MORE than 40 people attended Carhampton’s most recent Repair Café in the village hall, where 30-plus items were successfully mended or sharpened.

A Repair Café is exactly as it sounds… people take broken items which are repaired or sharpened by volunteer repairers.

And while they wait for repairs to be done, they can buy refreshments in the café.

Donations can be given for the repairs, which go towards the cost of insurance and the hire of the hall.

It was the village’s second Repair Café and was hosted by Carhampton Climate group.

A spokesperson for the organisers, who were pleased with the result, said: “It shows there is a real demand for Repair Cafes and that people want to have things repaired if they can.”

The event started at 10 am and was buzzing with a non-stop flow of people looking for repairs or items to be sharpened.

One first-time attendee said: “This event is so much more than just something that happens on one day.

“It has made me think about what I can repair myself at home, and I am going to go home and do just that now.”

Another attendee, Mary, said: “It is great, There should be a Repair Café in every village.”

Tasks which were asked of the repairers included mending an electric blanket, bicycle tyre punctures, sharpening shears and secateurs, mending doll house furniture, fixing a broken bowl, and sewing a hole in a jumper.

The electrical items were PAT tested before they left the premises by the Repair Café’s own tester.

Repairers were all current or retired professionals or enthusiastic and highly-skilled amateurs, who love a challenge and solving problems.

The next Carhampton Repair Café will be in six months’ time on May 4. 

Porlock will also host a Repair Café on Dec 16.