For those of you familiar with the BBC programme The Repair Shop that dates back to 2017 , very feel good and frequently emotional, with experts in their field restoring family heirlooms, furniture, music boxes, instruments, you name it, to near pristine condition , you might not be aware of the Repair Café charitable movement that predates the TV programme by around 8 years.
I do like the Dutch, comes from a six- month posting in Amsterdam, when I was just a lad, so far back it was almost before cheese was invented. The founder of the Repair Café, Martine Postma from Amsterdam, developed the Repair Café idea in 2009, that went international in 2011 and has since become a global charitable movement.
There is a slight clue in both the TV programme and the Repair Cafe name as to what goes on in both, so let me give you an idea of the difference. For Repair Shop TV, think highly technical painting repair, fixing a 50-year-old doll's house with miniscule furniture inside, most having a great story behind them with only 3 or 4 repairs per programme. For Repair Café, think Henry Hoover, or family member Hetty, which I personally viewed being brought back to life, shears sharpened, clothing mended and maybe 40 or 50 repairs per café depending on location, made to various items that may otherwise have ended up in landfill.
This website is the starting point for those looking to set up a Repair Café [1], find one to get something repaired, make a donation, or just to drop in to have a coffee, homemade cake, and a chat. I did exactly that in the two I dropped in on.
I chatted to the Revd Michael Gentry, Associate Rector of the Benefice of Chelsfield, who is in charge of the Repair Café project there. Fortuitously less than half a mile from where I live, based in a road with the challenging name for any faith looking to establish a place of worship - Worlds End Lane. To date his repair team have prevented about 500 items from going to landfill and breaks even on costs.
I also met Father Stephen, who was one day away from retiring at the time, age 70, at St Francis of Assisi, Petts Wood, who was also a repairer.
Incidentally, Petts Wood has a massive claim to fame felt across the globe as recently as one month ago, when the clocks went back an hour. Look up William Willett, a Petts Wood resident over 100 years ago who is responsible for Daylight Saving time. Puts Orpington in the shade where I live, known mainly for giving its name to a breed of chicken.
The numbers of Repair Cafes are constantly increasing, so this is just a snapshot taken on September 25th. However, during my visit to the two above, another visitor was there prior to opening another Café about 5 miles away and wanted to see one in action and talk to the organisers. There is no element of competition between them, everyone there is on the same side, assistance is freely given, and repairers are frequently happy to give their time to more than one RC, depending on the skillsets that are in demand.
Repair Café numbers.
Globally - 3,760
UK - 450
Near me - 2, soon to be 3.
How does it work?
Repair Café [2] and the dates they pop up on.
Chris Westcott
Director New Business