15/09/2026
The Repair Café does a lot more than just fix things, it avoids the need to make a replacement which consumes much more resources than the weight of the item and it makes use of the energy, materials and costs that went into producing the item in the first place e.g. mining, smelting, casting, shaping and tooling then distribution, warehousing and sales. So the story is more complex.
To date we have served over 20 residents and repaired items of almost 100kg which translates into 864 kg carbon credits (using the UK national carbon calculator The majority of repairs have been to electrical items, where broken connections or blocked airways have stopped their operations.). This is a significant achievement based on just a handful of volunteers over 4 months and we now have a growing Repair Team including those who can repair clothing, sewing machines, bicycles, typewriters, general Mr Fixits and a licensed electrician – all for free although a small donation is welcomed to cover hall hire. As demand is growing we will soon introduce a booking system. In the longer term we would like to upskill our community for minor repairs so that they can also participate in the Café.
On Thursday 8/10/26 the café will involve type-writer and the sewing machine experts again due to popular demand. The typewriter expert will give a presentation about the “digitally disillusioned” at 11am and look at/repair old typewriters. Apparently Tom Hanks apparently has 300+ old type writers and one of the reasons he uses them almost daily for thank-you notes, memos, and letters is that he “ ….prefers the thoughtful gesture of physical ink over email. “
