To the Editor

What a fantastic community resource SIRCH is. On the weekend I attended the Repair Café in Minden with my ‘50s all-chrome Marvelizer blender having finally fed it something it could not chew through and instead blew the blades off. Earlier in the week I’d stopped by Home Hardware and found the correct screw and decided to buy a socket and harp kit in order to repair a fabulous though inoperable lamp that I’d picked up for a song at Thrift Warehouse.

I love old stuff. It’s got character it’s built to last and to be repaired. It was made by people who took pride in the job they did. And SIRCH found a room full of people who can actually fix things a skill that is getting rarer and rarer as built-in obsolescence has become the name of the game.

Fortunately among the many rare and wondrous gifts of this county is the concentration of people who can do all manner of useful stuff. SIRCH found a lot of them and gave them the opportunity to share their skills for free. Probably more than 100 broken down appliances and stuff were saved from the landfill ranging from blenders to heaters and “irreparable” clothing and fabric items from this one day alone. But there’s another one coming up in Haliburton – and even if an item that is brought in cannot be repaired at the very least you don’t have to pay professional rates to find that out!

And of course the superb SIRCH chef Jay McIvor was manning the burners providing delicious egg/veggie/cheese patties as well as a vegan version and fresh apple fritters bubbling away for dessert. Anyone who has enjoyed his Thursday Hali lunches knows that this is a man who has a gift with diverse ingredients and subtle but effective seasoning choices. Always delicious always for a donation of any amount eat in or take out. It’s the most delicious deal going and you’ll never tire of the menu!

I’ve re-met people in new jobs who got their training through SIRCH learning by doing which in my own experience is the most effective way to get educated in the actual job which is often far different than the expectations from the education.

Anne-Marie Borthwick
Haliburton