When the neat roller door to Ross Howarth’s man cave is closed, you’d never know about the haven within that he has created for a group of mates, most of whom are school teachers.
“As soon as you come into this space, you find yourself relaxing, that’s the idea, to be able to relax and not have too much order,” he said.
The man cave is a feast for the eyes, furnished for next-to-nothing.
There are music posters and photographs, fairy lights, a clutch of medals won over several years by Howarth in badminton at the NZ Teachers’ Games, and a small but devout “Arsenal Shrine” in one corner.
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The bar tables were repurposed when the school replaced its laboratory furniture, a friend reupholstered the stools, and Howarth paid $1 for some op-shop carpet.
“There’s nothing in here that is worth more than $5 except the TV, and that is hardly ever on,” he said.
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The back wall features Ross’ music collection and his “Arsenal Shrine” to his favourite footy team.
The back wall is devoted to music – hundreds of CDs and hundreds of records surround the beer fridge.
“A lot of the records go back to the 80 and 90s, REM, Joy Division, Paul Kelly, and the CDs are anything and everything.”
In his other life, Howarth is a radio host on Taranaki’s The Most FM – he hosts a weekly spot with different guests called My Little Pot of Gold, where he talks about their lives, and plays their favourite music.
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Olly Bolger and Howarth share some banter over the quality of the brew.
And the former garage is unofficially a men’s only venue (like the clubhouse at St Andrews Golf Club in Scotland, and until 1998, the Marylebone Cricket Club pavilion at Lords in London).
It’s a running joke with his teaching colleagues at Sacred Heart Girls’ College, he said.
“Of about 80 staff there are only nine guys, this is where most of them come,” he said.
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There’s a lot of man shed tucked into this former garage.
Howarth decided to turn the family’s garage at their New Plymouth home into a man cave in 2016.
“My wife, Tracey, is very accommodating. It is a big thing to dedicate some of your family space,” he said.
Originally, he thought they would share, but she suggested he make it his own.
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A sign welcomes friends.
Howarth brews beer with three of his friends, Mark “Olly” Bolger, Paul “Goose” O’Keefe and Simon Pease (they call themselves the HOGS).
Most of the brewing is done at Simon’s place, but they drink it at “Howie’s on Hine”, which is cosy and full of good-natured banter.
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The Hogs make their own beer labels for their brews.
“It’s a boutique man cave,” said Bolger, a fellow teacher and friend of Howarth since their school days.
A special chair, emblazoned with the nickname Lab Rat, is a poignant reminder of a friend, Lee Sanfelieu, who died on Anzac Day, 2020.
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The chair that belonged to a late friend, who is remembered with a toast each time the mates get together, Howarth said.
“At the time we were having our Friday tipples online, and he was really unwell,” Howarth said.
“His wife, Jane, recorded the zoom session, and he watched it on Saturday afternoon. Probably one of the last things he watched before he died was us recording a toast for him.
“We take turns to sit in the chair, we mix it up. And we always toast him. Jane always gets an invitation, and she usually makes an appearance.”
- Do you have a great man cave (or woman cave) in Taranaki we could write about? Please email catherine.groenestein@stuff.co.nz
