Have you disposed of anything recently which could instead have been repaired ?

People often accuse manufacturers of deliberately “building in obsolescence” – so ensuring customers will buy an expensive replacement when the original breaks down.

This is the problem which an Act of Parliament called The Right to Repair Law was passed in July 2021, in response to lobbying. This law requires manufacturers of new household appliances -“white goods”- to supply spare parts to make repairs possible. Hopefully its scope will be extended to more items of equipment in the future.

Transport items like bicycles and cars are repairable up to a point, although the more complex modern versions seem to be more difficult and expensive to repair. My father bought me a new bike in 1962 for £25. The front wheel buckled when I applied the brakes on a downhill run – still in the 1960’s. A new wheel replaced that one. I’ve ridden thousands of miles on the bike, including travelling to work for many years. It’s had a good few new tyres and a new chain. I still occasionally ride it, 60 years later !

If you’d like to read about repair ideas, or make suggestions, try ‘googling’ “The Big Repair Project”.

If you would like to see if that valued item can be repaired, at low cost, try taking it to the “Repair Shop” at Littlemead Methodist Church between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm on the first Saturday of any month.

Peter Johnstone