The Englishman's Castle

In more contemporary times, there seems to be a wider use of the term Englishman's Castle to incorporate The Shed as the common man's Castle. The dictionary describes a shed as an, " outbuilding with a single story; used for shelter or storage". Nowadays when a man says that he is going to his shed, he realy means that he wants to get away from his wife and family and seek some quiet time by himself. When he gets there, he gets a chance to do whatever he wishes without anyone disturbing him. This may involve reading, smoking, having a nap, playing his guitar or whatever music he has and even to have a drink....so he makes the shed into a kind of escape venue and converts it into place where he is comfortable and where he can relax and be happy. So where am I going with this shed concept? The garden shed had it's earliest beginning as a tool shed for garden equipment but as people become more inventive with their free time, we now find all kinds of uses for the humble shed. Men in particular like to have a private space to ruminate and get away from the domestic routine in the house. If a woman wants to get away to a place she can call her own to pursue a hobby such as sewing or craft work, she rarely has the chance to do this as she has so many responsibilities so she tends to incorporate it within family life whilst watching the TV or sitting in the kitchen. But the man has to have his den, office, study, shed and even a bar! Yes, the bar has come into the home as an essential place to drink and be merry. So we find many homes now having a bar at home. As this is an adult pursuit and children are often excluded from drinking alcoholic beverages, the idea to take it out of the house has brought about the birth if the garden pub. The demise of the public house in recent times and the high cost of alcohol and fuel has created a market for home pubs and garden pubs. It is amazing how a past time such as going down the pub has now turned into home drinking, home brewing and drinks at home. Going out has become expensive and people tend to stay at home, invite friends round and drink away without having to worry about drink driving penalties. Brilliant! However, most houses are not big enough to have a separate bar so the idea of extending outside the house brought about the pub in the garden, in other words the bar became a shed and the pub shed was born! Check this link out and see what I mean! http://www.readersheds.co.uk/share.cfm?shedtype=Pub%20Shed