Justin Kirby, of Worcester Green Party, extols the virtues of remote repairs

THE Worcester Repair Cafe used to be held every month on a Saturday on Stanley Road.

A variety of gifted and dedicated volunteers specialising in the repairs of furniture, electricals, computers, clothing and anything else was there on the day to repair whichever items you could bring in.

It was free of charge, though teas, coffee and cakes were on sale, so you could relax, read a magazine, do some knitting or chat to a neighbour over cakes.

The reason behind for doing the repair cafe is that many of the things we have that get torn, broken, frayed end up in land-fill, which is a limited resource.

We then have to go and buy a new one, which costs money and material, again a limited resource.

Often 99 per cent of said gadget, or coat is fine; there is only one part broken and what you need are some volunteers with tools and some skills.

Another side of the event is that volunteers meet each other and discuss tips and techniques, so skills are honed and passed on.

People getting stuff fixed are not necessarily inert bystanders. Being the owners they have some insider knowledge that might be vital to repair, and they can learn how to fix things themselves.

Unfortunately with coronavirus such events don’t really work.

Instead the whole repair cafe has gone online – as the Worcester Remote Repair Service. You log your item, description and a picture, someone arranges to fix it, and you drop it off at their house.

Under these conditions it takes longer and the socialising isn’t there, though this can be more convenient for those who can’t spare a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon because of other commitments.

Last month they repaired 42 items!

So if you have anything needing repair, please consider the Worcester Remote Repair service.