Shedworld

Robert Montgomery pops up posters

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:09:00 +0000

After a lot of exhibitions elsewhere, Robert Montgomery’s first London solo show in over a year has opened at KK Outlet.

'Montgomery’s work references the Situationist tradition of capturing the audience’s attention in unexpected ways within the public realm. For his show at KK Outlet Montgomery has created a series of 3 large billboard poems on Old Street, which reference the moral failure of Capitalism, the concerns of the Occupy movement, and new ideas of freedom in the city.'

Good to see the whole thing was sponsored by that arch-enemy of capitalism - Red Stripe (owned by Diageo).

For more information see KK Outlet and the launch night Flickr feed.

White Sheds

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:15:00 +0000

Also at London Art Fair: Joash Woodrow Allotment Trees and White Sheds Oil on board, circa 1980 - 85

Glorious Shed at London Art Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Anyone who's taken a river trip along the Spree in Berlin will have seen the wonderful range of sheds along the river bank, structures whose spirit is reflected in the work of Berlin based artist Gabriel Dubois that Edel Assanti has brought to London Art Fair. (Thanks to Andrew Davies for the link.)

200 year old cabin on the move

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:55:00 +0000

Painted Sheds

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:42:00 +0000

For the last few years on his travels, Shedman has been building a compendium of artworks that include sheds. It adds a flavour to his gallery visits.

Last year, Shedman & son visited Berlin for his son's 18th birthday.

Here's a brief review of some of the pictures featuring sheds in the Gemäldegalerie and the Alte Nationalgalerie.

The Dutch Proverbs by Pieter Brueghal the Elder How many sheds?

Wiederaufbau des Muiderdeiches by Jan Asselijn

Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651) obviously liked his sheds. There's a landscape in the Gemäldegalerie by Bloemaert featuring St Tobias and an angel with a fine shed in the background. But this picture in the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (1624), predates The Wire by several centuries and shows a couple out of it on a corner, although the main interest is surely that fine shed tree house.

And finally Caspar David Friedrich with a Cabin covered in snow.

If you chance upon other images of sheds in pictures online or in galleries please send Shedman a link. And don't forget that Shedman is still compiling the anthology of shed poems - so send your favourites through for inclusion.

RadioShed? Shedman at Daventry Arts Festival 17-21 July

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:19:00 +0000

Daventry is a place of roads and crossings: the A5 and A45, Watford Gap and the M45/M1 junction. For Shedman growing up in the Midlands it was somewhere below Coventry, geographically and alphabetically; a place viewed distantly from a rainy car window, but with the curious magic and mystery of those giant transmission masts. On departure Daventry symbolised the wide world, pumping radio signals far and wide. On return, Daventry marked the first outpost of home. Shedman has a long attachment to Daventry, so he's delighted to have been invited to be part of the very first Daventry Arts Festival.

Daventry calling...

Daventry was the original wireless community, globally connected. It's the home of BBC World Service. It was also the site of the first successful experiment with Radio Direction Finding (RDF) or, as the Americans called it, Radio Detection and Ranging, now better known as radar.

Shedman is looking forward to doing some of his own direction finding during his stay in Daventry, conducting one of his inimitable shedquests and exploring not just Daventry itself but also the surrounding area - Wolfhampcote, Nethercote, Newnham, Braunston, Ashby St. Ledgers, Welton, Weedon, Long Buckby, Muscott, the Catesbys and the Everdons. He's looking forward to exploring lots of Littles, Nethers and Uppers.

During his sojourn in Daventry Shedman will be based in his shed at the entrance to New Street Recreation Ground. If you're in the area come on down and and check in at the radio shack. Swap stories with Shedman about your sheds and have a go at writing a poem or a story.

All pictures courtesy of the fascinating website G8GMU

Indigenous peoples have a word for it...

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Shedman will be returning to the States later this month to Dana Point, near San Diego in southern California. He hopes to visit Mission San Capistrano.

According to the Kumeyaay Information Village website, San Diego County has more Native American Indian Reservations than any other county in the US.

Wikipedia points out that in this region, 'the pre-contact Acjachemen built cone-shaped huts made of willow branches covered with brush or mats made of tule leaves. Known as Kiichas (or wikiups), the temporary shelters were utilized for sleeping or as refuge in cases of inclement weather. When a dwelling reached the end of its practical life it was simply burned, and a replacement erected in its place in about a day's time.'

So Wikipedia is Shedpedia!

Photo of Kumeyaay house at the museum in Francisco Zarco, Mexico from Kenneth Brantingan

Previously on the South Bank...

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:09:00 +0000

Yesterday's post sent me hunting for other South Bank sheds. In 2007, another group of artistic sheds appeared, overseen by Antony Gormley's figures during 'Blind Light', his first major London exhibition (appropriately sponsored by Eversheds LLP).

Described as an 'alternative allotment for the South Bank'.

