THE REPAIR CAFÉ

Hungerford Repair Café

 Meet Michele. Michele is 59 years old and until recently was unable to sit up by herself. Michele’s owner Sarah Fradgley, who was given the doll when brand new, went to Hungerford Repair Café last Saturday to see if the volunteers there could help to put some life back into her. The ladies with the needles rose to the challenge, and as a result Michele can now sit up straight and has been washed and dressed in clean Spring clothes. Sarah is delighted.

You might think this story is similar to those aired on the popular TV series Repair Shop. Hungerford Repair Café organiser Mike Gilbert says there is an important distinction. Mike says: “We want to help people repair their own things”. Mike goes on to say: “Our volunteers are experts in many different fields and are happy to share their knowledge and tools to get the job done. We enjoy fixing your things, but we are delighted if we can help you fix something yourself”.

 So, whether it is a 58-year old doll, or a 2-year old kettle, the volunteers at Hungerford Repair café will have a go. Last Saturday, they welcomed 45 visitors to the Croft Hall in Hungerford. They managed to fix 68% of the items brought in and were able to suggest what parts to buy so that they could fix a further 19% on a subsequent visit. This represents about 78 Kg of “stuff” that might otherwise have been recycled or sent to landfill.

Returning to Michele, Repair Café volunteers Hazel and Maddy helped to give Michele some backbone. Hazel loves fixing things so much that she and some colleagues have re-opened the Newbury and Thatcham Repair Café. The first event in Thatcham will be at the Frank Hutchings Community Hall on Sunday 24 March from 10am to 12.30pm. 

Hungerford Repair Café will open its doors again on May 25^thin the Croft Hall in Hungerford.