Above, behold The finished model.

The Model

One day, having drunk a particularly satisfying cup of tea I was struck with a sudden urge! I felt compelled by some unseen force to build a model of Fred and his Shed. The ancient power of the allotments flowed through my hands as I, almost unconsciously, fashioned the raw materials into recognisable shapes. Many hours and dozens of cups of tea later, I was able to stand back and behold the finished sculpture. Michelangelo had his David, Rodin had The Thinker and now I had my Fred ( and his Shed ). I was spent, my creative powers lay about me like the discarded weapons of a vanquished army. So I had some more tea.

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On the left is the model in it's early stages. The shed constructed of cardboard lovingly cut into individual planks and scored to resemble wood. Fred himself was fashioned from Das modeling clay, the finer detail was carved into plaster added to the Das. His trade mark pipe is ( rather fittingly) a matchstick and the famous tea mug is a pen top finished with gloss Humrol paint to resemble china. Proped up against the shed is a shovel, this has a cardboard 'blade' and a handle cunningly carved from a twig gleaned from my back garden. The base is carved from a block of polystyrene and coated in plaster which when partially dry was sponged to give a 'grassy' effect. It is my intention to add Monty to this rustic tableau but for the moment Fred will have to stand guard by himself, no doubt keeping lonelyness at bay by dreaming of the day when his prize marrows will be the toast of the show.... "Cheero' Nip"

 

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