PAUL ‘ZAPPO’ BATES

RESENE SHED OF THE YEAR

Paul Bates had a bit of extra money saved for an overseas trip – but with the borders shut he decided to spend it on a small shed that would fit in his front garden.

Previously, his gardening gear had been stored in an old potting shed at the back of the Greytown property he shares with partner Darryl Oldfield, but they planned to demolish that old shed and redevelop the area.

”So I looked around but there was nothing the right size,” Paul says. ”But then I thought ‘what about a Tardis?‘”

He jumped online and downloaded the plans to build an exact replica of the classic time machine in which Doctor Who and companions transport themselves through time and space in the iconic British television series. He showed them to a local semi-retired builder, who agreed to put together a shed-slash-spacecraft for him.

“He built it, I undercoated, primed and painted it and then I picked up a solar light for the top from Mitre 10.”

Paul is a professional magician (performing as Zappo the Magician), so asked the printers who do his branding to make the signage on the outside. ”I found all that on the internet too.”

And just like the original Tardis, Paul’s shed is surprisingly roomy on the inside.

“It‘s a little bit bigger than a standard phone box,” he says. “But it’s all I need really. Inside I have racks to hang my tools and lots of hooks from the top so I can dry seeds. There’s room for my garden cart inside too.

”And I wanted something compact.

I’ll be honest, I am a little bit untidy and when you have a bigger shed you tend to just throw everything in!”

The Tardis can be seen from the road, he says, and it attracts a fair bit of attention. ”We get a lot of people asking if they can have a photograph.” But more importantly, it lifts his own spirits every time he steps out his front door.

”Every time I see it, it makes me happy. And I think anything that makes you happy is a very good thing.”