Why does nobody repair things any more?

[UnquietDad]

this article struck a chord.

Currently dealing with a recalcitrant DVD player and incensed that the thing is playing up when it's less than 2 years old! It would be cheaper to buy a new one than to get it repaired.

[suzycreamcheese]

cant wait for the 'mend off',,lol

my dad is great at mendin small bits of jewllery and such,,dp general mending; me am not bad,...immaginative...!

[suzycreamcheese]

ud..your programme is great idea and i think thats on itv one tonight 8.30 lol

[UnquietDad]

God, can you imagine? There would be 6 of us stuck in a house for a week under the tutelage of Ray Mears (Manly Stuff With Knives & Fires), Craig Phillips (carpentry), Big Tommy (building stuff), Jeremy Clarkson (cars), and probably a Celebrity Plumber and Celebrity Sparks whose names aren't coming to me right now. At the end of each episode there would be a "Mend-off" with the least successful person sent home.

[StrangeTown]

LOL at 'Mending Dads' - some desperado could probably make a TV show out of that.

[UnquietDad]

what I was saying with my OP was not that we have all grown up not repairing but that, if you are crap at repairing and you take something to a shop, the chances are that these days they will just say "ain't got the parts, guv" and tell you to buy a new one. I find that quite a big thing to get my head round. Even as recently as 10 years ago things were more repaired than replaced.

[tortoiseSHELL]

Dh mends everything - hoover, computers, washing machine, dishwasher, childrens' toys, a smashed glass(!) (it was a wedding present)...anything that breaks

[Tortington]

you so silly! its capitalism, to make the world go round we must exploit people in emerging economies, contributing to the mass pollution and affording us cheap wears.

[UnquietDad]

It's funny because my dad was always one of those Mending Dads while I was growing up. he loved to have things in pieces on the kitchen table. He still would today if his health was better. I didn't inherit the gene!

[misdee]

no UD, i'm a woman, and i repair things and not just dolls and prams lol.

[StrangeTown]

Never mind UD - it's actually a lot of our dad's who are good at fixing things on this thread, not our DH's.
Now, I realise that you are actually someone's Dad and all that, but you are obviously just from the wrong generation.

My DH is 41 and is also fecking useless. Must be something about men born in '66 ShinyHappy...
He always Gets A Man In and they are usually his mates and they eat all my biscuits.

[UnquietDad]

bloody hell, all these DIY DHs. It could make a man feel inadequate...

[BettySpaghetti]

I'll go and ask DP on your behalf ( he might be able to shed some light on the matter as hes currently in the other room trying to repair a Little People town/road thing thats stopped going round and I can hear him cursing from here!)

[suzycreamcheese]

dp good at repairing
i hate throwing things out half used and hate shopping...

[EmmyLou]

sorry - that's the time it takes to repair in relation to the cost of replacing...

[EmmyLou]

My DH is very good at all that practical and technical stuff - but it's the time it takes in relation to the cost of the item that usually swings it.

[misdee]

i have two pc towers here. i am going to ask BIL if he fancies building one pc from two.

[ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands]

Yes I agree. My grandpa could fix anything, bless his soul.. and my FIL can fix most things.. but DH... PAH! I feel cheated because I married him in hopes that he would grow into a man who could build, make and fix things like his father! He is nearly 41 now and does he feck!

[nikkie]

My Dads not allowed to touch thinks electrical anymore or drill holes as he tends to make a mess, I seem to have ended up with the job of fixing stuff My idea is to fiddle about then take it to work or ask advidce at work as have a few handy friends One friends husband is always fixing computers/dvd/tv/videos and if he can't he cannibalises them to fix others !

[misdee]

i fixed and restore things where i can.

i had a cd player, and in the first year under warrenty the lens broke 3 times and wouldnt play any cd's. it was fixed for free each time. each time the invoice for a new lens was £60. the cd player cost me £100. surprisingly after the last repair it lasted 8years!

[moondog]

I know,it breaks my heart,but happily have a father and a dh who are brilliant menders.
We live in Turkey and they will do anything for you there-a new zip in a boot or a suitcase costs nothing and is done so skillfully.

I saw a book recently celebrating the care and beauty of this. One thing that really touched me was a plastic colander which had been mended three times.

My video recorder doesn't work (dh away) and the kids only have videos.I bet I won;t be able to find anyone to do it.

[UnquietDad]

I'm not a tinkerer or a mender. I can wire a plug and put up shelves, but that's about it. Anything involving water, gas, or advanced technology and I Get A Man In.

[Budababe]

My Dad used to be billiant at fixing stuff when I was growing up but even he struggles now as "everything has changed so much".

Bought a cheap DVD player for my MIL so that DS could watch DVDs at her house. She never actually used it and it didn't work next time we tried!

What really gets to me is vacum cleaners. I must buy one a year.

[Papillon]

Tonight my uncle fixed baby bike with abit of pampas grass. Now the steering wheel stays on and the wheels go round.

ds was stoked.