After running a repair café in South Woodford for the past two years, Lydia Fraser-Ward is now pleased to help Wanstead residents give their broken items a new lease of life at the inaugural Wanstead Repair Café
Ever lingered over your rubbish bin with a pair of your old favourite jeans, or perhaps a broken toy, and thought twice before throwing them away, wishing they could be revived? Most of us hate to see things we love go to landfill, especially when there’s a chance they can be salvaged and given a new lease of life.
That’s exactly why, for the past two years, I’ve been running a quarterly Repair Café at Woodford Memorial Hall, in partnership with St Mary’s Church Woodford and the South Woodford Society. It’s been incredible to see the local community come together, bringing clothes, electrical items, bikes and even bric-a-brac to be repaired for free.
The South Woodford Repair Café has proven incredibly popular, with residents queuing up to bring an array of gadgets and much-loved household items to be expertly mended. The event provides free refreshments whilst you wait, as well as a number of activities, including creative workshops, information stalls, a seed swap and even a toy swap where people can pick up preloved children’s items for free.
The success of the South Woodford Repair Café has inspired me to expand the idea, and this October, I’m thrilled to be launching a pilot Repair Café in Wanstead. With support from Christ Church, Wanstead Climate Action, the London Borough of Redbridge and the East London Waste Authority, the Wanstead Repair Café will offer electrical, sewing and bike repairs – all completely free. It’ll be held in Christ Church hall on Sunday 13 October from 2pm to 5pm, and I encourage local residents to pop by with any items that need fixing.
To ensure we can help as many people as possible, each family can bring up to two sewing repairs and one electrical repair, but there’s no need to book – just drop in and give it a try!
Of course, none of this would be possible without the incredible volunteers who give their time and expertise. If you have specialist skills in sewing or repair, or if you’d just like to help out with the event in general, I’d love to hear from you!
We’re also offering free table space for local community groups and charities to promote their work, so if your organisation would like to be involved, please reach out. Together, we can keep our beloved items out of landfill and breathe new life into our community.
The Wanstead Repair Café will take place at Christ Church hall from 2pm to 5pm on 13 October. For more information, email lydia.fraser-ward@hotmail.co.uk
