Welcome!
Welcome to the first of our newsletters which aim to keep you up-to-date with Repair Café Iver's activities, our next dates, developments and general goings on.
I may also higlight some other local, national and international projects which have inspired me (and I hope might inspire you) and also post some tips to help you all get on your way to repairing. I've not fully figured out the format that this will take, but expect it will grow and shrink depending on what we are doing, and how busy I am in other areas.
I would also like to invite you to send in pictures of anything you've repiared, of anything you would like to write about. If you would like to comment on anything you read, you can do so by accessing our Facebook Post about this newsletter.
Contents
- Our First Event - 5th October
- Launching the Website
- New way to book
- What's in a name?
- Our Next Event - 16th November
- Tips and Tricks
- News and More
Our first event was a success!
We had a fantastic day on 5th October. We saw 28 items, fixed 64% of them, and made a plan for all but one of the remaining items.
It was great to see just how much interest we had in what we do, with people popping in just to say hello and have a nose about.
I would especially like to offer a huge thank you to all of our volunteers and the hard work that they put in to making the first Iver Repair Café a hit and we're all looking forward to the next one.
A full write-up of the event can be found on our Past Events page.
Launching our Website
I have been hard at work making sure the website has some content, and all the right information up for you. I can now officially call it "Open" so please feel free to have a browse around.
While everything has been done to make sure it's in good working order, there may still be some spelling mistakes and things that don't work quite right, and development is somewhat ongoing, but it should for the most part do the job.
We have a blog page where I will be posting our newsletter online as well as any other bits and pieces of interest. We also have an FAQ page which has some information about Repair Cafe Iver and the events that we hold.
New Booking System
In the run up to the first event we found a few areas that were difficult to manage at times. One of which was the booking system we used. It was a simple email solution - well, simple in one sense, but when several people book at the same time, and you have 2 people managing those bookings, there is the potential for wires to get crossed.
In light of this, we have opted for an online booking system which is baked right into this website and you should be able to see it on this very page!
We have done some testing with it and while it's stood up to our best efforts to break it, it's often one thing in theory and another in practice.
- When you submit a form, you will receive an email to validate the request. We will also receive an email saying you've used the form.
- Once you confirm, you should be redirected to our thank-you page, and your booking will be added to our calendar.
- You will then receive a reminder 7 days before the event, and another 1 day before the event.
- If you need to cancel or change you booking at any time, you may do so either by emailing us, or by using the "Cancel" link in the email you received when you first confirmed your booking.
We hope that this will streamline things a little for you, and for our volunteers.
Also please please please remember to add some extra information about the type of repair that you are bringing for us, and also remember that we can only see one item per person. This is so that we have the best chance of helping as many people as possible. You are welcome to bring other items to subsequent meetings.
If you have any issues using the booking system, we will of course be responding to emails as usual :)
Next Event
As mentioned, our next event will be held on the 16th November at St Leonard's Church Hall SL0 9DD. We will be open again from 10am - 2pm
And now you can book using the new form!
If you're already signed up as a volunteer, we'll be emailing you seperately shortly to check your availability for the date. If you are interested in volunteering with us for the first time, please get in contact via email, Facebook or WhatsApp!
What's in a name?
Something that's been bugging me for a little while is how we are "Iver Repair Café" in some places, and "Repair Café Iver" in others.
I am now taking steps to make this uniformly "Repair Cafe Iver" everywhere.
Tips and Tricks
This months tips are about the sometimes forgotten part of the PAT test - the Visual Inspection!
You can find that post here
News and More
International Repair Day
Annually on the third Saturday of October comes Repair Christmas - otherwise known as International Repair Day.
Efforts during this weekend are often doubled and you might see several Repair Cafés or other events like Restart Parties popping up.
Near us in Iver, there are a couple of events happening. The first of which is Windsor Repair Café, who are also celebrating their first annivarsary (I believe congratulations are in order!), and secondly, there will be a Restart Party at Botwell Sports and Leisure Centre in Hayes, which will be attended by yours truly! (insert picture of me holding a soldering iron menacingly).
Repair Café Iver doesn't have anything specifically organised for this date this year, but hearing about this has certainly got the cog wheels turning, so look out for our plans next year!
Repair and Reuse Declaration
If there is one thing you get up to this 19th of October, consider looking at the Repair and Reuse Declaration
From their website:
The UK is the second highest producer of electronic waste per capita in the world. Yet we are falling behind other countries in support for repair and reuse to tackle throwaway products. Repair and reuse are central to achieving a truly circular, less wasteful, economy. They help to tackle climate change and achieve our net zero ambition, reduce living costs for UK households and create green skilled jobs.
To get involved you can send an email to your MP about it.
Or if you are part of an organisation, you can also sign the declaration
Thats it from me this month, so thanks again for being part of the Repair Movement, and I look forward to seeing you soon!