December Round-up
Great to see so many volunteers at the cafe, and we missed those of you who couldn’t make it (and we hope that those of you who were ‘poorly’ are ‘on the mend’)
As well as the great ‘Apron and T-shirt Reveal’ (for which thanks go to Elmbridge Community Lottery), the (potential documentary) filming and the festive lunch, we had another busy morning (although we did have a couple of no-shows which permitted some chatting/knowledge exchange!)
There were 28 volunteers and 35 visitors (including two new potential volunteers)
We looked at 38 items:
- 24 repaired;
- 3 partially repaired:
- 3 couldn’t be fixed;
- 6 where advice was given;
- 1 where there is ‘ongoing research’ (the Hanimex projector)
We also returned 6 items from the November Cafe - 4 of which were fixed, and 2 which couldn’t be fixed (see below for details of the latter)
The Right to Repair? Prepare to be shocked 😮….
As you may be aware, over the past year Neil has been quietly working away at a range of different brands of hair straighteners including the well-known GHD’s. During the past month he worked on two sets from the most recent GHD ranges ‘Gold’ and ‘Platinum’ - neither of which he was able to repair. This is what he said about this and what we have also shared with the customers:
“ I've been working on these hair straighteners and doing a lot of research. The older GHD hair straighteners that I've previously worked on were well-engineered with replaceable components and can usually be repaired. It seems that GHD changed their designs a few years ago and introduced the "Gold" and "Platinum" ranges that the most recent repair cafe items are from.
Unfortunately they switched to much cheaper components which are not able to be repaired or replaced. They kept the very high price tag though, so consumers thought they were still getting a premium product, but they were not. Online research shows that even professional repairers can't do anything with them, and most of the online reviews are shocking! So both the recent ones I have are not repairable.”
Neil then put his ‘Citizens Advice Bureau’ hat on to offer our customers information about their consumer rights….. Well done Neil 👍
We are planning to write to (recent Cafe visitor) Monica Harding MP to share this example, and thank her for having signed the ‘Repair and Reuse Declaration https://repairreusedeclaration.uk/# coordinated by the Restart Project. ♻️ 🛠️
Thank you once again to our volunteers for their continued commitment to, and enthusiasm for, the Repair Cafe. We, and our customers, value all of your support, input and good humour.
Wishing you all a peaceful festive season, and a very happy and healthy 2026
And… while we’re on the subject of 2026… our next Cafe will be on Saturday 10th January.
