First session of new Glendale Repair Cafe arranged in Wooler

Glendale Connect, together in partnership with Glendale Gateway Trust and Wooler URC, has organised its first event at the Glendale Hall on Saturday, October 7.

Volunteer repair experts will be available between 10am and 2pm to help make repairs free of charge. Tools and materials will also be on hand.

People visiting the Repair Café are encouraged to bring along their broken items from home.

The aim is to help reduce mountains of waste.

Fliss Barker, Church Related Community Minister at Wooler URC, explained: “We throw away piles of stuff in the UK. Even things which practically have nothing wrong with them, and which could easily be used again after a simple repair.

"Unfortunately, many people have forgotten that they can have things repaired. Glendale Repair Café wants to change all that.”

Glendale Repair Café also aims to put neighbours in touch with each other in a new way. And to discover that a lot of know-how and practical skills can be found close to home.

Fliss said: “If you repair a bike, a CD player or a pair of trousers together with a previously unfamiliar neighbour, you look at that person in a different light the next time you run into them on the street. Friendships are made and jointly making repairs together can lead to all sorts of different contacts in the community.”

Karen Froggatt, CEO at Glendale Gateway Trust also points out that repairs can save money and resources and can help minimise CO2 emissions.

“But above all, Glendale Repair Café just wants to show how much fun repairing things can be, and how easy it often is,” she said.

The Repair Café concept arose in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 2009, and was formulated by Martine Postma, at the time a journalist/publicist. In 2010, she started the Repair Café International Foundation. This foundation provides professional support to local groups around the world wishing to start their own Repair Café, including Wooler.

The Glendale Repair Café in Wooler currently operates a booking system for all repairs and the deadline for bookings is September 23. They are also looking for new fixers and helpers.

For more information, please contact Jane Pannell, Glendale Connect on [email protected]