Remember Hello You 48, when back in June I recorded a ‘bench’ at Mumma’s Emporium on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury?

One of the people I met there was Annie, who’d come along with a suggestion for somewhere else I could go to record random conversations. Annie’s a volunteer at Shrewsbury’s Repair Café, and she thought it would be a good venue for a bench session.

Well, she was absolutely right!

This month’s Repair Café took place last Saturday, at the usual location of Shrewsburys United Reformed Church. I went along and had some fascinating, sometimes moving conversations with some wonderful people … all of which you can hear in this episode.

You’ll meet a former dementia support worker who mends clocks and watches. A local author with a new book to tell you about. Two sisters with memorabilia from the heyday of Supermarionation. The Textiles Team, who could quite possibly do a podcast of their own! And mother and daughter, hearing a sound that rings through the history of women in their family.

‘We draw the line at warm shoes’

Topics of conversation include:

* what can, can’t or won’t be repaired, and for what reasons

* is the vibe in Shrewsbury and the Midlands more ‘real’ than in southern England?

* toys and memories, and how they can help people living with dementia

* social media: I meet my first in-person contacts from Nextdoor and Bluesky, and a Shropshire pensioner who’s been banned from Twitter/X for life

* saving objects from landfill, and saving people in the process

* somewhere in Shropshire so small I’d never even heard of it, and now I want to go there

* is ‘Hi guys’ exclusionary language?

* birth-registration arguments (I think there are more stories to be told about this!)

* ‘A historical …’ or ‘an historical …’?

* clothes and shoes that are most comfortable just before they fall apart

… and quite a lot more, as you’ll hear.

There’s a lot going on in this episode. Hence it’s the longest Hello You yet, breaking my self-imposed rule about episode duration, but I didn’t want to leave any more out than I had to.

Also, like many Hello Yous recorded on location, you’ll get the most out of this if you listen to it in stereo. Put your earbuds in or headphones on, play it through your computer speakers or a stereo Bluetooth system, or listen to it in the car? For two reasons: That’ll help you feel like you’re really there, and at some points - particularly at the Textile Team’s table - there can suddenly be two conversations going on at once, for a short time. They appear on different sides of the stereo image, so it’s easier to follow what’s happening.

Want to join in?

Shrewsbury’s Repair Café takes place on the third Saturday of every month, in the church hall of the United Reformed Church. The next one will be on October 19th. Doors open at 10am … and as you’ll hear, you’re very welcome even if you don’t have anything that needs fixing. It’s a lovely, warm and friendly place to spend a Saturday, and they’d love to see you.

Sharing. It’s caring.

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Where shall I go next?

If you know of an event, a gathering or simply a place where I could turn up with my little audio recorder, have some conversations and turn them into an episode of Hello You, please tell me all about it. Email [email protected] or click on this here button:

Likewise, if you have a story or thoughts that you’d like to share, or another idea for the podcast, I’d love to hear what you have to say. Get in touch and let’s see what we can do?

Next episode

One of the first Hello You episodes that really made an impact came out last November. It was an extraordinary story of a family who’d been through so much, faced so bravely, and everything seemed to be going well.

This week, I met up with that family again. Their lives have been far from easy in recent months, to put it mildly. They’re now waiting - again - for a vital phone call.

Hear their story in the next episode of Hello You. It’ll be out next Friday. To make sure you don’t miss it, subscribe or follow Hello You on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

The Hello You Sunday Supplement

I’m so pleased with the positive response to the recently-introduced Hello You Sunday Supplement, a weekly digest of good stuff to read that you might otherwise have missed. For a taster, take a look at the current issue.

Issue 4 will be with you on Sunday morning. Subscribe, and it’ll land in your inbox in time for your morning coffee and toast. If you like it, tell your friends about it?

Get back to me on that?

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Take care of yourself

… and take care of the people around you. I really hope they’re taking care of you, too.

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