Growing Success of Crich Share & Repair Cafe
November 2025
Written by Janet Amos
Images by Jonathan Amos
The Transition Crich Share and Repair Café continues to go from strength to strength. At our last café on 15th November, we welcomed over 60 visitors and friends bringing their items for advice or repair.
Sharpening and Repair Services in High Demand
As ever, the guys doing the sharpening had a steady stream of customers, mostly bringing garden tools before they’re put away for the winter, and of course, scissors are always a popular item.
The general repairers were busy, with electrical items, coffee machines and toasters being popular items, although the rest of us didn’t much appreciate having to stand out in the rain when a faulty toaster caused the fire alarms to go off – fortunately it was quickly all resolved.
Alongside the repair shop, we were pleased to welcome additional stalls, including Derbyshire Toy Libraries with their annual Christmas Toy Swap, Crich Crafters, CPRE Derbyshire, Derbyshire Badger Group and South Wingfield Primary School. Visitors also enjoyed our gardening advice and seed swap, eco raffle, craft table and browsing the clothes swap, making for a lively and engaging atmosphere.
Inspiring Talks and Special Guests
As usual there were visiting speakers and representatives from CPRE Derbyshire who delivered an informative talk about their Hedgerow Heroes project, while South Wingfield Primary School showcased their recently published book celebrating 150 years of education at the school.
Derbyshire Dales MP John Whitby accepted our invitation to attend and we were honoured to be able to show him around our repair shop stations and stalls. We used the opportunity to discuss matters relating to the environment such as the Climate and Nature Bill and community energy, including our own community energy project. Mr Whitby also paused to admire the display of the three ‘Crich Banners of Possibility’ which have been made by members of the local community throughout 2025.
The Share and Repair café is a free-to-all event, which is sustained by the ever- popular café, with its delicious savouries and cakes as well as the generous voluntary contributions we receive in appreciation of all the repairs that we make.
Thanks to Our Volunteers
A huge thank you to the 28 volunteers whose dedication and hard work were instrumental in making the event a success. We truly could not do it without you. If you are interested in getting involved in future events, we welcome your support—there are many different roles available. Please get in touch by emailing transitioncrich@gmail.com
Looking Ahead
We are excited to announce that there will be four more repair cafés in 2026.
For the latest updates, keep an eye on our calendar, Instagram and Facebook page.
We look forward to welcoming you at our upcoming events!
