Meet ‘Mr. Glue’ – volunteer at Repair Café Nunhead, London

At Repair Café International we always love to hear from the people in our network. Who are they, what drives them, and how is their Repair Café doing? Recently, we received a long message from Julian Jackson, who volunteers at Repair Café Nunhead in London, UK. Julian wanted to share his story with the entire Repair Café network. Here you go, Julian!

Most satisfying repairs are the ones with sentimental value

“They call me Mr. Glue. For around 18 months, I have been fixing things along with the other menders at Repair Café Nunhead, South London. When I joined the Repair Café I decided that my skills with gluing would be an addition to the range of repairs the group could do. Shoes and wooden items often need glue fixes. Modern glues can do an immense variety of tasks. Some of the most satisfying repairs are ones which have sentimental value.

“For instance, I once mended a Caribbean coconut fibre ring. This was a fascinating job, obviously precious to the woman who brought it. I suspect it was a memento of a love affair, but that’s not the sort of question you can ask of someone you only just met!

“I also remember repairing a display plate that was painted when a woman’s – now-adult – child was at school: it had fallen off the wall and was broken in three places. I couldn’t mend it invisibly, so the cracks showed, but the owner thought that was great because it showed how much it meant to her as it had suffered a disaster and had been fixed.”

Menders explain what they do so the visitors can learn

“Our Repair Cafe was set up by Sophie two years ago. It operates once a month out of a community centre in South East London. There are the sewing team and the electricals group, as well as a spread of other skills, like bicycle repair, woodworking and leather expertise. As a result of success, the group expanded so we had to move into a bigger room.

“Most of the menders generally try to explain what they are doing, so people can learn to repair items themselves. Often they are astonished at how easy it is to do, for example, rewiring an electrical plug. That’s not everyone, of course, but we seem to have quite a generation who have been brought up to believe technological items either work, or should be binned immediately. I think that’s an attitude that needs to change.

It’s a lot of fun, although it can be a little stressful when a repair is difficult. But it is very satisfying when you learn and apply new skills. There is a lovely cameraderie between the menders and we usually retire to the pub next door afterwards.”

Collaborating on jobs that need multiple skillsets

“It would be remiss of me not to mention David, Richard and Aya, who organise things. This is quite complex: although there is a queue, it makes sense to move a job forward if a mender is free, or prioritise something simple, to get it done quickly over a more time-consuming repair. This aspect of the Repair Café involves constant project management juggling. Obviously we menders also collaborate on jobs that need multiple skillsets. A broken lamp might not be electrical, but have a busted switch inside, that needs physical repair.

“Are there any downsides to volunteering? I don’t think so, although I have felt a bit dismayed on a couple of occasions when I couldn’t fix children’s toys. Adults are usually understanding if you can’t repair something, or if we think a repair would be unsafe, which can be the case with elderly electricals. It’s better to junk those than to risk a fire.”

Throwaway society is on its way out

“On a more philosophical level, we must reduce our carbon emissions by repairing items. I think the ‘throwaway society’ is on its way out, and we will – of necessity – need to make products more repairable and durable in future. We will also need to inculcate repair skills in young people to ensure that artefacts can be repaired. If these skills are lost, it is hard to regain them.”

Photo: Olga Dominika Osuch