Beach huts on the South Bank

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:07:00 +0000

Shedman feels as though every time he goes to the South Bank someone has put up a shed - and not just for builders. Until September 4 you can enjoy a promenade of pleasure past a variety of artistically decorated pavilions.

The Navajo for shed

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:01:00 +0000

You may have thought 'hogan' was a not very nice word for someone from the Netherlands or else the name of a gigantic wrestler. However, a hogan is also 'a North American Indian (esp. Navajo) building usually made of logs and earth, and traditionally built with the door facing east.' (Thank you OED online.)

Shedman saw an example in the flesh - well, wood - on a recent visit to the Heard Museum in Phoenix Arizona.

'This hogan is referred to as a female hogan because it simulates the roundness of the female body of Mother Earth. While most Navajo families do not reside in hogans today, their modern homes almost always include a hogan near the main house. Hogans are used for ceremonies that are still practised by Navajo people including the Kinaaald, a coming of age ceremony for young Navajo woman. Other family members spend quiet time in the hogan as a way to reconnect themselves with Navajo teachings and to remind themselves from where they have come.' Interpretation panel at the Heard Museum, Phoenix.

Wikipedia tells Shedman that:
The hogan is considered sacred to those who practice the Navajo religion. The religious song "The Blessingway" describes the first hogan as being built by Coyote with help from beavers to be a house for First Man, First Woman, and Talking God. The Beaver People gave Coyote logs and instructions on how to build the first hogan, now known as a "forked stick" or "male" hogan, which resembles a pyramid with five triangular faces. Earth may fill the spaces between the framework logs, hiding the five faceted shape and creating thick, winter-protective walls. The "forked stick" or "male" Hogan contains a vestibule in the front and was used only for sacred or private ceremonies.

Navajo hogan

The "circular" or "female" Hogan , the family home for the Navajo people, is much larger and does not contain a vestibule. In it, the children play, the women cook, weave, talk, and entertain and men tell jokes and stories. Navajos made their hogans in this fashion until the 1900s, when they started to make them in hexagonal and octagonal shapes. The change in shape may have been due to the arrival of the railroad. A supply of wooden cross-ties, which could be laid horizontally to form walls of a larger, taller home, allowed the retention of the "female" hogan shape but with more interior room. The doorways of the hogans always face east.

Many cultural taboos are associated with the hogan and its use. Should a death occur in the structure, the body is either buried in the hogan with the entry sealed to warn others away, or the deceased is extracted through a hole knocked in the north side of the structure and it is abandoned and often burned. A hogan may also become taboo for further use if lightning strikes near the structure or a bear rubs against it. Wood from such structures is never reused for any other purpose by a Navajo.

Navajo hogan - inside

Today, while some older hogans are still used as dwellings and others are maintained for ceremonial purposes, new hogans are rarely intended as family dwellings.

Traditional structured hogan is also considered a pioneer energy efficient home. Using packed mud against the entire wood structure, the home was kept cooled by natural air ventilation and water sprinkled on the dirt ground inside. During the winter, the fireplace kept the inside warm for a long period of time and into the night.

On the Shedge, Mount Etna, Sicily

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:31:00 +0000

Shedman is just back from a wonderful holiday in Sicily. Italy may not be that well noted for its sheds but on Mount Etna they certainly come into their own. The landscape is pretty fast changing and the Italians seem to have realised that temporary wooden structures make a whole lot more sense than any attempt to build permanent brick or stone buildings that can be swept away or buried beneath the next lava flow. It gave Shedman pause for thought about the whole idea of the 'shedge' - that curious zone on the edge of everything frequently occupied by sheds. It might be the edge of the world or the hedge bordering the garden, but the shedge is archetypal shed territory.

A History of the World in 100 Sheds: No 3 Edison's Black Maria

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:09:00 +0000

In 1893 a small shed was built to film the first Edison movies. It was designed by W. K. L. Dickson, the unsung genius behind many of Edison's inventions and patents. The shed was painted black inside and out and became known as 'The Black Maria' as it resembled the police vehicle of the same name.

The shed revolved on a base to follow the sun and featured sliding roof panels to provide continuous overhead sunlight to illuminate the actors. It became the world's first film studio in which Dickson was the world’s first film director.

The original has long since burned down, but a reproduction of the structure is located at the Edison National Historic Site (a museum with a preserved laboratory facility) in West Orange, New Jersey.

Edison’s credo:
Be courageous; try everything until something works; and dedicate yourself to your passion, trusting that 'what you are will show in what you do'.

Behind Edison's achievement lies the remarkable figure of Eadweard Muybridge, the brilliant but eccentric photographer who developed a system of analysing movement in a series of still images. Muybridge's innovative camera shed at Palo Alto, California will feature in a future article in this series

A History of the World in 100 Sheds No 2: Porthcurno Cable Hut

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:07:00 +0000

Porthcurno is the location of one of the most beautiful bays in Cornwall and home to the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum.

