Frank Hopkinson

bookshelves: published-2012, amusing, nonfiction, net-galley, autumn-2013, gardening, testost-tosh
Read on November 18, 2013

Netgalley: Anova Books/Portico

From the description: The Joy of Sheds is a shed miscellany that chronicles man’s need for a small space on his own. It’s a humorous look at every aspect of the shed experience, mixed with shed facts and some practical information too.

The strapline: Because a Man's Place isn't in the Home. Not being of the male persuation I feel that the author may be excluding me from this read, however I am incredibly linked to my sheds because I am the gardener. Yes, girlies can do that all on their own, Mr Hopkinson.

So now I have registered my miffed-off gender argument I can go right ahead and enjoy this book and what I am looking for is inspiration to help me decide whether that dangerous beastie, the garden hose, belongs in a cage, and whether my electric chain saw should be hung on a hook or laid flat. Oh, and while we are at it, please amuse me with some anecdotes and trivia. Here we go, diving in...

Opening: Supermodel Linda Evangelista once said, "I can do anything you want me to do...as long as I don't have to speak." Leaving aside the fact that this is most men's idea of a fantastic relationship, it's also a quote apllicable to sheds. The shed version would be more like "I can be anything you want me to be."

Monty Python - Arthur 'Two Sheds' Jackson

Monet's Boat Shed.

Found myself laughing at the onscreen shed-times (Shaun of the Dead: onscreen shed time: 4 mins) and can see that this will appeal as a stocking-filler for use in the Dunny...

However, Nick Drake was always palatable:

Well there was a man who lived in a shed
Spent most of his days out of his head
For his shed was rotten let in the rain
Said it was enough to drive any man insane
When it rained
He felt so bad
When it snowed he felt just simply sad.… (mehr)

In 1968 Monty Python’s Flying Circus presented a sketch in which a man, a very serious looking man, a composer, was interviewed on a very serious looking highbrow arts show. He was introduced as Arthur “Two Sheds” Jackson, and rather than talk about his music, the interviewer spent the entire time on his nickname “Two Sheds”, eventually calling him by that alone. Now, just 45 years later, Fred Hopkinson comes out with The Joy of Sheds, an entire book on shed culture.

Finally.

Shedding its confining skin, the Joys of Sheds bursts forth with every conceivable use and application of sheds, around the world and throughout history. And all in under a hundred pages.

The book sheds light on an underappreciated subset of humanity, mostly male, mostly western, who like to hide out in sheds, mostly of their own design and/or construction. 28% of shed owners claim they are a refuge from the world. They have turned them into bars, museums, bowling alleys and worse. Clearly, some of them have gone well beyond the backyard shed where the lawnmower shares space with rusted tools and spiders. A lot of writers, composers and other creatives find they do their best work in their sheds, from Grieg to Hirst. They are all noted here.

Hopkinson divides sheds up in relevance:
Shed History
Hidden in a Shed
Sheds in Music
Created in a Shed
Shed Art
Sheds in the News
Shed Lit
Shed Facts
Sheds on TV
Sheds at the Movies
Specialty Sheds
Shed Imposters
and Shed Plans

Each brief chapter is a small collection of anecdotes on the topic, showing, I suppose that sheds can be relevant to anyone. About the only thing missing is a chapter on Shed Widows, though there are stories of women with sheds of their own. And no mention of Shediac (Canada), which I thought was the Cadillac of sheds when I was a child, inspired by the likes of Pontiac (Michigan).

The most disappointing shed story belongs to a glass bottle collector in England, who turned down 80,000 pounds for his 17,500 bottles lining an ever-expanding shed. But don’t shed a tear; he actually preferred the bottles to the money. Personally, I would have sold it all including the shed, and started over bigger and better, cash in hand.

All in all an unusual journey shedding light onto a subculture that has received little recognition.

David Wineberg… (mehr)