PEOPLE are being urged to bring their broken possessions to a special Blackdown Hills Transition Repair Café being held at Hemyock Village Hall on Saturday, February 15, between the hours of 10am 4pm, as part of a National event being held right across the UK.  

The Big Fix 2020 will see up to 109 repair cafes across the UK being held simultaneously to make the ‘biggest Repair Café ever held.’

The goal is to fix as many broken, worn and once loved possessions in a single morning.

The national event is being coordinated by Devon County Council and follows the success of The Big Fix in Exeter last year when volunteers broke the record for the number of items repaired at a single repair café.

 Repair Cafes are community events where skilled volunteer fixers donate their time once a month to help members of their local community and fix broken household objects.

 More people than ever are choosing repair and reuse over discard and buy more, and everything from clothing, electrical items to furniture and toys can be repaired for a small donation.

These are often items which people may not be able to afford to get fixed or not sure how to do it themselves and are brought back to life and saved from the bin.

Repair Cafes also have a second, equally valuable role as meeting places where anybody can sit down and have a chat over a cup of tea and slice of cake.

So far, well over half of Britain’s 109 repair cafes have agreed to take part.

Jenny Ash, chair of Blackdown Hills Transition, said: “Climate concerns are causing more people to look at the way they live and ask what can I do to help the environment?

 “One thing you can do is to attend the largest Repair Café ever held.

“Repair Cafes are wonderful places – they teach people to see their possessions in a new light and appreciate their value.

“They can also help change people’s mindset which is essential to encourage people’s enthusiasm for a sustainable society.

“But most of all Repair Cafés have a lovely community atmosphere and can show just how much fun repairing things can be. So why don’t you pop down for a visit.