Although Porthcurno may not be the oldest subterranean cable landing point in the world, it could well be the site with the most connections. At least twenty-one old cables and pieces of abandoned shore ends lie beneath the sands. Fourteen of them once worked simultaneously at one time. The cable hut at the rear of the beach still connects these cables and a modern artwork near the museum presents the eerie sounds of the long defunct communication channels. The hut at Porthcurno has been chosen as it represents all those telegraphic sheds around the world that once played such a part in global communications. If anyone knows of any older please get in touch.

Another hut high on the cliffs above Portcurno was where the transatlantic cable connected to the Cornwall-Brest-Nova Scotia came ashore. The old black hut outlived its usefulness as a cable house and took on a new lease of life as a summer holiday chalet. The National Trust then acquired this stretch of coastline and the hut was demolished. There were cries of protest from local fishermen who had used it to aid navigation. A small white stone pyramid (which is visible in the wide shot of the bay) was then erected to solve the problem.

1870 the Falmouth-Gibralter Cable Company laid the Gibralter-Lisbon cable into Porthcurno - or PK as it became known to telegraph operators around the world. The company started a small school in the valley for the operators. That developed into the Cable and Wireless College and more recently into a museum.

Cable telegraphy was very simple. Messages were sent by hand on a key. At the other end the signals were picked up by the 'mirror galvanometer'. This reflected a flickering spot of light onto a screen next to the corresponding letter at speeds of around twelve words per minute. The 'reader' watched the spot and called out the words one by one, which were written down by the 'writer' in copperplate handwriting. There was no mechanical record. A word missed was missed for ever.

In 1928 The Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference was held in London to resolve conflict between rival cable and wireless operators. Cable & Wireless was the name of the new group of operating companies, which still exists.

In 1970 the last telegraph circuit was closed.

Cable subterfuge...
Zawn is the Cornish word for a narrow gully or cleft in the rocks leading down to the sea.
Zawn Reeth (or Red Zawn) near Land's End has historic significance as the site of the first submarine cable laid in Cornish waters. In October 1869 a small hut was erected at the top of the Zawn and a gang of men struggled to haul a heavy cable up the slope from the steamer Fusilier. aim was to lay the first operational The 1869 Telegraph Act had set a date by which all private telegraph companies were to be bought out by the government of the day who wanted to create a unified national network. The owners of The Scilly Island Telegraph Company foresaw rich pickings but they had to have a fully operational cable link between the mainland and the islands. However, when the Fusilier arrived at St Mary in Scilly the following year, the cable turned out to be too short to reach the shore. So the Captain simply broke off the cable end and steered into port as though it was still connected.

...and wireless espionage
The success of Marconi's radio transmission across the Atlantic from the Poldhu Wireless Station sent shivers down the spines of the great submarine cable companies. The simplest way of finding out what Marconi was up to was to eavesdrop on his signals. The Eastern Telegraph Company erected a tall wooden mast near Minack and the aerial wire led into a small wooden shed housing the receiving equipment.

A History of the World in 100 Sheds No 1: The Telemark Trapper's Hut

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:49:00 +0000

How a hut helped stop the Nazi A-bomb programme.

Norwegian Colonel Jens-Anton Poulsson who died on February 2 aged 91, led the local team who made two attempts at blowing up the heavy water plant in the province of Telemark, Norway during the Second World War. The first attempt failed, the second achieved its objective.

On the first mission gliders bringing commandos from England iced up and crashed. The surviving commandos were executed on Hitler's orders. With the Germans hunting his team, Poulsson led them into the mountains above the tree line. There they found an empty trapper’s hut that helped them survive the bleak winter conditions and to launch the next successful attack - a setback from which the German atomic bomb programme thankfully never recovered.

Another member of the team, Knut Haugland, died in December, the last living member of Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki expedition across the Pacific Ocean on a balsawood raft.

(Shedman's next project is World War 2 Shedman working with former evacuees and young people at Eastbourne Technology College.)

A History of the World in 100 Sheds

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:09:00 +0000

I'm fascinated by the short 15 minutes audio profiles of one hundred objects through which the British Museum's Neil MacGregor is telling the history of the world on BBC Radio 4 UK.

It got me thinking. You could tell the history of the world through one hundred of all kinds of things - bicycles, brooms or street corners to name a few.

But as this is Shedworld, I'd like your help to tell the history of the world in 100 sheds.

From Lao Tzu to Gillis Lundgren, the Abbé Marc-Antoine Laugier to the Unabomber, from the baby Jesus to Frank Whittle, let's have your suggestions for the sheds that have really had an impression on world history. There'll be a prize for the Top Ten entries. So start submitting your ideas now. Send a short description of why the shed was so significant and a picture if you can.

Shedbury 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:24:00 +0000

A truly star-studded and brilliant Ledbury Poetry Festival coinciding with National Shed Week.

