I thought I would start up the Q&A for my sheddies again after ShedWeek.

So the first one is sheddie Documentally (Christian Payne ) who in his own words is a

“Social technologist. mobile media maker. vlogger. photographer. gun for hire. talking, teaching, documenting. ask me for a quote.”

And now he can add sheddie to that list!

I followed Christian on twitter a while back as he did some things with Bletchley Park and when he tweeted that he was getting a shed I pounced, and he got round to sharing his shed and then doing this Q & A.

The Plotting Shed owned by Documentally

Selfbuild or off the shelf shed?

It’s off the shelf with a few custom tweaks.

It was a birthday present for my Wife. I am not a keen gardener but I am a keen tinkerer. There will be modifications done to the shed before long.. Some including solar and a comms set up etc.

Why have you got a shed?

“It’s really for Garden storage.. hence the original name was going to be.. ‘Egarots Nedrag’

But sheds always start out with innocent intentions and then more sinister uses move in.

How would you describe your shed?

It looks normal on the outside but then so does the Tardis.”

Who are your shed inspirations?

Anyone who has taken the time to create the sacred space at the bottom of their garden.

Future Shed plans

More solar power, intercom, still.. and some secret stuff.

How did you find out about our community?

Twitter

What word would you use to sum up Sheds

Sanctuary

if you would like to be featured in this irregular spot then contact me.

I would love to thank Sarah Beeny for supporting Shed of the year and Shed week since I started it in 2007.

Sarah has agreed to be a judge again for next years competition , which is great as it’s the 5th year we have run Shed of the year and Shed Week, and It’s Ten years since the my shed door opened and I started readersheds.co.uk so a celebration may be in order around July 4th 2010.

So I hope you welcome Beeny to the competition as she joins Radio 2′s Simon Mayo and Iam sure a few more sheddie judges over the next year.

Sarah set up her own property development and investment companies at the age of 24
along with her brother and partner (now husband). With her business a success, Sarah was
approached to be the presenter of Channel 4’s prime time show ‘Property Ladder’.
Enjoying the opportunity to bring property to the nation, Sarah has fronted many other shows
such as ‘Pay Off Your Mortgage’, ‘Streets Ahead’ and ‘Britain’s Best Home’, as well as being
a regular contributor to magazines such as Homebuyer, New Woman and At Home. Sarah
is a regular writer for The Sunday Times and has written several best selling books, as well
as writing a blog for Sainsbury’s Little Ones site.
Sarah has hosted at Grand Designs Live and the Ideal Home Show.
In 2005 Sarah created the online website, www.mysinglefriend.com it has been a
phenomenal success and changed the attitude to online dating in this country. This has
made her the national spokeswoman for dating in the noughties.
On the back of the success of MSF, Sarah has launched the property website
www.tepilo.com which aims to bring a change to the way we buy and sell houses.
Sarah will be appearing in her brand new Channel 4 series, Help My House is Falling Down!
in August 2010.

So potential sheddies get working on your shed and Share it over at www.readersheds.co.uk

We have only just opened entry to next years Shed of the year competition (July 2011) but we have had some great entries already

You have nearly a year for you to get your shed in a great winning way

I will be asking some previous category winners for some tips for you potential sheddies in the coming weeks

So if you would like to Share your shed, then please make sure you have some good quality photos.

of course if you have a shed that is very different from the norm, then please add as much info as you can when you add your shed, so that the rest of the sheddies can get a good idea.

Of course you can like our page on facebook or follow me on twitter to find out

MEERKAT MANOR

Rob Russell
Corby @ the bottom of the garden

Shed Sweet Shed

Colin
Lincoln
Normal Shed

happy hours

woody
kent garden
Normal Shed

The Hub

Chris
Suffolk
Garden Office

The 19th Hole

William Bell
Prestwick, Ayrshire

Cindys Shed

Cindy Rocks
Northamptonshire
Cabin/Summerhouse

The 3 Lions

Jamie
Shrewsbury
Pub Shed

I was a bit touched when Shed of the year winner Reg Miller sent me this photo, you sheddies are great and make Shed Week and Shed of the year what it is..

