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With a mission to fix everything from cuckoo clocks to flatscreen televisions... Jersey’s Repair Café is due to launch in a third location in town.
From next month, Repair Café sessions will be held at Janvrin Primary School, in a move which organisers hope will create a "local community hub" for town residents.
School teacher Max Livesey, who volunteers at the Repair Café, says that the initiative was originally intended to draw islanders together after "a lot of people" felt isolated during the first covid lockdown.
There are two repair cafés in the island, the first of which was founded in St. Brelade in 2020, while the second launched in Grouville last year. The third branch is due to launch on 22 April.
"People can find it difficult, getting to other parishes [from town]. This is right on their doorsteps," said Mr Livesey.
"There is something special about having something in these local community hubs; there’s something about having local parish communities."
He said that everyday items such as televisions, stereos and vacuum cleaners were the items most commonly brought in for repair.
Pictured: Mike Sheldon sees if he can repair a portable turntable brought in by Collette Carolan at Saturday's Repair Café on Saturday at St. Brelade's Parish Hall. (Jon Guegan)
However, he said that items, such as cuckoo clocks that "haven’t cuckoo-ed in years", had also been repaired by the team.
He added that fixing electronic items, such as flatscreen televisions, could cost "just a few pence" and prevented the goods from ending up in landfill.
Mr Livesey said: "The cafés are really open to everyone. We see parents come in to get bags, uniforms and toys fixed for their kids.
"We see older people who tend to have more time and who come from a generation which [generally] values repair more than younger people. It’s rare that we will see teens or people in their early 20s turn up on their own."
You can join the new St. Helier Repair Café Group on Facebook by clicking here.
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