Latest edition of The Scottish Shedder magazine out now

The November issue of the Scottish Men's Sheds Association magazine, The Scottish Shedder, is available either as a pdf here or using the online magazine version here. Features include:

* SHED IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Dingwall Men’s Shed

* A PERSONAL STORY: Billy Christie from Barrhead Men’s Shed 

* SHED LIFE: Lanark Men’s Shed’s new beginning

* SHED LIFE: Stonehaven & District Men’s Shed awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 

* SHED LIFE: Ben Fogle drops in on Orkney Men’s Shed

* SHED LIFE: Aberchirder lad’s 78-hours Shedding for Duke of Edinburgh Award

* SMSA NEWS: New Shed on the Block celebrates double triumph

* SMSA EVENTS: Battle of the Shed Bands

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

Tiger Sheds agrees landmark display partnership with British Garden Centres Group

Specialist garden building retailer Tiger, a part of Woodlands Home & Garden Group, has just agreed a landmark deal with the British Garden Centres group which will bring Tiger showsites to 35 UK garden centres over the next three-and-a-half years.

The agreement follows a successful pilot program launched in April at British Garden Centres' flagship garden centre at Brigg in Lincolnshire and prompted both parties to commit to a long-term partnership, extending their collaboration for an additional five years at the Brigg site.

The move is another significant step forward for Tiger’s offline strategy which aims to create a network of franchise-operated locations across the UK to complement their existing online success and build on its position as the UK’s market leader in garden buildings. Since opening their first site at Woodthorpe in Lincolnshire in 1987, British Garden Centres have expanded rapidly and now have over 60 sites across the UK with plans to open more over coming years as part of their growth plans.

“As part of our growth strategy, we are incredibly excited to be partnering with the prestigious British Garden Centres Group," said Ged Lees, Managing Director at Woodlands Home & Garden Group, "and the partnership reflects the shared culture, values, and growth ambitions between the two businesses. We are delighted to have signed this exclusive deal, which will allow us to showcase our Tiger garden buildings throughout the United Kingdom, as we believe they play a crucial role in every garden centre. 

"We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to welcome customers and provide them with a close up opportunity to find their perfect space from our range of high quality sheds, summerhouses, garden offices and log cabins.”

Charles Stubbs, co-founder, and Director at The British Garden Centres Group added: “We strongly believe that gardens are a place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Therefore, in our garden centres we strive to inspire visitors with the endless possibilities that await them in their own personal outdoor spaces. We are excited to collaborate with Tiger in this fantastic new venture. The Tiger brand has experienced growing popularity over the years, primarily due to its distinctive brand features, captivating TV commercials and its rich heritage.  After the successful pilot scheme at Brigg, we can’t wait to get started with our longer term plans.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

Jerome K Jerome's writing summerhouse for sale

Around the time of writing Three Men in a Boat (1889), the writer Jerome K Jerome bought this rather nice place, Goulds Grove (it also goes under the name of 'Troy'), a Grade II-listed Georgian house not far from Henley-on-Thames. This is where he lived and worked from 1895 to 1908, writing in the summerhouse which you can see at the middle left of your picture. In his autobiography he calls it "an old farmhouse on the hill above Wallingford".

The circular flint-and-thatch summerhouse was also used by Jerome's literary guests, the likes of H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle nipping in during frequent visits to scribble away.

It's on with Savills and you won't get any change out of £6 million if you want to make an offer, but to be fair it's a lovely home and does have a nice swimming pool (visible close to the summerhouse) and tennis court, not to mention two theatres built by Jerome.

--------------------------------------

Monday posts are sponsored by Tiny House Cabins. Beautiful cabins for all year round... oozing character! 

