Part of the problem is that we live in a wasteful, throwaway culture. I am really starting to hate it, but struggle to fight it. Only today I bought a salad and sandwich from Sainsburys - more plastic on the way to landfill.
I visiting family in Brazil a few times and it always struck me how practical people are - and for those not practical, they hire a handyman. Everything gets fixed many times before it is replaced, everything from computers and washing machines to suitcases and saucepans. Yes, one place we stayed had pans so old they had holes in - and the owner would get them fixed by a local blacksmith, rather than replaced. The impact is that there are also a lot more traditional professions operating on a subsistence level.
Here these simple things quickly turn into businesses that need to make lots of money, and this means that before too long, everything is too expensive to fix. Washing machine breaks down after 5 years? Buy a new one. Handle falls off a saucepan? Buy a new one. Some things survive - car mechanics, boiler repairers etc. but most is chucked when it stops working. It's a waste!
So, lack of practical skills is part of the reason we live in such a wasteful society today. That and single use plastic.
And a though .. I am planning to put up a small security camera this weekend - was going to buy a cheap plastic housing for it. Maybe I make something from a plastic bottle or salad bowl, Blue Peter style.
Do they still make stuff on Blue Peter?
Glad to report that one of my sons loves watching videos on YT of people making stuff - and he shows some signs of being practical. He fixed is shield be sellotaping a container lid onto it as a handle. Lots of tape used. But an nice solution. There is hope.
