Some bloke called Keith, BMW, National Shed Week and Bletchley Park

A few weeks ago in the my local paper there was an advert for BMW but in the “Sponsored Feature” bit that appears as part of the advert, it goes on about Shed Heaven and says a bloke called Keith “has big plans for next years 4th national shed week” he even had an email address to contact him about Shed Week.

Here are the full words.

Is there anything more resplendent than a newly erected, freshly creosoted shed? In the words of Keith Lobe, selfelected president of the Sorority of Hand Erected Dwellings (SHED), “No.”

Keith has worked tirelessly over the years to shed light, as it were, on the remarkable pastime of building these simple, singlestorey structures in gardens and allotments.

Keith shot to fame in the shed world after famously handing out membership forms from a Malaysian Jelutong wooden slatted shed during the first National Shed Week in July 2007. “It started out as a bit of a hobby,” explains Keith, “but after my wife left me things just escalated beyond belief.”

Keith, who hopes to expand his membership to well over 300 soon, has big plans for next year’s 4th National Shed Week. “I’m thinking along the lines of The Notting Hill Carnival,” revealed Keith, “Only with sheds on wheels instead of floats… and a lot less people.”

Keith is also busy arranging regular pilgrimages to the massive forests in Scandinavia so members can see, in the flesh, where their sheds are born. “It’s extremely moving and great fun too. I know where all the best sights are: the tallest tree, the straightest branch, the knottiest bark and even the most suggestive leaf formation,” says Keith, who will take on the role of official tour guide himself. For further details email Keith:

AS you can see they are trying to align BMW and this bloke Keith with National shed week, I emailed Keith and guess what it’s was not his real name! he was actually someone working for BMW Dealer Marketing 😉

I explained that they were using my Intellectual property (ie National Shed Week) to sell their motor vehicle.

After a few email exchanges, we came to a compromise they would replace the advertising feature words in their advert with ones I gave them (see below) and it will appear in various regional newspapers around the UK (if you saw it let me know), so on the up side- good coverage for the sheds.

I also suggested they should give a charity donation to Bletchley Park which of course is the Charity for Shed Week 2010.

Unfortunately they told me BMW UK don’t give to charity’s apart from Air Ambulance Trust and BEN (the automotive industry charity.), which are great charity’s but it’s a shame as a hi-tech company such as BMW should be supporting Bletchley Park.

Anyway here are the amended words, putting right what this “Keith” said about shed week.

The race is on to win the coveted Shed of the Year competition, which will be held in summer 2010 as part of the fourth National Shed Week.

Organised by the internationally famous readersheds.co.uk, National Shed Week (which runs from July 9) will be the foremost national celebration of one of the cornerstones of British culture. It also celebrates international sheds with buildings from as far afield as the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Italy.

The 21st century shed comes in many shapes and sizes and serves many purposes. There are pub sheds, shacks, studios, and even Tardises – not to mention increasing numbers of garden office sheds catering to the increasing demand for working from home. As a place for a little slice of freedom and a spot to indulge yourself, there’s simply nothing that can touch it.

“Every shed is unique,” says head sheddie Uncle Wilco from readersheds.co.uk. “The traditional shed found on allotments and in back gardens has been a second home to generations of men and women. The previous three Shed of the Year winners have been very diverse, from a Roman temple shed, to an octagonal pub shed and last year’s winner, a cabin on stilts.

The competition also tries to give something back to the shed community. This year the official charity of Shed Week is Bletchley Park, home of the World War 2 code breaking huts.

If you are a sheddie with a great shed and think you can compete with the previous winners, why not share it now at www.readersheds.co.uk

Of course If any PR companies want to use the above words in their “quirky ads” to sell their clients products worth thousands of pounds then please ask me first 😉 but you must give a donation to Bletchley Park!