In the midst of some of Britain's best countryside and cider, Ledbury hosted a festival representing every poetic tradition and taste, with performances and readings by Benjamin Zephaniah, Alice Oswald, Ben Okri, John Hartley Williams, Patience Agbabi, Ian Sinclair, Ros Barber, Fred D'Aguiar, Daljit Nagra and August Kleinzahler.

For the second year running, Shedman was delighted to be in Ledbury outside the Burgage Hall for most of the festival, starting all kinds of conversations with the question 'What's the first shed you ever remember?'

August Kleinzahler declared 'We don't have sheds in Brooklyn', but most answers led down a fascinating path of stories, reminiscences and cross-connections. And there were plenty of shed poems by famous and not so famous poets.

As usual various themes emerged from the shed conversations. Last year it was the river, flows, fluid dynamics and the periphery. This year it was the sea, thoughts of transgender ('the boyhood of girls' - check out the Bisley legend and poems by Angela France and Gregory Award Winner Liz Berry) and fire.

Visitors included actress Linda Thorson (The Avengers, Emmerdale), Dame Joan Bakewell (who remembers her Grandfather's fire hazard of a shed at the back of a Manchester terrace) and Roger McGough, who described how his friend with an allotment shed had tried to encourage him in the ways of the soil, but to no avail.

Highlights included the man who came into Shedman's shed and said 'I set fire to my mother', the Engaged Buddhist band The Boddhivistas who sang Shed California to the Eagles tune and Merys, the lovely lady pictured who brought Shedman a miniature homemade shed with a poem inside it. Although very reliant on her sticks she had made the journey from Malvern to Ledbury on her own as she hadn't managed to meet up with Shedman last year.

Shedman helped to round off the festival with an hour long Breakfast Shed Show in Ledbury's famous Market Hall, which looks a bit like a half timbered elephant shed.

Many of the stories will be posted by Shedman on his website and blogs very soon, but he's very busy on another project - Our Storeys - at North Middlesex University Hospital in Enfield till the end of July.

You can meet Shedman outside the Spice of Life Restaurant at the North Middlesex University Hospital on Monday 27th, Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th July from 10am-4pm and in Emsworth at Havant Literary Festival from 2nd-4th October.

Shedman's shed at North Middlesex University Hospital Photos by Ned McConnell

What shall we do without timber?

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:51:00 +0000

The Beech Cathedral at Blaise Castle Estate Bristol. Photo ©Shedman

Something Understood: Dark Sanctuary
Great programme by Fergal Keane on BBC Radio 4, exploring the physical and fairytale world created by the forest. He ends with 'Lights Out' by Edward Thomas - one of those Dymock poets:

Lights Out

I have come to the borders of sleep,
The unfathomable deep
Forest where all must lose
Their way, however straight,
Or winding, soon or late;
They cannot choose.

Many a road and track
That, since the dawn's first crack,
Up to the forest brink,
Deceived the travellers,
Suddenly now blurs,
And in they sink.

Here love ends,
Despair, ambition ends,
All pleasure and all trouble,
Although most sweet or bitter,
Here ends in sleep that is sweeter
Than tasks most noble.

There is not any book
Or face of dearest look
That I would not turn from now
To go into the unknown
I must enter and leave alone
I know not how.

The tall forest towers;
Its cloudy foliage lowers
Ahead, shelf above shelf;
Its silence I hear and obey
That I may lose my way
And myself.

(Also check out Analysis: Thought Experiments - Janet Radcliffe Richards looks at a fascinating range of new experiments shedding light on how humans make moral choices.)

Ledbury, Poetry and Sheds

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:16:00 +0000

And as a prelude to Ledbury Poetry Festival, Shedman is closely reading The Dymock Poets, a fascinating study of the group of Georgian Poets who gathered in Dymock near Ledbury just before the First World War. The group included Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke and the American poet Robert Frost, as well as visitors such as Ivor Gurney and W.H. Davies.

Brian Patten recently featured W.H.Davies in a fascinating programme in the Radio 4, Lost Voices. Davies is famous for the lines:
'What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?'

Contrary to popular belief, Shedman (John Davies) isn't related to W.H.D., but their philosophy is pretty much the same.

Ledbury's poetry connections run much deeper though. It's been home to three famous poets William Langland, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and John Masefield. Masefield was born here, and W.H.Auden was married here. An interesting question is whether Wystan Hugh used his initials in emulation of W.H. (William Henry) Davies?

Shedman will be at Ledbury Poetry Festival over National Shed Week. His beautiful 8' x 6' shed, provided by NFP Ledbury, will be outside Ledbury's ancient Burgage Hall from Saturday July 4th to Sunday July 12th. The shed, worth £400, will be raffled to raise money for charity.

Shedworld recommends...

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Some shed books to inspire , intrigue and inform. Thanks to Alistair for recommending Heidegger's Hut.

