Presteigne Repair and Share volunteers welcomed Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP David Chadwick to the first event of 2025.

David and his eldest son William went along on Saturday and met the reception team, and spent time with the fixers talking about what they were mending and some of the customers who had brought items along.  

David learned about portable appliance testing (PAT) which checks that electrical appliances and equipment are safe to use and be looked at by repairers. 

Also discussed was the need for legislation to enable more Repair and Reuse and  the barriers to repair such as the difficulty of even getting inside modern appliances or limited availability of spare parts to mend an item. 

He was interested that data and statistics from all the events that are under the umbrella of Repair Cafe Wales are collected and collated by that organisation and relayed to the Welsh Government, helping to inform policy decisions..

It was a busy morning with a variety of 27 household items bought in, from textile mending, kitchen ware, a mug press - a heat machine that applies pressure to mugs and glasses to create personalised designs- to electrical items e.g. lamps and toasters. William was interested in one of the latter. 

A spokesperson for Presteigne Repair Café said; “We are keen to engage children with the idea of fixing things from an early age so this was a great opportunity.

“Out of 27 items bought in 17 were fixed and only six items were considered irrepairable. Two require further work, two required new parts which owners would source if possible. 

“This regular monthly Repair event proved a popular friendly space for people to share skills, learn and exchange ideas, helping towards the continuing use of things in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.”

David Chadwick MP added: “We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Presteigne Repair Cafe this weekend.

“We watched skilled volunteers fixing malfunctioning devices and even (helped!) fix a toaster.

“These repair shops are a warm and friendly place to drop in and I’d encourage people to try out their local repair cafe before throwing out broken items. You might save yourself some money and help the environment in the meantime!

“Thank you to the volunteers for the invitation - you are making a significant contribution to our communities and our planet.”