I wish I was there as I know Reg has some rum with my name on it

anyway Reg says that the shed will be in “PICK ME UP” magazine next week, so all rush to the shops!

I was just on that radio 2 drivetime show with Simon Mayo doing a follow up of a piece they did with Richard Hammond about his shed yesterday, the hamsters dad’s shed sounds great, I always say shedism is the genes.

I was introduced as the International Shed expert but as you well know Iam just the bloke who likes looking at your sheds!.

Anyway Simon accepted my invitation to become a judge for Shed of the year 2011, of course he follow previous DJ judge Chris Evans, and look what happened to him after he was judge, shed judge is a great media stepping stone

He does have some shed previous as he was on the allotment show the Big Dig a few years back, before they were fashionable and did a great episode on sheds if I remember.

Sally traffic said she will be getting a shed, so I hope she shares her shed soon, also I wonder what sort of shed Simon’s mate Mark Kermode has – a cinema shed maybe?

I have opened entry for Shed of the year 2011 competition early so you can SHARE YOUR SHED here, do you think your shed can beat this years winner – The Lady Sarah

After our Auction for bletchley park last week of Signed MOON DVDs, Shed Judge Sarah Beenys hard hat and some great shed books we raised a total of £381.09 that will go to the Bletchley Park Trust.

many thanks for all your support and Who ever won the Door Handle from Hut 6 treat it with care as it has some wonderful history.

Bletchley Park hut6 door handle

We have had a wonderful shed week and Shed of the year and Iam thinking about next years competition already , so before I open up entry for 2011 Shed of the year in a few weeks.

I was thinking of cutting the categorys back to simplify the site and make it less confusing (yes and a redesign next year) currently we have the following shed categorys which seem to overlap in certain areas.

[Normal]
[Eco-Sheds]
[Garden Office]
[Cabin]
[Workshop]
[Unique]
[Summerhouse]
[Pub]
[Studio]
[Tardis]
[Hut]
[Wooden]
[Other]

I would like to set up the categorys like this

Normal Shed – Wooden sheds merged into this category.
Eco Shed
Garden Office
Cabin/Summerhouse – Cabin and Summerhouse merged in one category
Workshop/Studio – Workshop and Studio merged in one category
Pub Shed
Tardis
Other – Not sure about this one – maybe merged it with Normal – or call normal “Garden Shed”
Unique

What do you sheddies think – thanks wilco

Great article in the Guardian today

First, Rebecca Tyrrel lost her husband to his shed – now her son has his own private bolthole too

Matthew Norman outside his shed with his son Louis. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

Under an old apple tree at the top of the garden, dappled in sunshine, is a small green shed. It sits a few yards from the hedge that separates our tiny patch of Dorset from the garden next door, in which Thomas Hardy’s mother, Jemima, once played as a little girl. Within the shed, presumably far enough from the madding crowd of one (me), its occupant, Louis, our 13-year-old, is doing whatever it is that the male of the species tends to do in a small outhouse. Precisely what that is I cannot say, because with sheds, there is an unofficial omerta that forbids the owner divulging his activities therein to any female.

Louis may or may not be the youngest shed-dweller in Britain today, but he is surely the proudest. Offered carte blanche (within financial, legal and moral reason), the choice of any present to mark his shift into teenagerdom, this 8x6ft building was his first choice.

Surely, I suggested, he would prefer something electronic or mildly dangerous, something with wheels? Something flashy and gaudy, possibly something with an apple wrought into its outer casing? But no. A shed, and only a shed, would do.

His father took a different view when I relayed the news and the beam of paternal pride was clearly audible even at a distance of 130 miles. “That’s my boy,” he said, speaking from his own shed in Shepherd’s Bush. Then he added something remarkably apt, given the old branches looming over the junior shed in Dorset, about the apple never falling far from the tree.

