Banned to the Shed?
The Meagre Origin of the Shed Session.
Not wishing to be the archetypal male chauvinist and indulge too much in the divergent characteristics of men and “the better sex” achtttt…. …..but this business with sheds has to be exposed and examined for its psychological significance. Why is it that our other halves find it within them, with all the apparently sincere generosity of a Christmas gift offering, to suggest that taking up residence in a garden shed might be something we men might consider? I mean, for crying out loud, what’s wrong with the kitchen, the dinning room or even, that bastion of male-hood, the bathroom throne!? Could it just be rumour that one local optician must fulfil his musical integrity within the potting shed? Was Paul really the willing slave in the construction of his new “summer house”?
Now, I wish it had been my imagination, but my skepticism toward my compatriots came to a crashing halt when, six weeks shy of my wedding day, that I might purchase a shed to practise fiddling in!! Even Bobby Casey, the Clare fiddler, was banned to the shed! Well actually, his shed was a cow-house, and it wasn’t his cow-house either, it was Junior Crehan’s. I mean that’s gotta be worse, getting banned to the shed by someone else’s wife?!! At least Bobby and Junior got something out of being confined to the shed though. On, yet another excursion to the shed Bobby and Junior took with them the boys toy for 1959, a Grundig reel-to-reel tape recorder. On this baby they recorded 14 tracks of superb music, which was later cleaned up by Harry Bradhaw and forms the bulk of the material for the excellent album “Casey in the Cowhouse”. But, I digress…..
While this disposition of Casey was turned to asset, it seems that the people of this land have found much celebration to be had in the shed. Sheddism, as it is called, is the weakness turned to strength:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Men-Sheds-Gordon-Thorburn/dp/1843303299
Indeed, Dr Earle, Gerontologist, tells us:
For men, particularly those with the inability to remember tunes, "a private place to potter at their own pace could be a lifeline to positive ageing,” he said. “Research has found most men have a personal quest to be creative and resourceful in their sheds for as long as possible. The shed is a therapeutic centre because it gives men a sense of purpose. It’s a centre of identity because it links men with their past, present and future."
Right from the horses hoof, who’s to argue with that then? Well…. ….Paul has taken this ageing gracefully to the next level. He, ancient as he is, has instigated the “Shed Session”….. …..a not unwelcome invite for an evening’s traditional musical self entertainment….. ….in his garden shed. Not only did he rebuild the above wreck into a fine pine establishment specially, but he’s even allowed visiting girls in!! The shed session has met twice, and the tight confines of its adequate meterage and wooden acoustic make for the best of tunes, despite the players. At last count, there was Andy (Banjo), Helen (fiddle), Ute (repentant groupie), Paul (long suffering DAD), Daniel (filmcrew), Mairead (fiddle) and me (fiddle). Maybe see you there one day, if you’ve accepted your lot……..
See clips of the Shed Sessions in the music page
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