the shed

Saturday’s gig was a private party in a garden shed.  And when I say shed, there’s more than just the odd lawnmower and garden tools.  At one end there's a stage; at the other there’s a bar and in between, seating for about 50.

The owner is an ebullient character - full of jokes and hugs and “you’re now my friend” to people on first meeting.  Like me.

He is also an astonishing visionary - besides his music shed (when most of us might make do with an iPod or CD player) he runs a recycling charity on an industrial scale. This is not your high street charity shop.  There’s a factory on one side of the road and a department store selling the recycled goods on the other.

Nothing that comes in to his factory is thrown away.  If he gets a couple of non-working TV sets for example, they’re cannibalised to make a working model.  The rest are made into other things, even art works.  The people doing the making are those who need help finding work.  So his charity works on a number of levels. 

The shed is heated by a wood burning stove and what with the smokers in the audience, it’s all a bit fuggy.  And weird - it’s about 3m wide and about 15m long.  It’s like playing in a bus.  A crowded bus.

But they love it.  The owner is hosting a garden music festival next summer and asks if we’ll come back and play.  Yes - if we can play outside.

We get home about midnight and I’m a bit hyper - the others have gone to bed first for a change.  I notice that the internet is still on so I try a quick blip

It’s my 600th.  Yay.  Thanks to all you people out there in Blipworld.  You make it special.