When my son was about 7 he built a “shed” at the end of the garden – well it was a bit of wood angled from fence to the floor but it was a great start, so I have good feelings about his future shedism.

Of course a lot of the shed news this week has been about Shed of the year 2010

But lets not forget the forerunners in this celebration of sheds and sheddies, the competition would not be as popular and the sheds as innovative without the past sheddie winners setting the bar so high.

It was great to get an email from one of the past winners, Tony who won the inaugural Shed of the year with his very uniqueRoman Temple Shed, Tony was very patient with me at the time as it was also the first time I had run something like Shed week and he like all the other winners since, jumped in with both feet and took radio, TV and press interviews in his stride, but it must have been good to get back to your shed when it was all over.

It has had 2 layers of felt roofing since 2005 because the birds love to sit on the apex of the roof and eventually wear through the felt with their claws.

I have decided to re-roof the Temple with lightweight metal tiles looking (a bit) like Roman roof tiles.

After investigating I have gone for Metrotile Lightweight Roofing as recommended by my architect and chosen one of their range of tiles “Metrotile Roma” in Terracotta colour which is very Roman-looking.

The people at Metrotile were very helpful as my Temple isn’t big and it wouldn’t be a big quantity order for them. I am part way through the installation and I’m sending you a picture showing the finished effect which I think looks great. Let’s see those birds wear through this roofing !

PS This Metrotile product is great but you would need to be a competent do-it-yourselfer to install it without help.

We look forward to seeing The Roman temple in all it’s newly crowned roof glory once it’s been finished.

One of the photos up on our Just Shed flickr group was this

And it got me wondering what it was about, a quick email to Theatre Orchard Projects and I got the answer it seems like Sheds are playing a big part in the education and community theater in the Bristol/North Somerset Area.

A shed-load of stories from around the world…

Students and adults from many cultural backgrounds have been working with leading media artists to create an interactive installation of digital stories in a bespoke shed, designed in association with Somerset Wood Recycling. Storyshed is on a miniature ‘world tour of North Somerset’, transporting visitors into other realms with personal stories that surprise and enrich – a celebration of home and away and a crossing place for both.

Storyshed is part of a wider project – Windfalls – that highlights and celebrates cultural diversity in North Somerset. Through Windfalls, arts practitioners from a variety of disciplines are also working in primary schools with children who have English as a second language. Each group of children shares their stories, songs, photos and objects and shapes the resulting audio-visual material into a short film to share with the wider school community.

Windfalls is part of Theatre Orchard Projects ‘community cohesion through the arts’ strand, ROOTS – kindly funded by Mediabox and Find
Your Talent."

The stories created during this project can be viewed at “http://www.bristolstories.org/

Anyway the Story shed is ‘appearing’ again this weekend 10th and 11th July in Weston Super Mare .

Other Bristol-area shed-related things:

Ship of Fools artist group made Starshed a while back

Bristol artist Luci Gorell Barnes made Bookshed

and another Bristol artist Eileen Haste made a charming digital story called Shed Heaven

Myself and Alex have picked our favorite shots from the Just Sheds Flickr group that I set up to celebrate sheds around the globe.

There are Five of the our favorites – but please leave your comments below which one is your favorite and I will give a prize to the winning sheddie photographer , a upgrade to Pro or extension to their Flickr account.

Alex likes these two

Worked in the shed last night! by Janet Althoff

Always a shedworker Alex

The Old and the Ancient by Outlaw_Pete

He must have know I have a thing for the Lindisfarne upturned boats now as sheds… I must visit them!

Here are my picks

Allotment Shed by phatcontroller

I love allotment sheds and this sums them up I think

151/365 – The garden shed by Jez Page

Loved the colours and we know whats it’s like to have a shed full to the brim

Sheltered (65/365) by Alex Finlay

One of the many strange sheds shots I see but I thought this was a great shot even though we go to the shed to get away from the madness!

