Repair Shop’s Will Kirk helps celebrate
Farnham Repair Cafe’s 100th session

Will Kirk, from BBC's Repair Shop, helped celebrate the 100th session of the Farnham Repair Cafe (FRC), a collaborative initiative between FRC, the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham Town Council, and The Spire Church.

16 Oct 2024

Celebrating alongside Will and the cafe’s founder, Martin Charter who is the Director of UCA’s Centre for Sustainable Design, were Mark Ellul COO of UCA, Farnham and Bordon MP Gregory Stafford, the Mayor of Waverley John Ward, and George Murray the Deputy Mayor of Farnham, as well as regular repair cafe volunteers and visitors.

Greg Stafford said: “There’s great community spirit… and it’s massively environmentally friendly as we’re trying our best to repair not replace.

“In these times when people are tightening their belts and there are problems with cost of living, it’s great to come somewhere like this where you can get things fixed for free rather than pay for brand new – hat’s off to Martin, he’s done an amazing job.”

50 items were brought in for repair, which included lamps, radios, clocks, chairs, jeans, computers, teddy bears, and guitars. Most of the items were successfully fixed, with others taken home for further repairs by volunteers.

Cllr Murray said: “It’s all run by volunteers who have expertise so, if there’s a chance something can be repaired, then this is the perfect place for it.”

Volunteers at the 100th session ranged from IT specialists and ex-IBM and NHS employees to mechanics and horologists, with the youngest repairer just seventeen years old. Ben attends the local More House School and is hoping to turn his hobby for repair into a career.

“The most surprising thing I’ve seen here is the clothing. When you think of a repair cafe you think of electronics, you don’t think of clothing very much. They do a magnificent job of repairing or making things look presentable again, which has surprised me the most,” added Cllr Ward.

Repair cafes across the UK* have a success rate of nearly 70% and mitigate an average of -24 kgCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions per completed repair, with bicycles usually the most common item.

The next Farnham Repair Cafe will be held on Saturday 9 November at the Spire Church. To find out more visit the FRC website.

To find a repair cafe in your local area, visit the Repair Cafe website, which includes a Cafe in both Epsom and Canterbury.

*Taken from the Summary findings of research into UK Repair Cafe’s impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.