New Mexico Toilet

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Samuel Hicks is a young photographer whose work has already appeared in Intersection, Wallpaper and The Sunday Times Magazine and has been selected for several awards notably The London Photographic Awards, Association of Photographers Awards and Creative Review Photography Annual. He has recently been selected by Archive Magazine as one of the Best 200 Advertising Photographers Worldwide, 2008.

On the Way, at the Crane Kalman Gallery in Brighton, is his first solo exhibition. The images 'are from three trips to the States over eighteen months, driving through Texas, New Mexico, California and Nevada. These trips were essentially quite loose; sometimes we knew we had to be at a specific place in a week's time, but how we got there and where we stopped was decided along the way, sometimes by looking at the map, or often asking someone what it was like there. I wanted to have a look around, see for myself...' Samuel Hicks, 2008

These words reminded Shedman of a passage in A Hut of One's Own by Ann Cline:
'The highway to Wim Wender's haunting, yet ever-so-familiar Paris, Texas is the road of modern longing: to be on some roads, but not on all roads. The pain we feel comes less from the choices we make than from those we cannot consummate, those we leave behind. Longing knows no privilege.' (Discuss!)

Samuel Hicks: On The Way runs from 4th June to 19th July 2009 at Crane Kalman Brighton, 38 Kensington Gardens, North Laine, Brighton BN1 4AL. For further information, please call 01273 697096 or visit www.cranekalmanbrighton.com.

He Mail: Send him a message

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:30:00 +0000

He’s in the shed
It’s just you and him.
What would you really like to say to him, one to one?

Following last years' very successful Best Mates workshop at Brighton Jubilee Library for Fathers' Day (Father's Day?), Shedman was asked back to run another this year.

People were invited to send a message to 'that man'. A text or a tweet ('140 characters in search of a dad'), a letter or a poem.

This year quite a few of the participants wrote a secret message to their special male parent and they're not available to share. But here are some that Shedman can share together with some from last year. If you're looking for some wonderful ways to write to 'that man' for Father's Day, look no further. But please credit the participants.

Many thanks to Blaise, Nina, Eve, Eilieh, Freya, Ana, Liam, Pippa, Piper, Lola, Paul, Celeste, Phoebe, Andrew and Daniel and all who attended and had fun with words - and to the library staff (especially Norah and Paola). Thanks to Brighton and Hove Council for the 'Men Behaving Dadly' bag and to Mrs Shedman for lunch and so much more.

Daddy, you're amazing,
Daddy you're the best!

Daddy I love you dearly,
Daddy you beat the rest!

Daddy your are fantastic,
So full of life and fun!

Daddy I love you greatly,
Daddy you are my... SUN!

By Lola

* * * * * * * * * *

Daddy is a star
He likes to dive in the sea
Oh, Father's Day
Oh, Father's Day
What will you give to him and me?
Oh, Daddy I love you so
You're a star in my heart
the wind in my soul
You're the colour in my cheeks
and the curls in my hair
Oh, Daddy I love you so.
Love you, love you, love you...

By Pippa

* * * * * * * * * *

Hello Dobs,
I love you very much!
You make me laugh with your bad jokes.
You always try to be cool
saying all the slang words
but it just makes us laugh.
Today we won't tease you
about all the silly things
because it's your day
when you can do whatever you like!
I like going out with you
as you buy me loads of things
and we have special times.

Love you.
Lots of love (especially on Father's Day) from the best daughter EVER!

Roses are red
violets are blue.
I love my daddy
he is cool.

By Celeste

* * * * * * * * * *

Dear Dad
I am so glad you are still
here. It has been a strange development
in our relationship when you were so ill
back in the winter but although it
was stressful I think we connected in
a way we have never done.

My father is alive and well
My father is dead
My father is alive
Inside my head

It doesn't matter now,
all those distances are irrelevant now
and what is left is all there is
and that's fine

Hope you continue to stay well and enjoy
the remaining years. See you soon.

PW.

(PW who is now a Dad himself said he wrote the middle four lines when he was a teenager and going through a very tough time with his dad.)

* * * * * * * * * *

Best Mates 2008
The theme last year was 'What's he like...?' and workshop participants answered a questionnaire that they then turned into a poem...

He’s as blue as the ocean,
He’s as tall as a fir tree,
He’s as sweet as a lavender,
He’s as funny as a daddy long legs,
He’s as cuddly as a bear
He swoops so high as a Pterodactyl in the sky
He speeds as fast as a Jaguar
He’s as gentle as a Labrador
He’s as tall as the mountains in Switzerland.

