’s Transporter Mix, at the Ovada Gallery in Oxford, is an art installation comprising a shed with a floor surface of earth, shingle, sand, woodland debris, and freshly cut turf. The artist mixes recordings of natural environments as the participant stands barefoot on these surfaces, to alternately align the sounds to the surfaces, or to create disjunctions between the two. The audio recordings have been collected by the artist from across the UK – in a line that extends from the North West Highlands of Scotland to Brighton beach – in woodlands and meadows, on lawns, beaches, hillsides and riversides. The combination of auditory and sensory input serves to transport the participant to remembered or imaginary locations.

Alun Ward’s practice ranges from painting, animation, film, and sound and he is a founding member of the 3jay artists’ group.

For further information on Alun Ward and Transporter Mix visit www.alunward.co.uk or
www.transportermix.com

Exhibition dates: weds 7 to fri 9 jan 2009: 12-6pm
sat 10 jan: 11-4pm

The sad news today that Oliver Postgate shedbased animating genius has passed away.

Bagpuss creator Oliver Postgate has died aged 83, his family has confirmed.

Mr Postgate, who lived in Kent, created some of the best-loved children’s TV series including Ivor the Engine, the Clangers and Noggin the Nog.

His work, screened on the BBC and ITV from the 1950s to the present day, was often in collaboration with the artist and puppeteer Peter Firmin.

From Wikipedia
Setting up their business in a disused cowshed near Canterbury, Kent,[2] Postgate and Firmin worked on children’s animation programmes. Based on concepts which mostly originated with Postgate, while while Firmin did the artwork and built the models; Postgate wrote the scripts, did the stop motion filming and many of the voices. Smallfilms was resultantly able to produce two minutes of film a day, ten times as much as a conventional animation studio,[2] with Postgate moving the cardboard pieces himself, and working his 16mm camera frame-by-frame with a home-made clicker. As Postgate wholly voiced many of the productions, including the WereBear story tapes, his distinctive voice became familiar to generations of children.

They started in 1959 with Ivor the Engine, a series for ITV about a Welsh steam engine who wanted to sing in a choir; it was remade in colour for the BBC in the 1970s. This was followed by Noggin the Nog for the BBC, which established Smallfilms as a safe and reliable pair of hands to produce children’s entertainment, when there were only two UK television channels.

Growing up Ivor the Engine was my favourite as he was to many a thirtysomething… I loved the dragon, who sounded like my auntie!

Alex over at shed working has been daily putting the advent beach hut calendar up which we mentioned here and I have not got round to wossnaming it and he has done such a good job, why bother….

Here’s yesterdays anyway…..

Very nice, it’s a great idea both for sheddies and for those interested in the real meaning of Christmas

Alex also mentions that he is now writing a blog about snooker, the thing that got me is how does he fit a full size table in his shed, like our sheddie James and his Kestral Club

on another note, our old shed mate Rico Daniels emailed me today, I can’t say much but he may be looking for some sheddie help very soon, so keep an eye out on this blog.

Our thousandth member on our Flickr Shed Group “Just Sheds” is Bet Rank who describes herself as

Wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, great-aunt, bohemian, hippie, goof, sometimes shy, most times behind the lens, loves her kitchen, hates her Barney Rubble feet, cries during movies, been known to cry during a Kleenex commercial, loves to laugh, cherishes old photos, has her Canon at her side, loves to read, likes watching the moon, feels most at home at the beach, adores her family..

Anyway heres the photo that did it

The mirror reports

photo credit: Darren and Brad
Delia Smith has been roasted for telling people they can store turkey in their shed or car boot – advice experts claim may prove fatal.

Delia told Terry Wogan’s Radio 2 breakfast show: “They are very big, these turkey drumsticks, and if you’ve got a big casserole you might not get it in the fridge.

“So if you’ve got a garage or if you’ve got a garden shed – and if you haven’t got either and you live in a flat, run down to the car park and stick it in the boot of a car and it will stay cool all night.”

But the Food Standards Agency warned that failing to chill cooked poultry quickly and keep it refrigerated might “permit growth of bacteria which survive cooking”.

It said: “This could be fatal for the young, elderly and those with long-term illnesses.”

Before Chef and alchemist Heston Blumenthal got his development kitchen he used to write his recipes in his shed, according the the always useful Writers room over at the guardian.

This is the Fat Duck’s development kitchen, also known as the lab. Before we got this space I was in a garden shed and then a porta-kitchen, which was all very Heath Robinson and involved lots of masking tape and mastic.