Thankfully over the year a few of the sheddies who put their pictures up on Flickr have now also Shared their Shed on readersheds.co.uk

Shed week or to give it it’s full title is “National Shed Week” is something I came up with to celebrate Sheds which although very popular in the UK were never given the full recognition they deserve beyond the allotment or your garden, Ok we have National Marine Week, National Bike Week, Welly Week & Chip week which are all worthy celebrations but nothing to celebrate the British institution that are Sheds.

Anything to bring the profile of the wonderful sheddie to the general public was long overdue, sheddie i.e. someone who owns, loves & may build their special piece of heaven down the bottom of the garden or on the allotment or even sheds by the sea.

It tied in perfectly with readersheds.co.uk my site that over the past nine years has promoted goodwill and harmony and just a little bit of harmless shed envy and these great sheds have inspired more people to become sheddies which can only be a good thing.

This year 2010 is the 4th annual shed week and we are lucky to have a sponsor in Cuprinol Sprayable, who not only protects the country’s sheds but have provide a grand prize of £1000 for this years Shed of the year, which of course is Reg and his wonderful Pirate themed shed won.

The previous Shed of the year winners are all special sheds and amazing sheddies 2009 Kite cabin , 2008 Rugby Pub Shed and 2007 Roman Temple shed

But of course all the sheddies and their sheds are unique and that’s what makes it brilliant, if you think you have a shed to match these then sign up to hear when entry is open for Shed of the year 2011.

What are you doing to celebrate shed week, well If I get half an hour, Iam popping down the local allotments and hope to take some photos of their sheds and you never now may get a cup of tea.

So sheddie get down the shed and do something this shed week.

The Lady Sarah Out of Worthing, Southend-on-Sea, Essex Owned by Reg Miller is the Shed of the year 2010.

Well done Reg a truly unique shed that shows your passion for your shed but also shows there is a lot of humour and fun to be had , he wins £1000 & a shed load of Cuprinol Product from our sponsors Cuprinol Sprayable many thanks to them for all their help with this years competition and their passion for sheds.

It was a hard fought competition this year, and was a close call in the end with the Garden Office and Eco Shed coming in close joint second place.

This is what the judges had to say

Sarah Beeny

You simply couldn’t get more into a shed and for that I seriously admire
this one. Not only that but a shed should have an element of escapism to it
and this being a Pirates haven certainly ticks that box – I love it!

Uncle Wilco (me!)

Reg shows that a perfect shed sums up the personality of the
individual that created and uses it, in this case slightly off the
wall but with care and attention that only a true sheddie could manage.

Dr Wood – Cuprinol’s Simon Aldersley

‘What an amazing shed – I have never seen anything like it. All it needs now is Kiera Knightley and Johnny Depp to come around and they could screen the next Pirates of the Caribbean in the shed’

Simon Greenish CEO – Bletchley Park

This shed has got to be Britain at its best, quirky, fun and as the category suggests unique and surely, only in Britain. It has been developed by a character who clearly loves life but the doesn’t take life too seriously. In these grim days of austerity isn’t it great that these things can happen. Great fun and wish I had one!

Alex Johnston

The Lady Sarah shows that there’s much more to a shed than four walls
and a roof – the pirate atmosphere is superbly evoked throughout and
underlines that when it comes to creativity, sheddies have it in spades.

Lloyd Alter

Arggh, matey, what can one say? it’s made from recycled materials, it
is not just a shed but a complete environment where Johnny Depp would feel at home.
pieces of eight and a bottle of rum for the Lady Sara! Humour, style,
energy all in one.

Debra Prinzing

Reg is living the good life here on his ship. Viewing the photos and
movies felt like a journey into Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe – something
wonderful and strange with every glimpse. He has really created a
backyard destination unlike anything I’ve ever seen – and certainly
beyond the imagination of most shed owners.