Friday Finery: Plankbridge officially launch the Hut House

 

 

We covered Plankbridge's move into the tiny house market previously on Shedworking, but it's officially launched today. It's a thing of beauty and this first model is actually on sale so it could be yours.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Plankbridge Shepherd’s Huts (@plankbridge)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

 

Shedworking in the House of Commons and House of Lords

It's been a momentous week for mentions of working in shepherds' huts this week in Parliament. Here's what David Cameron had to say on the subject in his maiden speech to the House of Lords:

 

And here's what Keir Starmer added in the House of Commons by way of reply:

-------------------------------------------------------

 Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and   

 studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional

 buildings.

The Porter’s Lodge from The Queen’s College, Oxford

 

 

An opportunity here for some historic shedworking. The late 19th century porter's lodge from The Queen's College, Oxford, has recently been replaced by a new structure and the old glazed and stained timber lean-to building facade is now for sale at Lassco. Features include three entrance doors, the canted end with sliding hatch and a registration booth "sentry-box" extension with a fourth door. It's pictured above all stretched out and would make somebody a marvellous garden office.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

SMART's new Living Space concept

SMART Garden Rooms, Offices & Studios, the Suffolk-based award-winning manufacturer of quality outdoor buildings has launched a full-service upgrade of its entire range for customers looking to use their garden rooms as high-quality, innovative living spaces.
 
The company, which has built up a formidable reputation for market-leading innovations over the last few years, has just launched its SMART Living Space concept.
 
This new upgraded line now means that SMART offers rooms that can be used specifically for living in – and not just working in. Seven of the SMART ranges can be upgraded to a Living Space.
 
According to SMART chief executive, Matt Moss: “Customer feedback has shown us that there is a growing demand for garden rooms that can be used for a wider range of purposes and, crucially, as additional accommodation for family members.
 
“The construction and legal specifications for such buildings are much greater than for traditional garden rooms. With SMART Living Space we fully employ our renowned quality, attention-to-detail and expertise to deliver home-from-home living spaces, with all the comforts and top-notch design with which SMART has become synonymous.”
 
The SMART Living Space service offers a 20-year structural warranty, a waterproofed WC area with partition wall and sliding door, climate control heating, enhanced insulation and electrics, plus a Certificate of Lawful Development, ensuring that all regulations have been adhered to.
 
Paul Sheppard, SMART’s managing director, added: “SMART Living Space is a further step up of our existing garden room products: in effect a  great alternative to an annex or an extension, at a fraction of the cost, and one which will retain its value.
 
“We believe that what we are offering here is a way to keep family members  together that otherwise might otherwise have to live apart from each other, whether that be older teenage children or elderly vulnerable parents.
 
“For a company with a continuous track record of doing things better before our competition, SMART Living Space is more than just another innovation. We believe that it is even better than that!”
 
For more information about SMART Living Space, the company has set up a bespoke website: https://smb-living.com/living-spaces

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

 

Tiger launches new sheds show site

Garden building speciaists Tiger Sheds has opened a new 12,000 sq ft indoor show site at Rimrose Road in Bootle in partnership with Bootle-based Merseyside Sheds, a family run business that has been selling timber garden buildings since 1982. It will have more than 30 different models over three floors including ones suitable for use as garden offices, and is open seven days a week.

--------------------------------------

Monday posts are sponsored by Tiny House Cabins. Beautiful cabins for all year round... oozing character! 

 

SMART launches new Living Space concept

Suffolk-based SMART Garden Rooms, Offices & Studios has launched a full-service upgrade of its entire range for customers looking to use their garden rooms as high-quality living spaces.
 
The new Living Space line (pictured above) now means that the company offers rooms that can be used specifically for living in and not just working in. Seven of the ranges can be upgraded to a Living Space.

“Customer feedback has shown us that there is a growing demand for garden rooms that can be used for a wider range of purposes," said SMART chief executive, Matt Moss, "and, crucially, as additional accommodation for family members. The construction and legal specifications for such buildings are much greater than for traditional garden rooms. With  Living Space we fully employ our quality, attention-to-detail and expertise to deliver home-from-home living spaces with all the comforts and top-notch design with which we have become synonymous.”

