Visitors will need to stay with their devices or items all the time, as before. What tended to happen is that the volunteer repairs, but the visitor watches and get an explanation on how to fault find or repair in the future. So a situation of no tool sharing is not that far from before.
Regarding online activities: no, we are not continuing those at present. You are right that some people are not ready to venture out yet (including some of our volunteers), but I hope that there is more engagement with offline events rather than āyet another Zoom meetingā. I think many people feel like that after months of screen-only meetings!
Fair enough, I think many of us can relate to video conference fatigue!
That said, given that many repair volunteers are (understandably) reluctant to come back to in-person events, Iāve been wondering whether itās worth exploring hybrid models that could include volunteers at home keen to participate.
For example, could there be one or two remote repairers on call (via video call, text chat or phone call) to advise or work with the repair team on the ground?
@Frank Iām curious - did your event on September 5 take place? If so, how did it go? I bet other groups on here would be eager to learn from your experience
Pretty much everyone got the āsanitise hands & leave contact detailsā routine without volunteer intervention, more people needed reminding about face covering.
Good mix of ages and interesting items with lovely stories: 1960s rocket lamp, 1920s (specific brand) metal tin, an old LP player, vintage lampā¦ Explicitly advertising (on Facebook) a new skill from one of our volunteers (repairing ceramics/pottery) got 3 visitors.
Running it again in October
Edited to add: āprovision of voluntary servicesā and āeducation or trainingā are both listed as exclusions from the ārule of 6ā in force as of today. gov.uk link
I was wondering if, now that people are comfortable with QR codes to ācheck inā when they arrive (for those outside of the UK, our Track and Trace app has a simple ācheck inā function), we could use a QR code to an easy donation page on the way outā¦ especially for those who can make payments easily on their mobiles.
I was trying alternatives to cash donations before we locked down. What I did was set up a paypal account and put the pay me link in a QR code. I dident get any take up back then, but people will probably more willing now.
Interestingā¦might investigate that, although I think weāll still offer cash donations, and Iāll just leave them in the pot and count it later in the week when itās sat for a while.
Iām interested how on earth I should approach the challenge if any visitor or volunteer objects to masks/distancing to whatever the level is demanded by local legislation, or by government/regional āguidanceā (as the UK government seems sometimes want to avoid being too risk-averse/prescriptive/heavy-handed - choose according to your viewpoint). I suppose Iāll have to ensure visitors and volunteers accept the need to observe regulations before the event.
On more possibly-resolvable topics; cash: donāt fancy restricting visitors to electronic donations; 72 hours for covid to die: that would be a complete pain; one-way system: that would be impossible in our current venue; etc.
TBH it might be easier for me to get a gazebo/shelter and do one-person popup in our local town square - but thatās likely to mean no mains electrical repairs, and obv. much lower capacity.
Very frustrating even this far ahead of a possible event: I donāt want us to be a drop-it-off repair service, I want to talk to visitors, want to try to educate a little bit if possible, and non-f2f would mean thatās not possible.
So far we have not had a volunteer or visitor refuse to wear a mask or distancing - as long as you make it clear that it is part of the condition of entry (your event, your rules to make it safe for volunteers & visitors - to some extent). You can also make use of the rapid pharmacy tests for volunteers (noting their relative unreliability).
Itās respecting both sides of the rights/risks conundrum thatās worrying me: yes visitors can be exempt, yes volunteers can be exempt, but I donāt see how I can expect someone who isnāt prepared to be close to someone unmasked to be relatively close with someone whoās exempt. So there has to be transparency before the event, I think.
Even if a volunteer is happy to work with someone who is exempt and is not wearing a mask, in an enclosed space it can affect those at whatever distance depending on air flow.
I am exempt and find it difficult to wear a mask, but I also find it very important to do so and do wear one when indoor, however I avoid situation where I have to be indoor as much as possible.
I believe refusing access to those who are legitimately exempt and do not wear a mask is unlawful.
The only way I can see this working safely for all is outside with enough space to ensure reasonable distancing.
Bumping up this topic because Iām curious to hear about peopleās plans.
@Frank and @Margaret_Hersee, it looks like Marlow and Chesterfield Repair Cafes hosted events this month. How did it go for you? How did participants and volunteers react?
Weāre now looking to restart events in London, so itād be great to learn from your experiences!
