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How did it go?
The heat was on for volunteers at the latest Amersham Repair Café (Saturday 4 July) to help keep the town’s residents cool. Fans of all descriptions – floor fans, desk fans, handheld fans – were brought in, worse for wear as a result of prolonged usage during the June heatwave.
Some devices had packed up entirely, others refused to swivel. One fan would only point to the ceiling. All were fixed by the volunteer repairers, who stuck broken plastic parts and cut out wires frayed internally by the repeated rotating movement. On their way out, a couple of satisfied customers commented on what fans they were of the Repair Café for extending the lives of their devices and saving them from going into landfill.
The summer theme continued as volunteer repairer Judi tackled two pairs of broken sandals. Sue Webb, a repeat customer, had caught one on a raised paving stone, resulting in the leather thong detaching from the sole. Gluing guru Judi soon had that stuck and clamped to set. The straps on the other pair were wearing perilously thin. Judi had the solution for those too, reinforcing the straps with sticky transparent vinyl, before punching new holes with the help of a tiny precision stiletto tool.
As is often the case, not everything went to plan. Sue Wakeford from Chalfont St Giles brought in a cassette and DVD player, which she wanted to get fixed not for herself but for a complete stranger she’d come across on Freegle, a reuse app for people to offer and receive unwanted items for free in their local communities. Someone called Lloyd had posted the following: “I’m looking for anything I can play a tape on .. as my daughter made me an old school mix tape and have nothing to play it on”. No longer having any use for the cassette player, Sue hoped to get it repaired to offer to Lloyd.
Volunteer repairer Paul took it apart and got it operating smoothly again. Alas, on returning home and testing it, Sue reported back that it had malfunctioned again, spewing out several feet of unwound tape. She’s to bring it in to the next Amersham Repair Café, at St Michael’s on Sycamore Road, 10am to 1pm on Saturday 5 September. The service is free (two items per person), with complimentary cuppa and cake while you wait. Any donations go towards the costs of running the cafe, and supporting the work of Sustainable Amersham.
