Repair Cafe makes a welcome return to New Mills after lockdown

The idea behind the repair cafe is that instead of throwing things away which may be slightly damaged or broken. people bring them to repair cafes to get them fixed.

On Saturday July, 31 the group had its first repair cafe in months because of the pandemic.

Founder and Transition New Mills member Phil Frodsham said: “It was nice to get the ball rolling and take the first steps of getting back to normality.

“We welcomed a few new repairers who really struggled during the lockdown as they lived alone and didn’t see anyone so it was nice for them to get out and be part of our community.”

Some of the items repaired included an electric scooter, clocks and a back massager.

Phil said: “It is the smaller things people would throw away if they were broken so it was great to see them being given a new lease of life.”The cafe welcomed 20 people through the doors at the New Mills Volunteer Centre which was a reduced number than previous sessions but Phil said he wanted to ensure people felt safe returning.

"We are nothing without the repairers, they are the people with all the skills and the people who give their time so we want to make sure they and the people having items mended all felt comfortable with the set up.”The cafe will be at the New Mills One World Festival later in the summer and hopes to return to having regular repair sessions too.

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