Stephen (Last years Shed of the year winner)

What a fantastic shed, all made out of recycled materials and packed
full of fun. Reg has obviously inherited the genes of a pirate from
his ancestry somewhere in the distant past. This shed has so much
going on. Full of memorabilia from floor to ceiling and still enough
room to sit and enjoy the squawking cockatiels and watch fish
swimming. A very peaceful place I’m sure, until the rum is consumed
and the singing starts. I wonder if anyone has ever consumed too much
and gone overboard into the pond? There has obviously been much love
and affection that has gone into this build as well as a sense of
humour. ARRRG!
Absolutely brilliant!

Here’s the Press release if you want to use it on your Blog/site/shedwall

A sheddie from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, has won Shed of the Year 2010 after beating off competition from 1,250 shed-lovers. Reg Miller’s pirate-themed shed, ‘The Lady Sarah out of Worthing’ named after his partner, was judged best shed in the competition sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable and comes complete with a Koi Carp pond and even a parrot!

The judging panel, including Sarah Beeny and ‘Head Sheddie’ and creator of readersheds.co.uk Uncle Wilco and a whole host of other shed-loving luminaries, commented: “Reg shows that a perfect shed sums up the personality of the individual that created and uses it. The pirate atmosphere is superbly evoked throughout and underlines that when it comes to creativity, sheddies have it in spades.”

Reg comments: “I’ve spent years working on my shed and to win Shed of the Year 2010 is a real thrill – it’s the ultimate accolade for shed owners! It’s still a work in progress, as I’m constantly adding to my collection of pirate memorabilia and props and the shed is slowly but surely taking over the whole garden. It’s become a real talking point in the area and since I entered it in the competition, I’ve had loads of really positive comments from sheddies around the globe – it really seems to have caught everyone’s imagination! Funnily enough, I’ll be spending my winnings repairing my decking at the top of the garden! It has recently collapsed and I really want to spruce it up again so that I can use it for the summer and yes, I will be using Cuprinol products!”

Reg has won the £1,000 top prize and a range of shed-care products courtesy of Cuprinol Sprayable, sponsors of Shed of The Year 2010.

12 runners up each receive a shed care kit. The search for Shed of the Year 2010 began in August 2009, with the public voting for 13 category winners that were shortlisted for the final. The runners up were Dominic Jones from Liverpool for his Garden Office and Tim Massey from Cheshire for his Eco Shed.

Organised by the internationally famous readersheds.co.uk and sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable, National Shed Week runs from 5th July and is the national celebration of one of the cornerstones of British culture.

During Shed Week a charity auction will take place on ebay to raise money for Bletchley Park and sheddies around the country will be celebrating in their sheds.

IF you are in the press and would like talk to our PR people then please Contact me.

Some nice mentions of the Category Winners of Shed of the year in today’s papers.

The Independent talks about the rise of Lady sheddies.

The long march to equality has finally reached the back garden. Sheds are no longer a male preserve, according to new evidence that suggests women are tearing down felt roofs as quickly as they crack glass ceilings.

Nearly half of the sheds vying to become Shed of the Year, when the winner of a national competition is unveiled tomorrow, are owned by women, according to Andrew Wilcox , of readersheds.co.uk. “Sheds have always been masculine places, but the number of lady sheddies is increasing,” he said.

Sarah Beeny, the TV presenter and property developer who is helping to judge the competition, said: “Sheds are probably the last male domain that we’ve finally taken over. There’s nowhere for them to retreat now.”

Herald in Scotland mentions the Pub Shed Three Steps

ARE you planning to do something special in your shed this week?

Those fortunate enough to have a garden, and one complete with its own edifice, will surely already know that National Shed Week starts tomorrow.

To the uninitiated, this may seem like a lot of fuss about a few planks of wood, but the humble shed has a long, proud history in British culture and we shouldn’t grudge it a little celebration.

