Gravesham Repair Café

Gravesham Repair Café is celebrating its 2 years anniversary. It began at the Veterans Hall, Northfleet in December 2023.    It was a small start, but we have continued to grow.  We extended  our reach to Vigo after a generous invitation from Vigo Parish Council in September '24, and moved from Northfleet to St George's church hall in Gravesend when the Northfleet venue proved too small for the number of visitors.   We could not have done it without the support of the volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise to puzzle over intricate household items which are sometimes constructed to baffle the mind.  The volunteers also set up the tables, chairs, signs and dole out teas and coffees.  Here's to all our volunteers!! And to our visitors!   School Report   As examples of our success rates repairing the items our visitors bring, here are the most recent statistics to hand:   As you can see we make successful repairs more often t...

It must be the time of year.  Some of our crew were absent due to medical appointments, but despite that we managed to effect repairs to a wide variety of items as usual.  There was plenty of electrical work:  a tiny novelty light, a large hedge trimmer and items of intermediate size.  With Christmas looming we had several decorative lights to get working again.  It wasn't only electrical items.  We also had clocks, toys, bikes and sewing repairs to do. Our usual photographer was one of those absent so please forgive the reduced number of pictures from the day.    

We've made a one minute video to give an idea of what it's like at a Repair Café. On arrival, visitors are greeted at the Reception desk to be allocated a suitable repairer for their item. In this video you'll also see our 'sister' groups.  Crafty Yarns are a group who focus on sewing while the ladies at another table use empty crisp packets to make blankets for those in need.   Naturally we had our usual fare of items to repair: another record player, a toaster, a fan, a lawn mower, a clock, a fan heater, clothing repairs...    And if you have children in tow, we can usually find something to keep them occupied.  

"Star of the show" this session was the 1959 record player.  The turntable didn't turn at all and instead of moving freely the pickup arm behaved as if it had arthritis.  Luckily the valve amplifier part was still working as attested by a scratching noise when the pickup needle was touched. This was a challenge requiring a team effort.  After a lengthy battle with the seized mounting bolts access to the turntable mechanism was granted.  It became clear that the electric motor barely turned and required lubrication.  Having done just that it was then discovered that the rubber jockey wheel was slipping due to a weak spring and shiny friction surface.  A new spring was fitted and the friction surfaces roughed up with sandpaper and de-greased with alcohol. Every other part of the mechanism was cleaned and oiled.  The final step was reassembly and testing with a little help from The Everly Brothers. Of course that wasn't all that happened today.  Gard...

We've been running our Repair Cafés for two years and over that time we've steadily gained more and more visitors needing something repaired. After our first year we began running a second Café each month by adding a Vigo venue to our existing Gravesend one. Both venues have plenty of space and we would welcome additional volunteers willing to attempt repairs because there are times when our visitors have to wait for attention. If you are interested in at least considering helping us feel free of visit any of our events to see what it's like and ask questions.  Alternatively, get in touch by email.  GraveshamRepairCafe@gmail.com We are especially looking for someone confident in tackling the repair of modern digital tech like mobile phones and laptops.  

It was vacuum cleaner week! Naturally we had our usual haul of items for repair such as garden machines and tools, table lamps, a kettle, some sewing and even a porcelain statuette, but most notable was the flood of vacuum cleaners... That's right, we had no less then seven in for repair.  It doesn't matter how expensive they were or what brand they are, they just don't seem to last.  Yes, they are better at cleaning our carpets than those metal monsters of the past, but the additional features mean there are more opportunities for something to break down.  That's why repair cafés are a good idea. Not so many photos this time - we were too busy fixing vacuum cleaners.

First a quick mention that we have a PAT tester to check the safety of electricals with a plug.  We've checked and labelled a number of sewing machines lately and regularly check items we've been repairing.  Do you need something tested?  It only takes a few minutes and it's free of course. This week despite lots of visitors and some of our repair team being away we had a very successful session. From large things like a lawn mower to tiny ones like a hearing aid many non‑working items were brought back to life.  Some are depicted in the photos below while others included a table lamp, clock, head torch, tea maker and more besides. Let's begin with the dedicated members staffing the café aspect of our sessions: And then some of the repairs and visitors:

The summer holiday season isn't quite over so we had a few repairers absent and fewer visitors.  Nevertheless we had an array of items for repair including a glue gun, food mixer, vacuum cleaner, record player and mini chain saw.  Notably we had an adult's tricycle as well as a child's armchair with a broken leg! Just for once we remembered to photograph the ladies on our reception desk.  They record every item and visitor, allocate the right repairer and look after visitor donations. Look! a dog came to help.   Crochet experts at work

Despite the inclement weather we were visited by sufficient folk to keep us busy. We had CDs stuck in machines, broken drive bands in cassette players, jammed shredding machines, malfunctioning clocks, clothing for repair, a talking doll that had lost its voice, and more besides.   As usual our café was at work serving hot drinks and biscuits and we mustn't overlook the sterling work at the reception desk guiding efforts and collecting any donations.  Of particular note was the huge number of blunt tools that kept Roy busy at the sharpening machine throughout.  Thank you, Roy!