It’s shear luxury for Dave the chillaxing shepherd
Ex-PM forks out £25,000 for designer garden shed
ANYONE wondering where David Cameron has been hiding of late need look no further than his garden shed.
Not any old shed, though, but a luxury £25,000 ‘shepherd’s hut’ perfect for outdoor chillaxing – the word the former Prime Minister uses to describe his downtime.
With sheep’s-wool insulation and mod cons including dimmer lights and classic Bakelite switches, the hand-crafted outbuilding – in tasteful Farrow & Ball shades Clunch, Old White and Mouse’s Back – has pride of place in the back garden of Mr Cameron’s Cotswolds home.
For the discerning shepherd, they are apparently the must-have country accessory. And judging by Mr Cameron’s comments on the maker’s blog, he might well use his to write his memoirs. He said: ‘There’s been a bit of a fight already – my children want to use it as a wendy house. I want to use it as a book-writing room and my son wants it as an alternative bedroom.’
On the huts’ growing popularity, Mr Cameron added: ‘They are sprouting up everywhere – but I think this one is particularly lovely. It’s a very nice colour which goes with the Cotswolds stone and we love it.’
It was, he said, his wife’s idea. ‘When Samantha said we should look for one, I said I’d sort it out.’
Paul Bennett, of Red Sky Shepherds’ Huts, said he’ll never forget the call from the ex-PM.
His company blog says: ‘Both men [Mr Cameron and Mr Bennett] were connected through one of life’s charming twists of fate.
‘The hut that Mr Cameron was about to buy was only made possible by his decision some years earlier, while in power, to change the rules on pensions. He allowed people to cash their pension in at 55 and use the money to do things like Paul did – start a shepherd hut business!’
Mr Cameron added: ‘I basically googled shepherd huts, found Paul’s company and I liked the look of the website… and then Paul came along and told me how he set up the business. I was delighted by the story.’
One attraction of a shepherd’s hut, explained Paul, is that they don’t require planning permission.
‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Mr Cameron. ‘And you can see why because they’re jolly nice looking.’