Predominantly a male domain, the shed of yesteryear provided manspace for a henpecked husband to gather his thoughts, smoke his pipe without complaint, avoid visitors and indulge in a spot of OCD, arranging his tools in alphabetical order, a kind of precursor to the age of album collections. They were the wooden sanctuaries that took the place of the privy when modern plumbing rendered that haven of peace and quiet obsolete.

If you see Shed Week mentioned in your local trumpet of truth, contact me

Iam getting a bit excited for next weeks shed week but to get in in the sort of mad mood Iam in have some great Colourfull and cheery Sheds on our Flickr Just Sheds group.

Remember during Shed Week one photographer on our Just Sheds group will be getting a prize (probably a flickr upgrade or a shed book)

They have a great time up at Leeds and this Sunday 4th July just before shed week they will be having even more shed load of fun.

Sunday 4th July, 1-4pm, Farnley Hall Park. Free!

The Festival big event! Come along to beautiful Farnley Hall Park for an afternoon of free fun family activities. We have 15 garden sheds for you to explore, but not any old sheds; instead of old tools and spiders you might come across a shed with a miniature disco inside, a storyteller shed for little ones or a shed with a whole samba band inside!

If any sheddies are going make sure you take some photos of the Sheds! be great to see them, oh and tell them to Share them for Shed of the year 2011

Our old mates Punks not dad are in the Times in the run up to shedweek but you can’t read it online if you don’t pay as it’s behind the Mr Murdochs new ShedWall

They’ve got proper jobs and kids, and sing about sheds rather than smashing the system. Mary Bowers meets the forty and fiftysomething dads who are keeping the spirit of punk alive

In the dressing room before the big gig, Dan Nichols asks for a piece of paper to write
down his lyrics: his memory is not what it used to be.

“Reading the paper,” Nichols, 46, says slowly, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in
concentration. He runs a leather-clad hand through his gel-spiked hair.

“Sorting out me jam jars,” offers Chris Walker, 42, fixing the badges on his
homemade T-shirt.

“Potting me tomatoes?” asks Mike Mole, 48, fastening the safety pins that hold
together his “iconic” cardigan. That line apparently comes later.

The song, entitled , Nichols explains, is dedicated to the one place that dads go to
find refuge from their children. In walks Steve Jones, 42, clutching his drumsticks in
fingerless leather gloves. He looks over Nichols’s shoulder. “Having a cup of tea,” he
suggests.

Fifteen minutes later they have fixed their outfits and, clad in studded leather and
red slogans, Nichols, Walker, Mole and Jones assume their alter egos: Sid Life Crisis,
Joe Strimmer, Johnny Cardigan, and Adrian Viles. Together they are Punks Not Dad.
Punks Not Dad rarely rehearse. They write their lyrics over e-mail and record demos
at home. After their kids have gone to bed, they vent the things that make them
angry: no one understands their man flu; Tesco has run out of Wagon Wheels;they’re covered in spilt baby food.

anyway here is their anthem to sheds and last years Song for Shed Week like Song for Europe but with more sheds.

Enough Sheds in that title for you? you will be sick of the word shed this time next week of course you wont…!!

Our old shed friend John Davies AKA shedman has a great video from his stuff he has been doing the last two shed weeks at Ledbury Poetry Festival, we wish him like again this year – and if you see him shout SHEDWEEK at him!

Shedbury from Terrier TV on Vimeo.

Shedman (aka writer and poet John Davies) – the unique literary sideshow and festival funster – has spent the last two National Shed Weeks at England’s Ledbury Poetry Festival where people come to muse with him about all things shed, shedness and the unbearable heaviness of shedding.

To coincide with Shed Week 2010, Shedman presents the first cut of ‘Shedbury’, a video compilation of the people he’s met at the festival.

‘Shedbury’ is a curiously fascinating take on English life, seen through a wooden prism and told through a series of interviews, stories and poems recorded at the festival in 2008 and 2009.

