The first post here should probably tell of the birth of the shed. This shed specifically.
I’d covered other sheds in bits of fabric. About six of them, and put photos on my website. Serendipity brought Dan Whitehouse to my door…. Well, to my email inbox. It is not very easy to sing in a dilapidated allotment shed full of sharp implements, compost and rat poison, so we decided to build a special one… or get one built at least. We decided we needed the front to be entirely doors that could open wide to extend the performance space. I drew pictures and took them round a few shed manufacturers. Most of which, when I mentioned wanting to take it apart and reassemble it, sent me away. One company said “no problem” and got the job. However, on the day of delivery it turned up with two lovely blokes and a box of screws and an electric screwdriver. “Where are my coach bolts and wing nuts?” I asked. “What?” they replied? Panic set in. Eventually, given a very short time frame, these guys agreed, as a “foreigner” once I had decorated the shed, they would come back, dismantle it, then reassemble it at the venue. Which they did. Thank God! When we managed to get it home, we then had to reassemble it with the screws, to keep the inside dry, while we thought of how we could do the bolts. In the end, it was very simple (thanks to my very practical brother, Alec)…. 8 coach bolts, wing nuts and 4 old wooden cotton reels as spacers did the trick. It is a tool-free erection experience!
The gig was fab. That first year it was just Dan. And it went so well we decided we should definitely do it again, and invite more people to perform. (Which they did!)
So that’s the quick back story. There have been adventures in other places too… She (as she has become) looks particularly good placed centre stage with spotlights.