* * * * * * * * * *

My dad is a warm yellow, as bright as the sun,
If he were a tree he would be a soft willow hidden in an enchanted forest,
As a flower he would be a deep red rose with the softest petals ever,
He’s a stick insect, plain but lovely,
He’s an elephant, calm and beautiful,
He’s an albatross ready to spread his wings,
He’s a vintage mini, cranky but kind,
He’s a cuddly little scottie dog, happy and charming,
He’s India, full of cultures and different civilisations,
Everything that he’s ever done has been the BEST!
Frank.

Kate Flood

* * * * * * * * * *

His snot must have been green - but
He was sweet as an edible chestnut
And when he danced he was gazelle-like
Toiling like a worker bee on his bike
Soaring high like an osprey
Roaring down hills like an E type Jag
On his skateboard dodging lurchers and fangs
Thinking of hols in the Isle of Scilly
And muhery breakfast in bed with aprons that were frilly.

Oscar B

* * * * * * * * * *

My dad twists like a green gnarled oak
Rooted at the centre of a dark wood.
Briar roses twist around his trunk,
Black beetles gleam on his bark.
A hood-eyed old owl sits in his shade,
Dreaming of past lives spent sleeping
In slothful baryons. In the distance
A wolfhound barks, an old car
sits half timbered at the edge
Of a country lane. He is an Ireland
Of deep red autumns. Now we wade
For hours through his crisp curled leaves.

Joe

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as blue as ice
As red as a red, red rose
As wide as a hedge
As thorny as a red, red rose
As horny as a stag beetle
As grumpy as a pig
Pompous as a pigeon
As fast as a Ford Zodiac
Friendly as a St Bernard
As independent as Switzerland
Thank heavens he married my mum!

John

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as blue as the sky,
As tall as a pine tree,
As sweet as an elderflower,
As strange as a daddy long legs,
As mad as an ostrich
As cool as an eagle
As sporty as a merc,
As jolly as a husky,
As grey as Russia,
It was funny when we were skiing in Italy
and you fell on top of that small child.
LOL.

Loius

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as blue as the sky
As sweet as an apple
As neat as a Primrose
As happy as a cricket
As growly as a tiger
As good as gold as a golden eagle
As white as Herbie
As hairy as a shaggy dog
As sandy as Egypt
And he took me to the pier!

Rich

* * * * * * * * * *

As tall as a climbing vine.
He’s always funny,
And always kind.
His jokes are as annoying as a biting flea...
But make me laugh,
And entertain me.
He’s as bold as an ogre in the jungle,
But soft inside like a cork-tree’s bark,
If you put the cheese in between toes...
In a pot it would damage your nose,
His brain works as slow as a sloth
But he makes me feel better when I have a cold
It’s Louis Borening
My Dad

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s the greenest fella that I know
A big strong oak, that’s how he grows
A rose that’s always very sweet
And smells as nice (apart from his feet)
A moth that flutters on the air
We love his laugh and badger hair
An elegant peacock
As fast as a Porsche
And he’s cuddly like the Dulux dog, of course
He’d be Australia, Loves the beach quite a lot
And smiles likes the weather, sunny and hot
But best of all, I just love the way
He’s the first to ask in the house
If I’ve had a nice day!

Ross

* * * * * * * * * *

As blue as the sky above,
As sweet as a blue bell,
As still as a stick insect,
As bouncy as a kangaroo,
As sporty as a flashy MG.
As Big as barking German Shepherd.
And as far away as Germany
But the best thing of all...
He’s the best dad ever

Asha

* * * * * * * * * *

His foot is as purple as a bruise,
His head is like an oak tree,
In the morning his hair is like a daisy!
He runs up the stairs like a scorpion,
When he’s angry he’s like a terrifying bear.
He wears black clothes like a black bird!
He’s kind of like a B.M.W,
He’s a scary pit bull,
He likes England too!
It was funny when he fell over on a flower press and it hurt so much he fell on my bed!

Will Scott

* * * * * * * * * *

His ruby red glow as he sits by the fire
He reminds me of a sycamore in deep scarlet sky
Tall and proud like a poppy in a field,
But he’s armoured and pincered, a beastly stag beetle
A charging roar, the rhinoceros lumbers.
He’s noble and proud, but he’s still a bald eagle
Reliable, useful, back bone of industry, he’s the
Angry white van man, the Ford Transit man.
White hair that’s still there, an existable
Jolly wild English shepherd.
Like the wild Welsh countryside, he’s craggy, majestic and glorious.

Tony

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as fit as West Ham
As strong as an oak tree
As bright as a Daffodil
As small as an ant
As hairy as a monkey
You’re as old as a dodo
As slick as a Bugati
As annoying as a Chihuahua
As good as the Czech Republic
And the best thing you’ve ever done is make me!

Jack

* * * * * * * * * *

My dad’s like the night,
Scary and full of might.
I’d say he was black, and definitely not
Yellow, thats on account of him not being mellow.
Like an eagle he soars,
but he’s still a bit of a bore
My Dad’s the greatest
Number 1 and the king,
Let’s just hope he doesn’t break out and sing.

