Look and Learn

It's not strictly anything to do with homeworking or sheds, but perhaps it is something that you can enjoy during a coffee break. If you remember reading Look and Learn magazine as a child (or indeed as a grownup), you'll be pleased to know that it is about to be reprinted and you can now subscribe at Look and Learn.

Or as the publishers put it: "Those with subscriptions will receive a welcome pack in early December followed by 24 issues of the new series in 2007, and 24 in 2008. The welcome pack will consist of a facsimile of the first ever issue of Look and Learn from 1962 complete with its beautiful 'Where and When' presentation booklet. The new 24-page fortnightly magazine, which is being printed to have the same look and feel as the original, has been conceived as a miscellany of astonishing range and a showcase for the brilliant illustrators who worked on the magazine during its 20-year history - but, above all, it simply aims
to be the best of the world's best ever children's magazine."

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Homeworking jokes

How many homeworkers does it take to change a lightbulb?

There seeems to be a real dearth of homeworker and shedworker jokes in the world. In fact to be honest, I've never heard a single one. So if you have any - reasonably clean - ones, please do let me know and I'll put them up on the site and also include them in a future issue of The Shed.

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How to personalise the outside of your home office/shed

There’s no better way of personalising your shed - and indeed of working out which direction the wind is coming from - than with a weathervane. Of course you can always buy one off the shelf but consider commissioning a special one from a vane expert such as the industrious folk at the very aptly-titled www.weathervanes.co.uk who have produced everything from witches to the Taj Mahal.

Though touching, there’s something a little impermanent about personalising your shed - or shedlike atmosphere - solely with photos, screensavers and mouse mats of loved ones and family members. Instead, why not invest in something more durable, a stained glass window. For a range of possibilities try Stained Glasswork, a company run from the New Forest National Park by Shelagh Davies, an experienced artist who produces windows and panels using traditional techniques. You can install them as part of double glazed windows, sealing the stained glass window inside the whole unit. And the beauty is that it doesn’t have to be an enormous beast: the window pictured is just 350mm x 500mm.

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Proper coffee for shed and homeworkers

Unless you have an unusually capacious desk, making coffee means a trip to the kitchen. What you need is a desktop coffee maker and I'd recommend Russell Hobbs’ One Cup Satin Coffee Maker which makes, um, one cup of filter coffee at a time. It’s speedy and quite tasty. Although the titchy double skinned stainless steel mug does take a little getting used to, it keeps the coffee nicely warmed.

The kit comes with a permanent filter, has a 160ml water capacity (i.e. one small cup) and a helpful neon indicator to tell you when the machine is on, just in case you hadn’t guessed. It all comes apart easily too so it’s not too fiddly to clean if you absolutely insist on it. Expect to pay around £10 (it’s on sale at Amazon.

Coffee extra.

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