Here you can find the whole film already assembled, but it will also be available shortly as an eight part self-assembly kit. Please make sure you have all the parts and there are no items missing:

1 Childhood Memories
2 A man needs a shed
3 She’s there
4 Innocence and Experience
5 Absence and Loss
6 Order and Law
7 Sheds at War
8 Feather, fur and fin

Enjoy the strangely enchanting world of Shedbury – and over the next few weeks catch up with some more special sequences including ‘Size matters’.

You can also watch a short profile of Ledbury Poetry Festival presented by people who have been very involved in its development and organisation.

Shed on Shedbury!

here’s a reminder of the poem he did for us a few years back

Encomium* for Shed Week

In Shedbury they’re celebrating the winners of Shedweek,

flags and bunting deck the streets and houses of Shedwick;

Sheddingham resounds to the cheers of sheddie folk

and Bedfordshire has change its name to extend the joke.

In allotments, along the tracks, the sheds of Britain amass

to join the chorus of salute to the winners of each class.

‘All hail!’ they cry, as thunderclouds deliver another load,

leaving the sheds slightly damp but not at all subdued.

And to you, Tim from Sudbury, the highest accolade:

The Rugby Pub of Suffolk, the finest ever made;

octagonal with roof lights, complete with double doors,

three fridges and a hammock, Shed of the Year is yours.

Upsteps a larch-lapped champion to raise the cry again

across United Sheddom, from every shed and man:

‘To Tim the victor’s laurels, to Tim the winner’s band!

The Rugby Pub of Suffolk is the best shed in the land!’

*High praise in honour of a victor from the Latin!

©Shedman 2008 All rights reserved

As you know Bletchley Park is our charity for Shed week 2010 and the way I thought of helping them and the wonderful Huts ( Hut 6 was Hut of the year 2009) they are in a right state due to lack of funding but the Bletchley Park Trust are doing as much as possible to safeguard these historic buildings and luckily the people in government have finally seen their importance to Britain and the world.

Anyway I have organised a charity auction which starts today and runs through Shed Week until next Thursday to raise some extra funds.

Lucky we have some great supporters of shed week and they have provided us with some brilliant items you can bid for on that ebay with all the funds going straight to Bletchley Park! so everyone’s a winner.

First we have have a something that you can not get anywhere.

An internal door handle from the famous and inspiration Hut 6 from Bletchley Park

Authentic Hut 6 Interior Door Handle Steeped in history – imagine the hands that would have touched this!

Bletchley Park hut6 door handle

A signed Safety Hat from Shed of the year Judge Sarah Beeny (also a copy of Sarah’s dating book)

Three copies (2 blu-ray, 1 DVD) of the best film of 2009 MOON which are signed by the wonderful director Duncan Jones

Signed Shedworking Alternative Workplace Revolution Book from Shed judge & working from your shed guru Alex Johnston

Last but not least is the bible for sheddies : Men & Sheds, a book signed by author and sheddie sage Gordon Thorburn

Today’s great coverage of shedworking on the BBC breakfast show showed that sheds are sometimes taken seriously in the mainstream media.

But it was their use of social media to get the information together from their viewers via their facebook, twitter and flickr pages that impressed me, but having the televisual platform to pop the link on screen to the sites is useful and must grab the viewers and a great way of creating a two way conversation between the comfy sofa in the studio and the sofa at home.

anyway here are some of the great sheds they featured

Alex shedworking gnu and Shed of the year judge will be on BBC breakfast tomorrow…

The nice folk at  BBC Breakfast will be talking about the Shedworking book, garden offices and sheds in general at 6.50am, 7.50am and indeed 8.50am tomorrow (Wednesday). They’re also inviting viewers to submit their own sheds to their Flickr group, a selection of which I’m assuming will make it to the screen, and they’re using the Twitter hash tag of #myshed from now onwards. This will be a great buildup to the actual National Shed Week which starts on July 5

I have added the Category winners to the BBC group so hopefully they will get on the Telly

and Sheddie Tim of The TARDIS shed will be on GM.TV news
Granada reports and doing interview and weather live from Tims Tardis on teatime news.