The Living Space service offers a 20-year structural warranty, a waterproofed WC area with partition wall and sliding door, climate control heating, enhanced insulation and electrics, plus a Certificate of Lawful Development, ensuring that all regulations have been adhered to.

Paul Sheppard, SMART’s managing director, added: “Living Space is a further step up of our existing garden room products, in effect a great alternative to an annex or an extension, at a fraction of the cost, and one which will retain its value. We believe that what we are offering here is a way to keep family members  together that otherwise might otherwise have to live apart from each other, whether that be older teenage children or elderly vulnerable parents.

For more information about SMART Living Space, the company has set up a bespoke website https://smb-living.com/living-spaces

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

 

Few workers who work from home want full-time return to the office

Half of workers now working from home at least some of the time, according to a new poll from YouGov. Its survey finds that half of workers say they are working from home - one in six workers say they do so the whole time and a third report doing so some of the time. The remaining 50% say they never do.

Compared to December 2021, 43% of workers said they worked from home. Most of the change is in the “WFH some of the time” category, up ten points from 23%. 

Around 29% of workers in the new study said they would prefer work to work from home all the time, while 43% said some of the time (just over a fifth said they never want to work from home).

Among those who work from home all the time at the moment, only 15% want to switch to only working from home "some of the time", and just 1% want to revert to go back to the office full-time. The figures are similar for those working from home some of the time.

However, only 40% of those who never work from home are happy with their current arrangement - another 34% want to be able to work from home some of the time, while 14% never want to go back to the office again.

Image courtesy Arctic Cabins

-------------------------------------------------------

 Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and   

 studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional

 buildings.

 

Beach hut trouble brewing in Brighton

Brighton and Hove City Council says that councillors have agreen plans to modernise beach hut licences and introduce a transfer fee to be charged when beach huts are sold which will help to support the council’s seafront services. They say the plans will also see beach hut licences updated and streamlined.

They add that the proposals follow a consultation with beach hut owners. However, those same owners from the Hove Beach Hut Association claim that the transfer fee increase is unfair and the whole plan is being imposed on them rather than agreed with them.

The new licence will be introduced on 1 April next year. There are 459 beach huts on Hove seafront, all privately owned by Brighton & Hove residents. According to the council these currently sell for around £30,000 - the new transfer fee will see owners paying the council either 10% of the sale price or 4 times the licence fee, whichever is greater. The new transfer fee, along with the annual £503.60 licence fee, will go towards maintaining the seafront services.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

David Cameron is back from his shepherd's hut...

 

 

As David Cameron makes his way back into political life having written his memoirs in a shepherd's hut bought specifically in 2017 for that reason, shepherds' hut specialists Plankbridge have posted the above picture on X/Twitter, with co-owner Richard Lee commenting: "Well I didn’t think that I would need to dust this one off again."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

 

Emily Cockayne: shedworker

This is a guest post by Dr Emily Cockayne, Associate Professor in Early Modern History 
at the University of East Anglia and author of several books, most recently Penning Poison (2023) which is reviewed by me in the latest issue of the Idler magazine.

I had a writing shed built in the Autumn of 2009, costing a few thousand pounds [pictured above]. A sedum roof helps keep the interior sufficiently insulated to need only an oil-filled radiator on low. Three books have been written in the shed so far – it was financed using part of the advance for my second book, 'Cheek by Jowl', a history of neighbours. This felt appropriate as I had a different perspective on my own neighbours from my shed chair. 

Next, I wrote 'Rummage' in the shed, a history of recycling written on a recycled desk. Living in a terraced house, and then having two small children, writing at the bottom of the garden seemed to be an obvious solution to escape from the bustle of family life and establish efficient work habits. In the last 14 years, I have found the shed to be a place of contemplation and also of refuge.  

