Farnham Repair Cafe (FRC) welcomed a visit from Ukrainian artist Masha Borysova at its session last Saturday (June 11).

Masha arrived with her family from war-torn Kharkiv, via two months in Bulgaria, in May.

She was gifted a bicycle and also access to a studio in Rowledge as a result of collaboration between the Rotary clubs of Farnham and the Farnham Society who recently organised a recycling exhibition.

However, the bike needed some loving attention to make it roadworthy.

FRC bike repairers were able to help, and Masha is now able to cycle to the studio in Rowledge to do her painting.

FRC has now organised more than 70 sessions with over 3,600 visitors and 1,575 repairs completed, resulting in more than four tonnes of waste savings and over 40 tonnes of carbon emission savings, since it was launched in 2014 and became a charity in 2017.

FRC has attracted international interest. The May session had visitors from Thailand and the June repair cafe had visitors from the US.

The mayor of Waverley, Councillor John Ward, also attended last Saturday’s session and turned his hand to a bit of bicycle repair.

FRC takes place on the second Saturday of the month at The Spire Church, between 10am and 1pm.