There’s a helping hand to get ready for autumn at the Penrith Repair Café this weekend, with free thermal curtain linings on offer.
The public can bring in a pair of curtains, and volunteers will supply the linings and fit them free of charge, while stocks of the material last.
This special service marks the inclusion of the café in this year’s Cumbria Green Build Festival – one of nearly thirty events around the county to help households reduce their carbon footprint.
“Using lined curtains is a very simple way to stop heat escaping through windows, helping people to keep their energy bills down in the colder weather,” said Becca Neal from Penrith Action for Community Transition, one of the Repair Café organisers.
“Given that time is limited at the café, we’d ask people to book in advance for curtain lining by messaging us on the PACT Facebook page or by calling Sally Shenton on 07557 512900.”
The Penrith Repair Café has been running for a year and a half, started by Eden Arts in April 2017 and run by PACT since January 2018.
During that time, dozens of electrical items, electronic equipment, pieces of furniture, garments of clothing and even musical instruments have been brought in for repair, saving them from going to landfill.
One of the people who has benefitted from the café is Carolyn Pickering from Tirril.
“I’ve brought in a stereo system that wouldn’t play CDs any more and an uplighter lamp with a broken switch, and I suppose they would have gone to the tip if it hadn’t been for the Repair Café, but I really don’t like to see goods ending up there,” Carolyn said.
“The problem is that when you ask a repair service, it can often cost more than buying a new one, and I like to reuse things if I possibly can. If something is repairable, then it’s usable. I’d like to see us going back to the spirit of repairing things.”
Andy Chapman, one of the volunteer repairers, said that items don’t tend to be made in a way that makes them easy to repair.
“They’re made for ease of manufacture, rather than ease of repair and maintenance,” he said. “Even just working out how to take the items apart can be the hardest thing – not the repair itself.”
Cecilia and Graham Hewett are also regular volunteers, using their specialist skills to repair woollen clothing.
“We show people how to do darning and mending and the most common items would be jumpers and coats,” said Cecilia, who spins her own yarns.
“We get very few socks, so I’d say please don’t be afraid to bring them in, or garments that are a bit shabby. People always seem to be really pleased with the repairs and to learn how to do it. It’s so cheap to buy new clothing that people have forgotten the art of mending.”
As well as cutting down on waste, skill sharing is an important part of the Repair Café.
“The idea is that the person who brings in an item can sit with the volunteer repairer, listening and watching what’s going on, and then they might be able to do a similar repair themselves in the future,” Becca said.
“If there’s anyone who wants to learn repair skills – young people in particular – we’d love to have them at the repair café, where they can work alongside the volunteers and learn from them. It’s often said that repair skills are getting lost, so it would be fantastic if we can help pass them on to the next generation.”
New volunteer repairers are always welcome, too, and Becca would particularly love to have a few extra people with sewing skills and a machine they could bring along.
“Whatever skills you’ve got, people are bringing in all kinds of things to be fixed, so if you’ve got the know-how to fix things, please come along. And even if you haven’t, it’s always good to have a spare pair of hands to greet people, manage the different items coming in, and serve the coffee and cake that the café is well known for!”
The next Repair Café is on Saturday 8 September from 10am to 1pm, at the Eden Arts Old Fire Station, with full details at www.penrithact.org.uk. For details of all the Cumbria Green Build Festival events, visit www.cumbriagreenbuild.org.uk.