Plans to open Warwickshire Repair Cafe

A NEW repair café is being set up to give broken items a new lease of life and help combat the ‘bin and buy’ culture that has become prevalent across the country.

Marc and Fizz Forbes-McGlen said they were inspired to set up the group after their vintage vacuum cleaner stopped working. The orange Electrolux 302 was given to the couple by Fizz’s mother in the 1970s.

Marc admitted that at first he wasn’t necessarily going to repair the item, but the need to cut carbon emissions got him thinking and led to the idea of the Wellesbourne Repair Café, a place where broken items can be brought back into life by experts who give their time for free.

“I talked to staff at repair shops but didn’t get far, so I began looking for repair people who might be able to help me and then the idea immediately fired up – ‘Why not start a repair cafe where specialists can be on hand to repair things over a chat and a coffee,” Marc said. “There are many around the country. We put the idea on social media in Wellesbourne and we got 200 reactions straight away. So, it’s all systems go now.”

Things are in the early stages. As yet no venue or date for the first café has been decided but Marc did approach the parish council for support. Last week Wellesbourne Parish Council voiced that support at a meeting and suggested Marc should apply for a grant to help.

Both Marc and Fizz said they take recycling seriously, not just for their generation but for the younger generations.

“I have two daughters in their 40s and 50s and they were, like many of us, in the ‘bin and buy’ frame of mind but now they understand we can save waste and save money by repairing the item,” Marc said.

Fizz added: “My mother taught me to recycle from a very early age and that’s how we got the vacuum. I’ve been recycling since the year dot and upcycling with Marc way before it ever appeared in the English dictionary.

“We passionately believe in recycling to cut landfill and C02 emissions.”

So far, the café has enlisted the support of a welder, a seamstress and a curtain-maker but everyone is welcome to join. For more information, email marc@wrcrepair.co.uk.