Tacita

* * * * * * * * * *

He is as blue as well worn denim,
As ancient as an oak
With the sparkle of a marigold in the evening light
As small as a ladybird
With the mischief of a squirrel
He sings like a blackbird in the
Highest tree.
He is as comfortable and safe like the
Sturdy Volvo, but with the bounce
Of a spaniel with an urge to play
As warm as Italy with memories
Of days past and places revisited
He is my Dad and I love him

* * * * * * * * * *

He is as blue as the sea,
He is like a palm in
A beach and beautiful
Like an orchid.
He is quick like a fly
And patient like an elephant.
He would be a “perdui” or
A bird and Mercedes as a car.
He is lovely like a dalmata
And wonderful and extraordinary
Like like Catalunya, our home land.
He did a wonderful thing he made me.

Mountec

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as green as a MAN can get
He’s as nice and strong as an OAK
He’s definitely not a flower
He’s as community minded as an ANT
He’s as stubborn as a BISON
He’s as swift as an EAGLE
He doesn’t drive, it’s not very GREEN
IF he were a dog, he would be a Labrador
Because he’s really friendly
His idea of hell would be to live in Finland
Coz there would be hundreds of me’s to play with

Finn

* * * * * * * * * *

He dreams of flying high.
And touching the blue sky
As wide as hedge
Afraid of the cage
He is as red as a rose
Brave behind the shows
Likes the shape of triangles
His voice the same as a nightingale
Sings on the tallest tree
Thinks he is free
He’s as stylish as a Honda
Loves every drop of Coca-Cola
He is as cute as a rabbit
Always loves doing his habit.
He is as warm as Italy with memories
Of past and present revisited.
Standing side by side with me.
Even if the wave came and took me with the sea
I love my dad and that will never change.

Sujon

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as obvious as pink
He’s as smooth as silver birch
He’s as stubborn as a chameleon
He’s as stocky as a beetle
He’s as graceful as a seal
He’s as loud as a rooster
He’s as average as a Saab
He’s as short as a bulldog
He’s as proud as Britain
Despite his flaws he made me

James

* * * * * * * * * *

His eyes were as blue as lake Donegal
I played in the apple trees,
Where he used to play
Every time I see a four leafed clover
It’s him I recall
His animal was a dog all bark,
And sometimes bite
At other times especially later
He retired shyly, as a bird
One of my earliest memories;
His Vauxhall Cavalier
Thank the universe he wasn’t a dog,
He’d of missed his pint
His Country, most passionately
Was the Eire he grew up.

Linda

* * * * * * * * * *

He’s as bright as white
He’s as beautiful as as blossom
He’s as shiny as a daisy
He’s as colourful as a butterfly
He’s as brave as a lion
He’s as strong as an eagle
He does not drive a car
Because we haven’t got a car
He’s as cuddly as a Labrador
He grew up in Shooters Hill
The best thing about my DAD
Is he always makes me LAUGH!

Ava

RHSheds - Chelsea Flower Show 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Shedman visited Chelsea Flower Show on Friday 22nd May - a lovely sunny day in the capital. Sheds and shed-like structures were well in evidence and Shedman shares a few of them with you here.

Links lead to sponsors, designers and/or constructors as well as to the RHS website with its 360° virtual tours of the gardens. Descriptions of gardens and stands are quoted from the show catalogue, with acknowledgments to the RHS and contributors. Special thanks to Holly McConnell for a lovely day out.

Courtyard Gardens

Pottering in North Cumbria from the University of Cumbria.

The Fenland Alchemist Garden from Giles Landscapes
Winner of Best Courtyard Garden

Shedman loved this...

Beautifully realised, this garden took ' a light-hearted look at the life of a traditional Fen Tiger who practices the ancient art of alchemy... A winding path of reclaimed York stone takes the visitor to Fen Ben's hovel - a tradional Fenland shed made from reclaimed materials. Next to the shed is a lean-to with a brick furnace where Fen Ben carries out his alchemy.'

See the BBC website coverage of Chelsea.
Of Fen Tigers...

Time to Think - Space to Breathe from Warwickshire College.

Shedman loved this too...

'The garden features a Scandinavian lakeside retreat and sauna lodge, a place of quiet contemplation providing time to think - somewhere with clear mountain air giving space to breathe. It is situated in a peaceful and tranquil opening where dappled woodland meets a serene lake. Boundaries are simple and unobtrusive to define but not confine.

'A green roof helps reduce problems caused by rapid run-off of rainwater. It also provides another environment to increase biodviersity as well as insulating the lodge.'

Urban Gardens

The Children's Society Garden

The designer, Mark Gregory, 'tried to remain true to the spirit of 'A Good Childhood', the landmark report of The Good Childhood Inquiry commissioned by The Children's Society... The report called for families to spend more time doing things together, for adults to pass on their learning and values to children, for children to contribute to the needs of others and for them to eat a healthy diet.'

