Poignant tales emerge from Black Isle repair cafe ahead of reopening next weekend
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POIGNANT stories emerge alongside the everyday practicalities of reducing waste and tackling the cost of living crisis at a Black Isle cafe with a difference set to open its doors again soon.
The Black Isle Repair Cafe was inspired by similar initiatives elsewhere in the Highlands hinging on the wonderfully simple idea of taking something that is broken to a skilled volunteer to do their best to try to fix it for you.
As with any grassroots initiative, it takes a lot of behind the scenes work to turn a bright idea into reality, relying on people who believe in an idea enough to give it a go.
The Black Isle Repair Cafe has flourished thanks to the hard work of volunteers and support from like-minded groups such as Black Isle Men’s Shed and Transition Black Isle.
The sheer variety of repairs that come in highlights skills that the ever growing volunteer team can offer.
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Gillian Newman, one of the original founders and volunteer coordinator, recalled: "My most moving repair was a suitcase brought in by a Ukrainian refugee. The case had been so over-packed that the zip had burst. It was a hard body suitcase so no way of repairing on a sewing machine – so a team effort was required.
"Repairers took apart the suitcase to expose the zip ends.The zip was then repairable by a textile repairer. The ends needed stitched to prevent the zipper coming off. Round needles were used and one end was tackled by a textile volunteer and one by the Black Isle Men’s Shed volunteer – whose stitching was much neater. It turned out he was a retired surgeon so putting in a stitch in a tight spot was not unusual for him.
"We then reinstated the suitcase innards and while repair was not perfect the zip functioned. I really hope that family get the chance to overfill that suitcase before too long for a journey home."
The launch of the cafe last year coincided with the start of the three-year Highland Community Waste Partnership, funded by National Lottery Community Climate Action Fund and coordinated by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful. Transition Black Isle is one of the eight organisations who make up this partnership and the funding has allowed for project officer support for the Black Isle Repair cafe and other local initiatives that encourage sharing, repairing and reuse.
Steve Bramwell is a volunteer with both the men's shed and the repair cafe.
He dug deep to restore a broken tail to a family heirloom wooden elephant. He said: "It was a challenge to match the original wood stains to disguise the joins but the end result was worth it – a family heirloom restored. It gave me an interest in French polishing which I hope to have time to develop in the years to come. There's a lot of routine tasks to do at the cafe but the real fun comes from these unexpected repairs!"
Items brought in range from toasters, lamps, bikes to tools and fixing them is seen as a golden opportunity to create a more simple way of living that's better for us and the planet.
Testimonials from visitors make it worthwhile. Hannah Stewart got new brake pads fitted to a bike. She said: "Amazing bunch of people – thanks a million. One happy little girl safely back on her bike."
Douglas Fraser was also delighted when he turned up with a lamp with a broken bulb stuck. He said: "Impressive dogged perseverance in diagnosis. Above and beyond the call of duty as I arrived so late!"
The next Black Isle Repair Cafe and Re-Love Sale is on Saturday, September 2 from 1- 4pm in the Black Isle Leisure Centre in Fortrose. Visitors can also shop for pre-loved items at the table-top sale which will include second hand tools, toys, clothes and more.