It was great to have the shed to work in over lockdown, when I led seminars from it remotely, recorded lectures in it, and also finished my fourth book, 'Penning Poison', a history of anonymous letters, as well as updating my first book, 'Hubbub', for a second edition. Whilst my colleagues were interrupted by postal workers and the sounds of ice-cream vans, I could carry on in the relative peace at the end of the garden. An anonymous letter had circulated our street back in 2015, and I suspect the writer lives in a house immediately behind my shed – something I kept in mind when writing 'Penning Poison'.

I often share the space with one or both of my cats, and there is usually a big stripy spider busily making a web in a corner. Recently, I moved my sewing machine into the shed, and now also use it as a space for embroidering and patchwork-making, as well as marking student essays and writing my next book.

Friday Finery: garden office video tour

To see you through to the weekend, here's a rather nice little video from Garden Affairs of their horizontally ribbed Larchwood Linea model, 3.5m x 2.5m. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

Booths Ex-Rental garden studio for sale

Booths Garden Studios has a rare ex rental 12' x 8' QCB office model available for £10,495 (a saving of just over  you £4,900 compared to a new studio). If you're looking to become a shedworker, this is worth looking into as they don't come along very often so do get in touch with them.

-------------------------------------------------------

 Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and   

 studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional

 buildings.

Bryn Tirion: 1841-style shedworking?

An interesting opportunity this for anybody looking for a Grade II listed garden office project. Pictured above is Bryn Tirion in Harlech, Wales, on the market with Tom Parry estate agents for auction at a starting bid price of £30,000. It dates back to 1841 and has great views over Cardigan Bay, Harlech Castle and the Snowdonia Mountain Range.

As the pictures above indicate, it needs a bit of work and hasn't been inhabited for half a century (there are not services currently connected either) but as the agents say: "Bryn Tirion is a quaint, compact gem and a wonderful opportunity to be creative from a blank-canvas. Perhaps you are looking for the most unusual little workplace?"

The whole thing measures 4.62m (l) x 3.30m (w) x 5.23m (h) and features a stone floor, two windows, and a door. It's been most recently used as storage/workshop.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

Police shed: Introducing PC Pod

Sussex Police’s latest initiative to tackle crime and disorder in Crawley is the shedworkingesque PC Pod. The innovative structure, which is comparable in size to a garden shed (pictured above, and with Inspector for Neighbourhood Policing in Crawley, Steve Turner), is powered by solar energy and made using 1,312 recycled plastic bottles. It will be used by police officers and staff, as well as partners including Crawley Borough Council.

The pod measures 254cm in length, 250cm in height and 185cm in width. Its panels are bonded for rigidity, impact resistance and water tightness, offering maximum durability and requiring no further maintenance, for example no further painting. 

Working together, their aim is to increase engagement and community reassurance, and provide a safe space for people to talk about any concerns they may have.

The hub has been funded by Operation Safety, the force’s response to knife crime and serious violence, and will be regularly used by Op Safety officers, too. It will support the ongoing work and operation activity of the team.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Yates, the force lead for knife crime and serious violence, said: “The safety of our community is a priority for us, and this new hub provides a highly visible presence in the busy town centre to deter criminal activity and engage with members of the public."

The temporary installation follows the success of the ‘beach hut’ in Brighton in 2019 and the launch of an identical pod in Eastbourne in August. It will be manned by PCSOs, and officers from the local Neighbourhood Policing Team and Response Team as often as possible, particularly on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

Chief Inspector Ben Starns, District Commander for Crawley and Mid Sussex, said: “It is important to reiterate that the engagement hub is not replacing police stations; it is in addition to, and an enhancement of, our opportunities to engage with our community."

The engagement hub will remain on Crawley High Street for six months, when it will be removed for further evaluation into its effectiveness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malvern Garden Buildings offer a premium collection of garden buildings, displayed at 11 UK showsites.

