I stumbled across a piece on the Telegraph website about a Shed of the Year competition, which led to a fun few minutes looking through the pictures. Now I am starting to look at sheds in a whole new light!
It seems the annual Shed of the Year competition to find the UK’s most weird and wonderful shed is underway. A gallery on the Telegraph website shows some of the entries: see link below, but there are others. If you want to enter your shed go to www.readersheds.co.uk before 3rd May. There are more great pictures here to look at: the 2012 winning shed is a particular favourite.
My husband has dreams for a larger shed in our garden and talks of a games room. As our daughters are both in their late teens it would seem the shed dream is his. I don’t think he’s the only man longing for a shed to escape to! When we started discussing the shed competition here in the office it seems sheds are definitely, on the whole, men’s territory.
A little further research led me to a project run by Age UK Cheshire called Men in Sheds. The Men in Sheds’ website proclaims: “Here at Age UK Cheshire, we believe that every man needs a shed. ‘A shed is to a man what a handbag is to a woman’.” I would argue it’s slightly larger, but given the prices of some designer handbags could actually be cheaper, and also celebrities seem to be carrying some bags the size of sheds nowadays (can’t be good for them). Also, given the fact that a woman rarely stops at one handbag, very probably the shed is the cheaper option – and will very probably last longer.
Men in Sheds is a project that was started by Age UK Cheshire in 2008 “for older men who feel isolated or are experiencing major life changes”.
Since that time the project has grown significantly and has been awarded a £500,000 National Lottery grant and has had national press coverage on the BBC’s The One Show and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
The project’s goal is to reach men over 55.
The website says: “We aim to encourage a shed-like environment with a focus on socialising, sharing skills and learning new ones and of course, all of our activities are accompanied with lots of tea and biscuits!”
It sounds like a great project and is to be applauded. Having seen the pictures in the Shed of the Year competition I am definitely swaying more towards the shed than the handbag. Perhaps I can have some input into our new shed. I now have lots of ideas. Not sure my husband will agree or like them though! That’s why he wants a shed of his own in the first place me thinks.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/cheshire/our-services/every-man-needs-a-shed/