God and Nature Summer 2023
“As some to church repair…” (Alexander Pope)

By Mike Clifford
I don’t watch a lot of television, but one show that grabs my attention is BBC’s “The Repair Shop”. Like all good reality TV programmes, the show’s premise is simple: members of the public bring broken objects with sentimental value and a story along to a workshop, where a team of expert craftsmen use their skills and talents to repair the items. The climax of the show is when the show’s grateful participants, often with a tear in their eyes, are reunited with their repaired treasures. Sometimes the repaired items, such as trophies, ornaments, or ballet shoes, will be put on display. Other items will be put back into use—pedal cars restored for grandchildren to use, musical instruments brought back to playable condition, and so on.
It’s easy to be cynical about the programme, particularly when hours of time are invested in fixing items with little or no monetary value. Often, it would make more economic sense to just buy a new item, and maybe it says something about our addiction to “stuff” that we need the tangible to invoke memories of lost friends and relatives. But I like watching the repairers at work to see how they will tackle the repair process. The mix of technology and breathing new life into the dead resonates with my engineering and Christian sensibilities.

The programme also causes me to reflect on the unsustainability of our disposable culture. But there is a glimmer of hope. Recent legislation in the UK means that manufacturers of washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers, fridges, and televisions must make repair information and spare parts available for repairs for up to ten years. New devices must come with repair manuals so that consumers can fix their appliances themselves. However, some of these manuals will only be made available to professional repair companies, and individuals may lack the tools, skills, or confidence to tackle repairs.
The church I attend hosts a regular “Repair Café” run by Nottingham Fixers—“a band of volunteers who want to change the culture from “‘if it’s broken then chuck it’, to ‘if it’s broken let’s fix it’. And we like to have a cuppa and cake while we’re doing it!” People bring their broken items along to the sessions, where local volunteers try to fix them. Unlike in the TV show, what people bring are usually practical items such as jewellery, clothing, furniture, or small electrical items rather than sentimental keepsakes. The fixers have a good success rate and plenty of happy participants. However, the organisers note in one of their communications that “often we find examples of electrical items that have been manufactured as sealed units. So, to get to the insides, we would have to physically break them apart. We also see items with unusual screws that we don’t have screwdrivers to open. Other times, there aren’t the necessary parts available to mend something. All this makes these items obsolete once they break. And that means that there is no option but to throw them away. How shocking that these items have been designed to be thrown away.”
Shocking indeed. Design for “planned obsolescence” has long ensured that consumers are forced to purchase new items when an existing product breaks. Hopefully, with new legislation and a rediscovery of the joy of fixing stuff, the “right to repair” movement will grow. YouTube is a great source of information on how to fix broken things. I’m also hoping to set up a repair café at University—watch this space!
Mike Clifford is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham. His research interests are in combustion, biomass briquetting, cookstove design, and other appropriate technologies. He has published over 80 refereed conference and journal publications and has contributed chapters to books on composites processing and on appropriate and sustainable technologies.
The church I attend hosts a regular “Repair Café” run by Nottingham Fixers—“a band of volunteers who want to change the culture from “‘if it’s broken then chuck it’, to ‘if it’s broken let’s fix it’. And we like to have a cuppa and cake while we’re doing it!” People bring their broken items along to the sessions, where local volunteers try to fix them. Unlike in the TV show, what people bring are usually practical items such as jewellery, clothing, furniture, or small electrical items rather than sentimental keepsakes. The fixers have a good success rate and plenty of happy participants. However, the organisers note in one of their communications that “often we find examples of electrical items that have been manufactured as sealed units. So, to get to the insides, we would have to physically break them apart. We also see items with unusual screws that we don’t have screwdrivers to open. Other times, there aren’t the necessary parts available to mend something. All this makes these items obsolete once they break. And that means that there is no option but to throw them away. How shocking that these items have been designed to be thrown away.”
Shocking indeed. Design for “planned obsolescence” has long ensured that consumers are forced to purchase new items when an existing product breaks. Hopefully, with new legislation and a rediscovery of the joy of fixing stuff, the “right to repair” movement will grow. YouTube is a great source of information on how to fix broken things. I’m also hoping to set up a repair café at University—watch this space!
Mike Clifford is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham. His research interests are in combustion, biomass briquetting, cookstove design, and other appropriate technologies. He has published over 80 refereed conference and journal publications and has contributed chapters to books on composites processing and on appropriate and sustainable technologies.