A ‘bring and fix’ fair is being staged in London’s East End today (Saturday) where people of all ages are coming along with what they know and can do for others to repair and recycle instead of throwing things away.
It is being staged at Whitechapel’s Toynbee Hall settlement in Commercial Street from 11am to 4pm, aimed at promoting the hidden skills of the East End community.
The volunteers are fixing small things for each other, giving advice and trying to come up with solutions to anyone’s problems.
Fixers include students from University College London repairing and customising old clothes. There are also experts in knitting, repairing old jewellery, money management, arts and crafts, music, acupuncture and reflexology, letter-writing, computer skills, energy advice, life and career coaching and even putting on make-up.
The event is also to launch Toynbee Hall’s ‘time’ bank, where people deposit spare hours by giving practical help and support to others and are then able to withdraw the time when they need something done.
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