Shed of the year 2024, Sponsored by 
The Villa Arms is known amongst our friends as "the best kept secret in Tywyn"...however word of our social nights is now spreading and the secret it seems is not so much of a secret these days. Many a fun evening is spent at The Villa Arms. The hours fly by and there is much fun and laughter. Often people pop by on nights out when they see the lights on and stop off for a drink or two before continuing their journey - or sometimes stay for the duration! Over time I have added to my Aston Villa memorabilia which is proudly displayed in The Villa Arms and I have also included items which are of personal importance to me; memories of my late parents and past and present pets, and gifts from my two daughters from throughout the years. One of my favourite items is the lamp which I made from a disused Aston Villa beer keg which is proudly displayed on the bar. My fiancée and I are always on the look out for quirky additions when visiting charity and antique shops. - it has become somewhat of a hobby! The tall bar stool was a recent find at our local Red Cross charity shop - a bargain at just £5. The pub table and stools were just £10 for the job lot from a pub closure in a neighbouring village and our local pub gave us a pub chair. We reupholstered the stools and chairs with the union jack material and my future mother-in law made union jack curtains to match out of old cushion covers! The union jack theme running throughout The Villa Arms is a nod to my younger years as a MOD - hence also the MOD memorabilia and references to The Jam and Paul Weller - my all time favourite musician. My fiancee Leigh and I are both musicians and she shares my love of live music - something else we provide when we can and usually spontaneously so the musical references in The Villa Arms are all special too. On a practical "note" - we have glasses for all kinds of drinks and most have been donated. We are most famous for our variety of pub snacks - including the very popular Ploughman's Lunch in a bag and people enjoy playing the miniature games of pool, table football, indoor darts and the fruit machine - which gives out winnings! (There is of course a full size dartboard which is used outdoors in fair weather. ) The Villa Arms is also equipped with games such as bingo, dominoes and cards. There is a record player for us to enjoy the retro music of vinyl and it doubles as a speaker so that we can Bluetooth music to it for party nights. Of course the TV plays an important part, where on match days I pour myself a drink, grab some snacks and watch my beloved Villa.
So what makes The Villa Arms special - it's my favourite place - full of memories and my favourite things. I love match days when our two border collie dogs join me for some pork scratchings and when our two cats pop through the cat flap from their cat cage next door to be the pub cats curled up on the Aston Villa rug! I love it when family visit and we play games for hours, and when friends fill The Villa Arms with laughter and song. New friendships have been formed in there - it brings people together and many memories have been made. People say there is no place like it and I guess that's true. Long may it continue to make memories. PS: the record so far for the number of people in our 8ft x 8ft pub at any one time is 14!
The Villa Arms was built by two local tradesmen father and son team Phil and Dean Wragg of Tywyn Fencing. It is a bespoke shed, built and designed to fit a small space. Phil and Dean provided quality workmanship and sourced materials locally. They were accommodating to all my requests and it was fun to work with them on the project. I have been an Aston Villa fan all my life and it turns out so has the joiner Phil! The Villa Arms was designed and built in Phil and Dean's workshop and then transported to our garden in large pieces to be put together. From start to finish construction was a little under two weeks. Local electrician Phil Pugh worked to kit it out with electrics including an outdoor light for the beer garden and local decorator (and professional electric guitarist) Luke Genders painted the exterior in Claret and Blue! I did the finishing touches, including the painting of the interior, placement of the mood lighting, fitting the bar area with laminate flooring and the lounge area with carpet.
