Covid has disrupted the Repair Café’s calendar of events for 2020 at least, and 2021 remains uncertain. However, things inevitably break or stop working (especially as we all spend more time at home) and owners still care about trying to get them fixed.
Thankfully, there is a team of Repair Café volunteers who want to try to fix them for you from their own homes, complying with regulations and guidelines.
To be clear, this means it’s not possible, at least for the foreseeable future, to have your broken items worked on while you wait at an ‘actual’ Repair Café (formerly held at Rockspring and Mascall Centre locations in Ludlow). Instead the team of volunteers now repair items at their own homes. You just have to drop off whatever needs fixing. There is a collect and return service available if owners are unable to deliver them.
Electrical items can be repaired
The volunteers are also accepting electrical items for repair. The Furniture Scheme in Ludlow provided a PAT testing machine on loan, and a member of the Repair Café team is a qualified PAT tester. However, be patient as getting an electrical item fixed does depend on whether there is a repairer willing to take a look.
The team is much smaller now, but the range of repairing skills covers both basics and specialisms such as: clocks, radios, sewing machines and bikes.
Obviously, the repair process takes longer because every item is quarantined for 72 hours and owners can’t wait while the repair is carried out. And there is, of course, some form-filling to be done BUT don’t fear the Repair Café lives on!
To find out more or to join the team contact Diane Lyle on 07786 620 624 or email or via Facebook.