The dailymail “reports”

Supermarket giant Tesco is well known for selling everything a shopper could need – and now that includes property as they offer a DIY flat-pack home.

The company, better known for selling groceries, wine, clothes and electronics, has launched a range of large, self-assembly log cabin style residences.

Shoppers can pick up a Finnlife home complete with five rooms and a ‘handy upstairs storage area’ for £9,999 – earning customers a whopping 19,998 Clubcard points.
flat-pack home

The helsinki model even has a trendy terraced decking area where proud new homeowners can sit and soak up the sun.

Tesco states the home ‘readily adapts to serve a number of uses from home office and gym to lounging area and playroom’.

If you have the room, then great not sure about the planning permission as it’s big, not sure if we could see a winner like this for Shed of the year 2011, what do you think.

The artist Elena Thomas who covered some allotment garden sheds in fabric some months ago is back.

” We have some fantastic shed related events coming up and thought you’d like to know about them: The first is the debut of Shed Songs, a live performance by Dan Whitehouse in one of my sheds at an art and quilting exhibition in Stourbridge on 31st July”

good luck to them both, sheds, fabric and songs what a trio!

Their was a twitter trend last night for a few hours (it’s still going on a bit) for this hash tag.

#swapwordinfilmwithshed

any idea who came up with it? I saw a few of my followers using it so just jumped on the bandwagon!

Some of my favourite ones

one of mine

anyway #ShedWeek starts on the 5th July (next Week!) so if anyone wants to start a trend with that I would be very happy!

The Sun newspaper today has a great big feature on this years Shed of the year Category Winners and readersheds and our sponsors Cuprionol get a mention to, so everyone is happy!

WHEN Garry Logan pops down to his shed he’s not just pottering about doing garden chores… he’s having a BEER.
To the envy of blokes everywhere, he’s done up his humble garden shed as his very own pub.

Now it’s in the running to be named UK Shed Of The Year.

The hut parade shortlist of the best of the best also includes a Doctor Who Tardis, a mini naval museum and a pirate ship, as well as various eco-friendly retreats.

Garry’s bar, The 3 Steps, is just 10ft by 8ft but boasts a bar with fridge, Sky TV, sound system and genuine pub optics and other boozer fittings.

Garry, 33, from Ayr, said: “The name came about because you can only take three steps in any direction.

“There’s room for about eight drinkers but the best thing is it now only takes me ten seconds to get down the pub.”

The crowning glory for Tim Bowden, 43, from Stockport, winner of the Tardis category, is that his shed even makes the sound of the time machine when the door opens.

He explained: “Armed with a hand-saw, a broken old shed, some wooden pallets and blue paint, a Tardis seemed the logical solution to my storage problems.”

It’s not just men who are serious about sheds – plenty of women love to create a haven of peace in the garden, too.

Artemis Russell, 32, from south east London, winner of the Workshop category, has somehow turned a hut just 4ft by 6ft into a pretty workspace for her sewing and weaving.

She said: “I’ve decorated it, but serious sheddies might call it ‘girlyfying’.”

Reg Miller’s shed, winner of the Unique Shed Category, is a shrine to pirates.
Reg, 65, from Southend-on-Sea, said: “It’s built to look like the poop deck of a pirate ship moored at a Caribbean dock, complete with a koi carp pond and aviary for long voyages.”

More than 1,200 sheds were entered in this year’s competition, sponsored by Cuprinol Sprayable.

The overall winner will be announced by the judging panel, which includes TV property expert Sarah Beeny, during National Shed Week which starts on July 5.

For a full rundown of the shed shortlist and more images go to readersheds.co.uk.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3029033/UK-Shed-Of-The-Year-contest.html

Of course Sheddie Reg and His Lady Sarah out of Worthing was featured on the Sunonline earlier in the week as well.