The National Big Fix

THE NATIONAL “BIG FIX” EVENT

Come and be part of the Repair Revolution

Just imagine the potential media impact if a majority of Repair Cafes in the UK were all to hold an event on the same day!  Well, it’s actually happening on Saturday, 15th February when (as of the time of writing) around 60 of Repair Cafes all over the country (from Blackdown Hills to Belfast, Dover to Glasgow) are taking part in The National “Big Fix”.  The event is the inspiration of Catherine Causley, Waste and Recycling Officer at Devon County Council who, following the success of her Devon-wide “Big Fix” in February 2019 (in which Blackdown Hills volunteers played a key part in achieving a record 268 repairs in one day), decided to extend the invitation across the country.  This is likely to be the first, and biggest, event of its kind where a County Council takes the lead on a national scale.

We at the Blackdown Hills Repair Café are super excited to be taking part – as is our “sister” Repair Café in Wellington – and are planning a day-long event, from 10am – 4pm, at Hemyock Parish Hall.  The BHRC has, as its many stalwart supporters already know, consistently been hitting a 73% repair rate over its two-year history and we hope to exceed this in February!

What has all this to do with our current climate/ecological challenges you might ask? The most obvious answer is drawing attention to the amount of stuff that, often with a simple repair, can be saved from landfill, but it is also about community grass roots action, passing on much needed skills, involving members of the community who may be feeling isolated, and doing something that is not only fun but also brings a great sense of satisfaction.

However, this event is also a “Big Ask”!  Not only do we need you to start rummaging in your garages, lofts and spare rooms for all those broken items you just can’t bring yourself to throw away and bring them in for our volunteer repairers to work their magic on, but also, if you have any repair skills at all – from the most basic to the more specialised – we’d love to hear from you.  We currently have a wonderful team of around 40 repair volunteers but it’s a lot to ask them to “carry” the whole day.  One of the most important jobs is on recep-tion so if you are a “people person” please do get in touch.  This is your chance to join in the Repair Revolution and be part of a ground breaking day.

Oh, I nearly forgot – our wonderful refreshments team will be serving teas, coffees and homemade cakes throughout the day with bacon sandwiches in the morning, and delicious soup and a roll at lunchtime!

For more information and to volunteer your help, please email Stephan Lehner at blackdownhillsrc@gmail.com or phone 07715 460783.  See you there!

And finally, this is a final call for applications – due in by Friday, 7th February – for up to £250 to help get a local community sustainability project off the ground.  All details are on our website at http://www.blackdownhillstransition.net .