This evening I spent about 45 minutes repairing something which I could have replaced in my nearby town for about the price of a fancy coffee in a fancy coffee shop. Then I settled down to continue knitting a scarf – which nobody wants or needs – from leftover wool from various knitting projects.

This led me to muse on why I continue to reuse and recycle even though everything is so readily available nowadays.

The reason is that I was born in the 1950’s. I grew up with make do and mend.

I remember my mum teaching me how to repair a knitted garment using a darning mushroom.

If something in my home gets broken, my first reaction is to try and repair it. I have sewing and knitting stuff handy plus glue, iron-on patches, etc etc.

The reason is that I was a post-war baby. My parents had experienced war and rationing. Goods were not as readily available in the 1950s.

Many decades on, old habits die hard.