Small houses were well represented with examples from The Small House and Building Co Ltd, based in West Sussex and Flights of Fantasy from Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

Christopher Lisney opted for the Shepherd's Hut look...

While Scotts of Thrapston were showing off their National Trust range of summerhouses.

You can see them here at the http://www.nationaltrustsummerhouses.co.uk which has to be one of the longest domain names Shedman has ever had the pleasure to link to!

Scotts of Thrapston

Not this Scott (of Norwich)

Crane Sheds and MPB Garden Buildings were there as well.

For Pennard Plants of Somerset an old shed was the focal point of their stand.

Which brings Shedman back to Somerset where he's recently been working with the fantastic teachers and students at Worle Community School, Weston Super Mare. More soon...

Shedman's specially commissioned poem in The Guardian

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:46:00 +0000

There's a specially commissioned new poem by Shedman in the Work section of The Guardian today (Saturday April 25th) in honour of all you Shedworkers.

A Doddle

Alan’s in his shed, working away,
away from the children and the washing machine.
His aim, to start a business making Allan keys,
then move to a new factory in Milton Keynes.

Two doors down, in this gentrified terrace
of temporary structures some call shed,
Terence (Terry to his mates) Ferris
dreads the working days, the lonely hours,

spent, like Shami, in the caravan next door,
head inside a screen connected to a world
that’s rarely seen. The benefits of broadband
like Guantanamo without the waterboarding.

Jill, across the road, takes a different tack.
Her online business, run from a log cabin
the size of Slough, hawks holidays in
Moroccan riads and visits every one.

Terence, like his Latin namesake,
watches the newts gambol and
the lark of tits through the window
of the converted garage he did himself

and thinks, ‘You're a wise person
if you can easily direct your attention
to whatever needs it.’ He’s halfway through
the architectural drawing for his client

when the kids get home. Shedworkers rise
as one and insert pittas in the toaster,
praise their children, search for Marmite
in the wrong drawer, then return to work.

©Copyright Shedman 2009 All rights reserved.

If you would like to commission Shedman to write a poem for you or you would like to invite him to take part in your festival or event , get in touch with shedman at shedman.net. Serious shedworkers are also advised to check out Shedworking.

Shedworking children in St Albans

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Breakfast and after-school facilities are to be offered in a cabin-style building.

Well, who could be promoting shedworking for children in St Albans of all places? We all know who's to blame for that then, Alex!

Whatever next? Under 8s in shed classrooms. Mind you, if Shedman remembers rightly that's exactly what the annexe at Cherry Orchard School in Handsworth Wood, Birmingham provided in 1956. Google Street View shows you where the old shed classrooms used to stand - slightly to the left.)

View Larger Map ("4 Romulus Close, Birmingham, England. Address is approximate." It says. Those pigeons had better get out of the way.) Shedman remembers collecting spiders' webs in bent loops of privet from those railings the day Russia invaded Hungary and ever after he played anti-totalitarian guerilla games in the playground. And boy, how important it seemed being Milk Monitor, while in Mrs Dawson's and Miss Selwood's classroom (she had a goitre the size of Brazil) the coke stoves glowed and emitted noxious fumes while wee people (in more ways than one) were both comforted and estranged by the dark, creosoted wood that surrounded them.

(Shedman is the proud owner of a Night Mail poster)

Take a look at the Cherry Orchard School website. Shedman has always loved Auden's Night Mail and the pupils at Cherry Orchard have come up with a thoroughly modern rendition. Where Shedman used to be the 'obby horse in Morris dancing or a performer in Miss Lister's fantastical school plays, they're now making vijos!

Night Mail
Night Mail on IMDB

Take Part in Shed of the Year 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Shedman) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:31:00 +0000

"Do you have a garden shed that is unique?" asks Uncle Wilco head sheddie of readersheds.co.uk. "Maybe it's your own little bolthole away from the trials of life. Maybe you have converted your humble garden building into a pub, or are a treehugger at heart and are building an eco shed, or maybe it's just a normal wooden building that's special to you."

If you as a sheddie are proud of your shed then now's the time to enter this year's 'Shed of the Year' competition, which takes place during the third National Shed Week commencing July 6th 2009.

Entries are already flooding in for Shed of the Year 2009 and to add your shed online click on this link

This year's celebrity judges are Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans, shed fancier and property guru Sarah Beeny (grrr) and shed-based inventor of the windup radio, Trevor Baylis (double grrr).

They will be joined by shedworking expert Alex Johnson from shedworking.co.uk, eco architect Lloyd Alter, and Uncle Wilco, head sheddie from readersheds.co.uk and organiser of National Shed Week.

Together they will be deciding if your shed will make the grade and take the top shed crown.

Following a public vote starting June 2009 which will produce a shortlist of winners, the judges will pick their "Shed of the Year 2009" during National Shed Week itself.