Shrewsbury Men's Shed named UK Men's Shed of the Year

Large congratulations to Shrewsbury Men’s Shed for winning the 2024 UK Men's Shed of the Year trophy (Shedworking is particularly pleased about this since it's the birthplace of it's Head of Content). Here's what their shortlisting says about them:

Shrewsbury Men’s Shed has achieved a huge amount in their three years. The Shed are a real community space, hosting other charities and organisations regularly, offering their space and friendship to people with dementia, men with cancer, woodturners and a horticulture group. The Shed have undertaken some huge projects, like restoring Percy Thrower’s greenhouse and even building and running a ferry service, providing a connection to town that previously didn’t exist. The Shed are currently supporting the Afghan families located at a nearby army camp by welcoming them to their Shed for cooking and craft, and are even supporting the development of two Sheds for Afghan men and women at the army camp. The Shed aim for all they do to benefit their Shedders, their community, and their environment.

Also a big well done to the following:

• Pontypridd Mens Shed for winning the Shed Partnership of the Year 2024 Award
• Rhyl Men’s Shed for winning the Community Project of the Year award 
• Caerau Men’s Shed for winning the Health and Wellbeing of the Year Award 
• Mark Mantle, of Ludlow Men’s Shed for winning the Volunteer of the Year Award

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

 

Snowy sheds

Oh dear. No walking to work today.....

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— Ken W Tayler (@kennywt.bsky.social) November 19, 2024 at 9:22 AM

It's that time of year again when the snowy sheds come out to play. Over on Bluesky, Andrew Wilcox (better known to many of you as Uncle Wilco, founder of the Shed of the Year competition) is compiling overnight examples.

This is a good time to mention that Shedworking has abandoned Twitter/X - for all the obvious reasons - and can now be found on Bluesky under the same name so please do follow us there.

Joanne Harris on her garden office

A very personal piece about garden offices and having a room of one's own by writer Joanne Harris at Certain Age in which I'm delighted to read she's planning a shed calendar. Here's a snippet:

My husband built me a shed at the top of the garden; a designated workspace of a kind I’d never had, built to my specifications, and free from the distractions of phones or random callers. It was lovely – stone-built, with beams of green oak, and even now that scent brings me back there cleanly and effortlessly.

 You can read her interview with Shedworking about the same subject here.

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Monday posts are sponsored by Cosy Garden Rooms, the UK's No. 1 bespoke garden room designer and builder.

Friday Finery: Garden office in the garden

Ease yourself into the weekend with this tranquil setting of a Garden Affairs Linea model among its horticultural peers.

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

Painting studio

It's hard to imagine a timber painting studio which allows more light in than this fine example underneath a large eucalyptus tree from architects Hugh Strange. Because of the tree, the foundations have been carefully managed to avoid damaging any roots. Features include The studio the Douglas Fir studio frame, rainwater harvesting system (to help feed the tree's roots) and sliding doors. Lots more images of the build, the foundations, and how it looks now at the architects' site here.

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 Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master: garden offices and   

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

 buildings.

Booths Garden Studios launches new garden studio design (video)

Pictured above is the new studio and annexe design which Booths Garden Studios have been working on for most of the last year. It has a number of improvements - particularly in terms of strengthening the structure, a new flyover design, and smaller bits and bobs such as clever lighting - and these have been thoroughly documented in a series of useful short videos (something Booths is particularly good at), the first one of which you can find below and then follow the links to the rest.

The new studio models are now called the QCB4 and the QC7 as Booths no longer supplies the QCB2, or QC6). All the improvements have been incorporated into both designs and the only difference between the QCB4 and the QC7 is that the roof of the QC7 can accommodate downlights in the ceiling and the roof has an overhang around the studio. 

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

 

Managers, parents and over 30s are more likely to hybrid work

The Office for National Statistics' latest survey makes for interesting reading about the types of workers most likely to be following a hybrid working pattern and how they spend their time.

According to its Opinions and Lifestyle survey, more than a quarter of working adults in Great Britain (28%) were hybrid working this autumn (slightly surprisingly, the trend in working only from home has fallen since 2021). Hybrid working is more common among those aged over 30, parents, those working as managers or professionals, and those in industries that require less face-to-face contact. Those with higher qualifications were also more likely to hybrid work. Pictured top is the percentage of working adults by working arrangement in Britain between January 2021 to October this year.

Those working from home saved an average of 56 minutes that day from not commuting, and findings suggest that some of that time was spent on rest, exercise, sports and well-being. 

People who worked from home on a given day spent an average of 24 minutes more on ‘sleep and rest’ and 15 minutes more on ‘exercise, sports and well-being’ on the respective day compared with those who worked away from home. Indeed, 'Improved staff well-being' has continued to be one of the most frequently reported business reasons for using or intending to use increased hybrid and homeworking, according to the ONS's Business Insights and Conditions Survey.
 
Of people surveyed between April 10 and 30 June 2024, 29% of workers aged 30 years and older followed a hybrid working pattern, compared with 19% for those aged 16 to 29 years old. Working parents were more likely to hybrid work (35%) compared with working non-parents (24%). And male working parents were more likely to hybrid work than female working parents (41% compared with 30% respectively).
 
Close to half (45%) of those in more senior occupations e.g. managers, directors and senior officials followed a hybrid working model, compared with 27% of all workers. Workers with a degree or equivalent qualification were 10 times more likely to hybrid work than those with no qualifications (42% compared with 4% respectively).

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