Two brothers who visited The Repair Café in Bury St Edmunds were hoping that their favourite childhood game could be fixed so they could play it together once again.

The Café runs every two months and recently had its most successful cafe with around 40 items and eight repairers.

Kris and Ben Hall brought along the electronic quiz show game Mr Gameshow which they remembered playing as children in the 1980s.

Their game was long gone, but one of the brothers bought the game on eBay as a surprise for the other. Sadly, however, it didn’t work. They bought another one, also broken, to see if they could make one good one out of two broken ones, but that proved too complicated for them. 

This is exactly the kind of challenge the Repair Café loves.

Repairers Ben and Alastair got out their soldering irons and their multimeters and set to work. In pretty short order “Mr Gameshow” was talking, waving his microphone and flashing his (frankly alarming) teeth once more.

Kris and Ben (on the left in the photo) were delighted. Not only had their childhood memory been restored but they also said it was going to make their Christmas as they could share the fun they once had with the game with their own families.

The café will look at pretty much anything and everything that would otherwise end up in landfill. “Bin it? No way” is their motto and even if they can’t repair it, they might be able to advise you on who might be able to help.

The café also offers home-made cakes, coffee, tea and a chance to sit and chat.

The volunteers who give up their time to run the cafe do so for the satisfaction they get from figuring out what’s wrong with something, as well as for the joy the resurrection of a once-broken item can bring to its owner.

Pop in and see for yourself. Bring something to be fixed or just to get some advice. 

The next café is scheduled for January 11 at 11am-3pm

To book a slot - fill in the online form at https://tally.so/r/3lyvqo or email repair.cafe.bse@gmail.com.