 

 

 

Redesigned bothies

News from our friends at Bothy Stores who have redesigned their Bothy models to provide more space and better outlooks. The Craft, Artist and Studio Bothies have all been expanded slightly, both externally and internally, to provide a larger floor area, and they now offer two different internal configurations for their Craft, Artist and Studio Bothies (both allow for flexible use but one is designed predominantly for work and the other for living). Each Bothy can comfortably accommodate either a bed or desk, along with other furniture and features that transform the simple interior into a space for inspiration or relaxation. 

The scaled-up Bothies provide more interior space for the same price as the original versions. The internal width of all units has increased to 3.3m from the previous 2.7m. They have lengthened the Artist Bothy and the Craft Bothy by 50cm, making the Artist Bothy 6m long and the Craft Bothy 4.5m long. Window sizes have also increased, with a square 2m opening on the side elevation. 

They have removed the mezzanine platform bed from the Artist and Studio Bothies and replaced this with the option for a standard bed in the enlarged living space.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information.

 

Garden studio home jewellery business

In 2021, jewellery designer and maker Eleanor Swinhoe decided it was the right time to upgrade her workspace and this led her to Garden Affairs. In addition to needing more room, and a workspace fit for purpose, comfort in the winter was a priority as she makes most of her work during the winter months and exhibits and sells during the summer months. 

Like many people during the covid pandemic, Eleanor had been struggling to find her own space in the house to design and create her exquisite jewellery. The lack of privacy and individual space, together with the constant pressure to tidy up, left Eleanor feeling frustrated and like everyone was always on top of each other. Already in the process of selling their home, Eleanor and her husband looked for the perfect house with a garden big enough to fit her new studio. 

Eleanor wanted something that was modern looking and in a colourway that was natural and muted to blend into her beautiful garden. She decided on the Proline model (pictured above). The main concern was a space big enough to house all her materials, equipment and both her workshop desk and a computer desk. Working with silver sometimes uses chemical processes, this meant Eleanor also needed running water and a sink area. 

In addition, Eleanor needed a space where she could invite a customer into the garden studio to consult on a custom design in comfort. Despite needing the building to perform many different functions, the Proline was the perfect building to use in terms of size and space for the business but didn’t overwhelm her important garden space, and she ordered the garden studio before she had even moved house, wanting to get the order on the way. 

Eleanor’s new garden studio features low-maintenance Tricoya cladding and is internally lined with tongue and groove MDF. The exterior is factory painted in ‘Pebble Grey’ to blend into her beautiful garden landscape. Her garden studio was fitted with insulation in the roof, walls, and floor to make the space toasty during the winter months and cool in the summer months. Eleanor’s garden studio features windows on all four sides, large windows on the front elevation and smaller ones on the sides and back. As her garden is south facing, this meant that she could take advantage of all the natural light which floods her workspace for her detailed jewellery work. 

“It means that I have a quiet and private space away from the house and family and pets!," she says. "I am able to think and focus on my work without distraction, though in all honesty I'm now distracted by the garden and the birds! Practically, it has given me a beautifully light and warm space to make my jewellery. Previously I had a rather dark room in the house which I was having to light artificially. I love having a workspace where I can leave half-finished projects and tools, and I know that everything will be in exactly the same space when I return to it.”

-------------------------------------------------------

 Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and   

 studios to fit any size garden. Top quality contemporary or traditional

 buildings.

Garden office sports rooms in the Idler

The latest issue of the Idler magazine is out now (Nov-Dec edition) featuring my regular column on garden offices, sheds, and other shedlike atmospheres. This time round it looks at playing sport in garden buildings. Available wherever good magazines are sold, although why not buy a subscription and, as people are wont to say, save yourself £££. The issue also features a piece by me on the shedlike reading tower of French writer Michel de Montaigne (and a book review by me about a new title focusing on anonymous poison pen letters which sadly features no sheds at all).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios