The Repair Shop (2017–…): Season 7, Episode 29 - Episode #7.29 - full transcript

Welcome to The Repair Shop, where
precious but faded treasures...

This is bad.

I don't think I've ever seen a chair
quite so broken as this.

..are returned
to their former glory.

That's lovely. It is, innit?
That is lovely, isn't it?

Furniture restorer Jay Blades...

Bringing history back to life
is what makes The Repair Shop
so special.

..and a dream team of expert
craftspeople...

Amazing.

It's a bit like brain surgery.

Go on!



..come together
to work their magic...

Yahoo!

When you look at something
that looks so hopeless like this,

it makes me even more determined
to get it back.

That's teamwork.

..employing heritage craft skills
passed down the generations...

It is a privilege to be able to do
something for somebody

that means so much to them.

..preserving irreplaceable
heirlooms.

To bring those pieces back to life,

it's just the most wonderful thing,
and I'd like to do it forever.

The team will restore the items...

Whoa!

..the memories...



I'm so happy to see it.

..and unlock the stories
that they hold.

That's made it all worthwhile.

In The Repair Shop today...

Sea Cadets work on teamwork.
We work on teamwork.

That's what I like to hear.

..a decommissioned bass drum...

It's quite exciting, really.

I found some of the original
emblazoning underneath.

..has Pete Woods and his band
on the quick march.

Quite the workout,

but it is worth it.

And Will gets a golden ticket

to restore a seat crying
out for salvation.

I don't often get a chance to do
any gilding, so I actually relish

the chance whenever I'm offered it.

But first arriving at the barn
is Liz Warne from West Sussex.

She has a lifelong pal who needs
the expert care

of toy restorers Amanda Middleditch
and Julie Tatchell.

Hello. Welcome.
Hi. I'm Julie.

I'm Amanda.
Hello, I'm Liz.

Hi, Liz. And this is Bundo.

Bundo! Look at him.

Can you tell us about Bundo?

He's my hero, really.
He's your hero. Aw.

I was born at home in October 1960,

and unfortunately, six weeks after,

I became very ill,
my lungs collapsed.

A doctor was called in the middle
of the night, took one look at me

and mum and dad and my sister Sarah
and said,

"Right, you've got a couple of
minutes to say goodbye to this baby

"because this one's
not coming back."

And I was taken off in an
ambulance...

Oh, bless. ..to Bletchingley
Isolation Hospital.

Nobody could come with me.

I stayed in hospital.

I was behind a glass screen,

so I couldn't be touched
by my parents or my sister.

It was just awful for them, you
know? It must have been dreadful.

Absolutely awful.

And it got to Christmas and they
pleaded, really, with the doctors -

could I have something
for Christmas?

They had to buy something
that could be boiled,

sterilised, to be put in with me.

And this is Bundo.

Wow.

So... Yeah, sorry.

That's OK. Take your time.

So he was put in with me and, um...

..and I did start getting better.

I was in for about six months
in total.

And emotionally, I suppose
I feel that he saved my life,

that it gave me something
to hold on to, maybe.

And he's been with me ever since.

That's special.
Really special, isn't it?

I played schools a lot
and Bundo,

out of all my toys,
was promoted very quickly,

on, obviously, his ability to
save lives, to Head Boy.

Well deserved.

And one of his responsibilities...

LAUGHTER

Can I just say I was about six
when I was playing this. Love this.

..was to take any injured doll or
teddy down to Matron,

which was my mum downstairs. Right.

I'd write a little note and attach
it to him here,

and I'd knock on the kitchen door,
run away

and he'd be there and my mum
would read the note

and she'd go and get some bandage
or something

and kind of stick it to him
and ring a little bell,

and I'd come down and he'd save
the day again, you know?

So what's made you bring him
to us today?

Well, like most people of 60,
he's looking a bit worse for wear,

and I think his stuffing might be
going a bit weird inside

because he's a lot thinner than he
used to be,

and his tail has disappeared.

It's definitely an age thing!

There's nothing, nothing
supporting him any more.

He had a little pale pink nose
- it was like an embroidery -

and he had black glass eyes.

I like the fact that he looks
like he's been very well-loved.

That's good. But I'd like him to be
a bit stronger

so that he could be passed on a bit
more robustly to my girls.

Thank you, Liz.

Thank you so much for bringing
Bundo to us and trusting us.

Yeah, quite exciting, actually.

You're going to have to say goodbye
to him now. OK.

You'll be all right, Bundo.

OK. We'll let you know
when he's ready.

Thank you so much.
You take care, Liz. Bye.

I'm feeling quite emotional

because we haven't really been
apart,

but I'm also really excited
and relieved

because Bundo represents
to me a feeling of hope,

of survival. In my mind
he is part of my life story.

He's so sweet. He is sweet.

He's actually a lot more frail
than I'd first imagined.

All that boiling and all that love,
it's taken its toll.

Come on then, Bundo,
let's have a look at you.

Yeah. Yeah, you're right.

Liz wanted him to feel strong,
didn't she?

That's one thing that she felt
really worried about,

was the fact that he does feel
quite frail.

So if we can get him flat
and then line each piece

and then put him back together,

he's going to have that nice
strong feeling about him.

Why don't you start that? Yeah.

And I'll see if I can find him
some eyes. Good idea.

New eyes. Do you want those?

"Oh, yes," he said.

This is really horrible.

At the time that this toy was made,

it was a really new product
for toy making.

These would've been marketed
as washable toys,

but years on, we're finding now
that it's not a good thing,

because they never fully dried
inside, so they would stay damp,

and this awful foam rubber
would start to break down.

And over the years, it just becomes
this horrible, sandy, gritty mess.

We need to make sure that every
single bit of this is removed,

otherwise all our work
will be in vain, basically,

because it will still be eating
into the fabric.

So I've got this lovely job of
picking it all out

and making sure that he's lovely
and clean

before we start doing
any work on him.

Next to arrive at the barn is
Jordan Aspen from Barrow-in-Furness

with a piece of maritime history.

Restoring it will fall to percussion
pro Pete Woods.

Now, this is a big drum.

It certainly is.
Please tell us about it.

This is the Barrow Sea Cadets
marching bass drum.

It's been sat in the back of the
band room for probably 60 years

because nobody was quite sure
what to do with it because,

you know, it is a lovely item,
but as a drum, it's useless.

How come you've got this, then?
Are you part of the Sea Cadets?

Yes, I've been a member
of the Sea Cadets for 25 years

as a cadet and a member of staff.

25 years. 25 years.

Were you in the band? Yes.

I learned to play the snare drum.

I make a lot of noise.
That was my favourite instrument!

LAUGHTER

So you've been on the marches
as well, then? Oh, yes.

Carnivals, parades,
band competitions,

civic parades, launches.

So am I right in saying
that this drum -

is this the drum that you hold here?
Is that right? That's right.

And you go, you drum it that way.
Yes.

It sets the pace of the parade.

So each beat of the bass drum
will tell you when your foot

should land on the floor
when marching.

So if the bass drummer speeds up
or slows down,

as does the parade, as does all the
music that follows it.

So it's kind of like the heartbeat,
really? It is, yes.

So why now? Why do you want to get
this repaired now?

Well, the Barrow unit will be 90
years old in two years' time.

OK. So it would be nice to have part
of its history restored.

To be able to take this out
on civic parades,

Remembrance Sunday parades,
would be perfect.

And personally, for me, I've loved
being part of the Sea Cadets

and it's been a huge part
of my life,

and it'd be wonderful to give
something back to the band. Yeah.

Without the Cadets, I wouldn't have
done, and what I'm doing today,

without their skills
and their teaching.

And what is it you do?

I'm a senior commission engineer
onboard nuclear submarines.

Wow. Made me stand up straight!

Wow. That's an important job,
isn't it? It is.

This drum means a lot to you, then.
Yes. Yes.

So do you want it looking brand-new,

like it was when it was
originally done?

I think we shouldn't sanitise it.
We should keep some of the history.

But it still has to look smart
and seamanlike. Yes.

Yeah. Very much so.

Because it looks
as if it's been painted.

Because it looks like it was dark
at one point. Yes.

Looking here, it looks
like it was more of a navy blue.

That's right. And this has
been touched in.

So if we could perhaps return it
to its original colour.

The manufacturers, there's a label
on the inside,

and the firm, from what I believe,
is still going in London.

Wow. See that address?
Yeah.

That's where I started work.
Really?

Yeah, my first job.

36-38 West Street.
Wow.

So, Pete, is this one of the ones
that you made, then?

1939, Jay. Come on.

Oh, no - you're young, aren't you?
Yes, a lot younger than that.

It might've been a bloke
that taught me, though.

He started in 1932.

So he could have done this one?
He could have. Could have. Wow.

It's amazing the history you get
inside bass drums sometimes. Yeah.

Jordan, thank you.
Thank you very much, Jay.

Thank you. You take care.
We'll be in touch. Cheers, mate.

The drum has been part of the unit's
history for such a long time.

It's witnessed many important
dignitaries, kings, queens.

It's seen many launches
and many historical events,

and to see it sat there no longer
in use is quite sad.

Getting this drum repaired, it's
being able to give something back

to the band that have taught me
so much

and been so good to me
all these years.

So this ain't a drum now.
How are we going to make it a drum?

Right. We need some heads,
which is the vellum skins,

which make it sound. Right.

We're going to need some ropes,
and pull the two hoops tight.

Hold the tension? To hold the
tension on there. OK, cool.

The things that do the tension
are them.

They're made of buff leather,

so I think I'm going
to have to speak to Suzie

very nicely about them.
Yes, please. Nicely.

And then I'll have to speak to Suzie
even more nicely because we need

something to hang it on the body.
You want a belt as well.

We want a belt made.

The groundwork, which is
the main blue bit here... Yeah.

..that's something that I was
taught. I do that all the time. OK.

But there's the artwork on here.

We need to do a little bit
of restoration on it. OK.

I think Dom is good at that. Yeah,
Dom is very good at that. Yeah.

Sea Cadets work on teamwork.
We work on teamwork.

That's what I like to hear. Sounds
like it's going to be a lovely job.

I think I'm going to enjoy doing
this one, mate.

Well, let's get it over
to your bench.

The first thing I'm going to do, I'm
going to take the rope slides off.

The brass bits to protect the hoop
from the ropes and the paintwork

from the ropes,
so that we can at least start

getting things stripped down.

I've worked on these drums,
especially the rope ones,

all my life.

And it's nice to be working
on something

that was made by your forerunners
in the workshop

that you started work in.

The history of this one adds
a little bit more to it,

and I hope all the kids in
the Sea Cadets can be proud of it

once it's finished, so I've got
to make a good job of it.

That's the last one off now.

Now I can actually get
down to sanding.

At Cuddly Toy HQ,
Bundo the life-saving bunny

is undergoing some expert
reinforcement.

Now that Bundo is lined,

I've been addressing the darns
and the repairs that he needs.

The fibres become weakened
through rubbing and kissing,

and he was also cleaned
quite significantly.

And we have to address that
because once they start to go,

they will continue to cause damage.

I'm actually going to use some
fine silk called silk crepeline.

And what that does for me,
is it holds down

all the little tiny threads that are
starting to become loose

and just gives it a little bit
more integrity

along with the felt on the back.

I've just got to finish this darn.

One more small one to do
on the other side,

then he can go back to Amanda.

There you go.

Thank you.

I'll get on
and put him back together.

Want a cup of tea?
I would love a cup of tea.

I'll go and put the kettle on.
Thank you.

The only way to put these pieces
back together

is to sew them inside out
and back to front.

That way, you get a much
nicer finish.

It's nice to do this by hand.

It's a nice accurate way of making
sure that everything is lined up

properly, especially
when they're small like this.

I've just turned Bundo through
the right way

and you can feel the strength
that we've given him,

so that's really good.

I think we're starting to see now
the Bundo come back into shape.

Right.

So we've chosen to use
this sub stuffing.

It's in keeping with his age
and for the feel and the weight.

It's important when stuffing a toy
with this sort of shape

that we get the base of the stuffing
the right shape.

If we stuff it and it's lumpy

or we leave pockets
where there isn't any stuffing,

he won't sit, he won't be balanced,

so it's really important to get
that sort of firm foundation

on his bottom.

Got to get this tail absolutely
perfect for Liz

so that she sees it all nice
and perky again.

It kind of balances him really well,

and he's got really lovely
shape there.

Now that Bundo has regained
his physique,

Amanda can bring his facial features
back to life.

I left some of the old threads
in there, so we could see exactly

where it went, and I've replaced
those bits of thread now with pins

so that I've got markers for
where my threads have to go.

So they'd have a V coming up
and a V coming down for the mouth

on these little rabbits,
so that's what he's going to get.

I think this is going to really
brighten his face up

and just bring that hint of pink
colour that he would have had.

I can see this cute little bunny
nose appearing.

Oh! Look at that little face!

Outside, another visitor
is arriving -

Tracey Costin from North London.

She hopes furniture restorer
Will Kirk can work wonders

with an item that's played
a recurring role

in her family's history.

Hello. Hi. Hello.

How are you doing?
Good, thank you.

And this must be yours.
It is mine.

Are you a vicar, or...?

No, I'm just a member of the church
that it comes out of.

What's the name of the church?
It's St Paul's Church
in north-west London.

We were married there.
The girls were all christened there.

The girls went to the little
primary school next door. Aw, bless.

So it's been really important.

So how come you've got a pew, then?

Back in 2005, my father died and his
funeral was at the church,

and his was the last funeral there.

They were refurbishing the church,
so they were getting rid of the pews

and putting in benches.

And because this was number one pew
from the front of the church,

where he would have sat
when I was married,

and we sat at his funeral,
they offered us this pew to have.

Aw. My dad and I were very close.

He was a great, great dad.
We were missing him greatly,

so this was like getting
a little bit of him back again.

That's nice. And then my brother
unfortunately died a few years ago.

We kind of see this as my brother,
Steve, and my dad, and it sits

in our garden and it's very much
somewhere, you know,

bad days, you sit on the pew.
That's where we go to talk to him,

and that's why it's kind of
so very important.

That's why I wanted to try
and preserve it.

So this was quite a lot longer
and it's been chopped down. Yeah.

We weren't given the whole lot.
We were just given this bit.

It's just sawn off there.
We got that end separately,

then we got somebody to put it
together for us. OK.

Last summer, it had got to looking
as though it was probably

on its last legs,
so I rubbed it all down. Yeah.

I did a little bit of wood filler
on the back

and then we just painted it
with some fence paint.

I think it's done a good job.
Don't you think?

Yeah... Fence paint might not be
my first thing to go to.

So I think it'd be quite nice
to remove what's on there,

see what's underneath.
Yeah. That would be amazing.

I can see that it's beginning to
really split on the end grain there.

And this one's got
a huge one, yeah.

There's a shield on the side here.

Was anything painted on
the side of that?

Yes, it was a number one.

I remember it as a vaguely
goldy-yellowy colour

with the number one
because it was number one pew

on the left-hand side of the church.

If Will's able to mend the cracks,
where is it going to go?

We are trying to see. If we move
the kitchen around a little bit,

it could go in there, because
actually, if it could look

a little bit more like it did
originally,

it would probably fit
much better inside.

Tracey, thank you for bringing
this in.

I'm looking forward to getting
stuck in

and seeing what's under
that lovely...

Paint job, that Tracey has done.
..paint job. Exactly. Yes.

Beautiful. Thank you.
OK? Thank you very much.

See you soon. Thank you.
Bye-bye. Take care. Bye.

This pew, to us, is somewhere that
we all go to express our emotions,

and it takes part also in all our
family celebrations

and we feel a bit like my dad
and my brother are there with us

as well, celebrating.

It's really nice that Tracey
wants to have this fixed

because it has so many memories
attached to it, and it's always nice

when you have a bit of furniture
that takes you back to that link

with the rest of your family.

There are splits running up
and down the sides.

It's really dry.

There's a lot of sanding that
needs to be done here.

Now, before I start sanding,

I think I might remove these shields
on the sides.

This is incredibly dry
and really brittle as well,

so I don't want to put too much
pressure on it.

Because it'll just split out.

But these nails are coming up
relatively...

..easy.

WILL CHUCKLES

Oh.

Well, that's broken
off quite easily.

The good thing is, once I get
this off into however many pieces,

I can always glue it back
together again.

Oh, there we are.

That's come off really nicely.

I can put that to one side
and start sanding.

This varnish/paint
is incredibly thick.

So I might start off with a sort of
heavier duty sandpaper

and then go through the grades.

That'll then show the lovely wood
and the grain.

Once this is all sanded
back completely,

I can get some nice polish on there,
give it a nice waxed finish

and that'll give it a really lovely
honey, chestnutty glow.

On his bench, Pete's sanding work
of the Sea Cadets' drum

has resulted in a new discovery
about its origins.

Now I'm rubbing it down, it's quite
exciting really,

because I found some of the old
original emblazoning underneath,

and when I look at it carefully,
it's actually done by somebody

that I knew when I started,
who worked for the company.

A guy called Fred Eaton,
and I can tell by the style

that that's his painting,
so it's quite amazing.

Drum was made by George Heath,
who taught me.

Means a lot to me, this one.

All the more reason to butter up
leather restorer Suzie.

Hiya. Hello, there.

What have you got?
I've got a drum brace.

I need 12.

All right. OK?
Yeah, lovely.

And while we're at it...

..any chance of making a bass drum
harness, please?

You're looking confused at me,
aren't you? Yeah.

Would you be able to do
a diagram for me? A diagram.

Yeah, that'd be great.
Yes, I'm sure I can do a diagram.

Just put exactly what you want, and
I'll be happy to make it for you.

Thank you very much. All right.
You're very welcome.

Right, I'm just getting rid now
of any little bits of dust

and then we can start spraying.

This is going to be a much darker
blue than it is at the moment.

If you look where I've rubbed
through the repainting, you can see

it was originally quite a dark
blue, so that's the colour

we're going to be using.

Jordan didn't want it, if you like,
looking brand-spanking-new,

but as we've got to repaint it,

it's nice to get back
to the original colours.

So I've got this diagram here
of what a Sea Cadets harness

should look like.

And it's very, very helpful
to have something

that I can follow like this.

What I'm going to do now is start
edging the leather.

And what this does is it not only
creates an attractive look,

but also prevents any aggravation
to the wearer. That sharp edge.

OK, so that's done.

And now I can start with
the edge staining.

So this edge stain not only makes
the edge look really beautiful,

but it also has a glue in it
that when you rub it up,

that friction and heat creates
a lovely, smooth area

and it stops it from roughing up
the fibres.

And now I can start to rub it up,

and this will just get that...

..glue to activate in there.

It's quite the workout,
but it is worth it.

Just need to carry on and do
this to the rest of the straps

and then it'll all be ready
to be assembled.

Pete has given me this beautiful
military drum,

and it's got this lovely mural
on the side.

I'm not doing anything drastic,
I'm just enhancing it.

Painted lettering like this,
you've got to be so careful

because it's very similar to,
like, a handwriting style.

Whoever painted this would
have had their own little flourish

and their own little way of doing
things, like these Es, for example,

have got... They've only got a serif
on the lower side, which is like,

it looks kind of odd, a bit quirky,
but that's what they did.

So I just want it to still
be theirs,

and I'm just trying
to bring it back to life.

The vellum is what makes
the sound of the drum.

That is the skin.
That is the part that you hit.

The vellum head has been
in the water for about 20 minutes.

It's nice and soft.

We're going to cut it to size,

tuck it in,
then it goes on the drum.

The tool that I'm using for this

is called a lapping tool,
because that's what we're doing -

lapping the head.
As this dries, this vellum,

it's got enough strength to actually
pull the drum out, around,

which obviously is not good.
It won't sound as nice.

So I've just got to make sure
I tuck it in all nice and even.

Right, now, we'll just put it
on the drum.

Get the other head out.
Lap the other side.

I can't wait to see them on him.

I hope that's what she remembers.

Going to make his little face pop.

Thanks to Julie and Amanda,

Bundo the bunny is almost back
to his old self.

I'm noticing that he's actually
going to have one

higher than the other.
These slightly darker areas here

are where staining from the foam
rubber inside has come through

the little holes that his eyes
were in

and stained around the edges.

So this is definitely
where his original eyes were.

And I'm going to go out
the back of the head.

I know this distresses some people,
but Bundo can't feel a thing

because he doesn't come back to life
until both eyes are in place.

Perfect.

Now Bundo's eyes are on, I've just
got to add little pink whiskers

and he'll be ready to go back.

Can't wait to see him.

After Bundo comforted his owner
as a seriously ill baby,

this sweet little toy
became a mascot of hope.

But after 60 years of constant
companionship, he was all worn out.

Liz has returned, hoping her
bunny buddy is back in shape.

I'm feeling a little bit nervous
to see what the ladies have done

with him because I don't think
I realised until I dropped him off

what a poor state he actually
was in.

I'm really excited that he's going
to be back as part of our family.

Hiya. Hello.

How've you felt being apart
from Bundo for so long?

I haven't really slept,
I have to be honest.

But it's made me think a lot
about the past and our family.

Are you ready to meet Bundo again?

Yes, I am. Yeah.

Right.

Behave, Bundo.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, my goodness.

That's amazing.

I haven't seen him sitting up
like that for so long.

He's absolutely perfect.

That's exactly how I remember him.

Really?

I can't believe it.

I think he needs a cuddle.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, my goodness.
He's so strong.

I can't believe that he's
that robust.

These eyes!

You know, we haven't looked
at each other properly

for a long, long time.

I don't know how you've managed to
get him looking exactly like it was.

And his little nose.

Oh, and his little whiskers!

Oh, and his little sign.

This is just so lovely.
That's his job, wasn't it?

You both get a tick
from the Head Boy.

Can we have a gold star?

You can have a gold star.

Oh, it's my boy.

I know it's strange, but I feel
like he saved my life

back in those days.

And now I feel that you two have
saved his. Thank you.

Now I feel like he can go on for
another 60 years... Absolutely.

..with my girls, who love him.

Thank you very much.
Safe journey.

Thank you. Bye-bye.
Bye, Bundo. Bye!

I can honestly say I feel
absolutely joyous.

I never dared to think that Bundo
would last much longer than me.

And looking at him now,

it's like he's representing
a new chapter in all of our lives.

My children can have him
and pass him on to their children,

and then he'll just carry on

because now he feels like
he really could.

Will's work on the family pew
is far from done,

but having removed the fence paint,
he's made a find.

I thought that this was oak
in the beginning,

but since sanding it back,
it's revealed to be pitch pine.

It's got quite a nice pine smell.

He's also uncovered the origin of
the number one pew's other section.

Tracey said that this was made
from two different pews,

and on this side, I found
this lovely number 23,

so maybe the 23 and a number one.

And I've also found the area
that Tracey mentioned

with all the filler.

After the sanding,
this block dropped off.

I just need to clean that out,
stick that back on and shape it in.

I also need to glue this crack
on the side of the pew as well.

I'm hoping when I get some glue in
there and get some clamps on,

it should come together
really, really nicely.

Now I'm applying a really thin
coat of shellac polish,

and this is what's often used
in French polishing

and polishing older pieces
of furniture.

As I'm brushing it on, it's bringing
out this really dark orangey hue.

This polish here, protects but also
enhances the lovely grain

and the colour so you can actually
see the wood underneath,

whereas beforehand you can't
really see any of the wood.

It was like more of a block colour.

As the number one shield he removed
was brittle and cracked,

Will's decided to make matching
replacements for each end,

and on them craft faithful
recreations

of the two original numbers.

I've taken a tracing
of the number 23.

I'm just drawing around the reverse
side here.

When I turn it back over,

I can get a nice clear transfer
of the number 23.

Lovely.

That 23 looks fantastic.

The outline looks really nice
and crisp and the great thing is

I can use this as a reference to
how the number one's going to look.

In the outdoor workshop,
Pete's tying up the loose

ends of the restoration
of the Sea Cadets bass drum.

I'm roping up the drum now,
which is the old

way of keeping the heads on
and tightening them up.

The braces are on there.

As we pull them down,
that takes up the slack in the rope.

That'll tighten the head.

Well, that's more or
less finished now.

I hope Jordan and the Barrow Sea
Cadets are happy with the job.

And I hope the people that made
it that taught me

are happy with the job.

I've enjoyed doing it,
to be quite honest.

It's brought back a lot of memories
of the people that made it.

Just got to wait for it...to dry
and it'll sound like a bass drum,
at last.

This fine instrument was
once the beating

heart of the
Barrow-in-Furness Sea Cadets band,

but after it deteriorated,
it was given its marching orders.

Hoping it can be put through its
paces again is former Cadet, Jordan.

That drum has a lot of history
within it

and it's been silent for too long.

So to be able to use it again and to
hear it again will be fantastic.

How are we doing, Jordan? Hi, Jay.
Hi, Pete. Hi, Jordan.

How are you feeling? I'm excited.

Remember when you brought it in,
it was kind of like...

It wasn't a drum, was it, really?
No, it was in bits.

Yeah. Nobody has seen this in use
as one piece for over 60 years.

Let's hope you've made it useful,
then. Eh?

Do you want to see it?
I'd love to see it.

Go on, then, Pete. Let him see it.

That is fantastic!
That really is fantastic!

That is absolutely stunning!

That really is something special!

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!

Top work, Pete! Top work. Thanks.

I found that it was a Naval
blue to start with,

which would have been
a standard thing.

Mm. It looks...more correct. Yeah.

And it is correct.
It is correct, yeah.

I knew it was going to be good,
but I didn't know it was
going to be THAT good.

It looks brand fine new. Yeah.
It was a real team effort.

You've got Suzie doing the harness,
and then Dom's touched

in the actual sign at the front,
to make it look a lot brighter.

Fantastic. Yeah. So,
what's going to happen with it now?

What...? We're going to be using
it for special occasions only. OK.

It's to be used for the launches
of ships in Barrow and submarines,

civic parades, Remembrance Sunday,
things like that,

but it will go on display
in the unit for all to see.

That's what I like to hear.
Is the skin real alum?

Yeah, it's real vellum, yeah.

So it can... Give it a good old hit.
Yes. It'd be nice
to hear it, at last.

So, if you don't mind doing us the
honours and giving it a little go?
Absolutely, yeah.

The harness is there. Go for it.

The harness is absolutely superb.
Thank you, Suzie.

Oh, it's a perfect fit.
Let's hear it.

It's going to be loud, Pete, yeah?
It's going to be loud. Yeah!

BANGS DRUM

Sounds good.

BANGS DRUM

How does that sound, Pete?
Is that all right?

That's all right, isn't it?

Once you get it outside, that'll be
lovely. You'll hear it for miles.

OK! Are you prepared to march us
out? Absolutely. Cool.

I'll get the door for you.
Thank you.

There we are, sir.

BANGS DRUM

Playing the drum made me feel, um,
that I was a young Cadet again.

It's ready to go back on parade
again after all these years

and it's going to be good for many
more decades to come.

Will's been marching
steadily on with the church pew's

restoration, which is
almost complete.

And he's going the extra mile
with the pew numbers.

I'm using 24 carat gold leaf.
You can get loose gold leaf.

That's really good
for three-dimensional objects,

but for this,
this is the stuff to use.

I don't often get a chance
to do any gilding,

so I absolutely relish the chance
whenever I'm offered it.

That's all the gold finished now.

And these plaques are looking
very smart.

The last thing I need to do with
these is paint in the black,

where the shadows would be
and get these onto the pew.

After exposure to the elements
and a valiant restoration attempt,

this church pew turned family bench
was no longer sturdy or handsome.

Tracey's back to see
if Will has managed to turn back

the clock on her favourite
piece of furniture.

Whenever we had a down day,
all of us went out to sit on the pew

and to reflect on our problems
because it was such a close

connection with my dad
and my brother, who I lost.

It's an immense
amount of history in it,

so I would love to see
it as I remember it

before I...painted it.

There she is. Hi. Hey! Hi.
How are you, both? Very good.
Good to see you.

Good. So, how are you feeling?
I'm very excited.

Quite emotional to think that
I might get my pew back again.

Are you ready to have a look?
Yes, please! Yeah?

Ah! Oh, my goodness!

Oh, it looks amazing!

Really amazing. I'm...
It's just wonderful.

You done just such an amazing job.
Ah!

You've put my number one back on!

Absolutely amazing.
On this end, you've got a 23.

So once I sanded back
the varnish there,

I saw the outline of the
number 23... OK.

..so that's the 23 piece, but the
rest is still the number one bench.

Number one bench. It's just...
It's wonderful.

It just looks amazing. Is this the
way that you remember it in the
church? It is the way I remember it

in the church.
Definitely, with that nice shiny
surface, which I'd lost.

And the ends, this is the bit that
kind of really gets me

because this is the bit that
I remember.

When I got married, it was all
done in flowers and things, so yeah,

this is how it looked and it will
look very nice in my kitchen.

It's just brilliant.

Thank you.

Pleasure. Thank you very much.
It's...

I don't know what to say! Thank you.

We're going to get this shipped
up to you. Thank you. All right?

You really don't know how much this
means to me, it's amazing.

Thanks a lot. Lovely to see you
again. You take care now. Thank you.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

My dad would be
thrilled to see the bench now

because it is as it was
when he was sitting there when I got

married and I walked past him
and I sat there when he was buried.

Having the pew is a connection
to my family that I've lost

and the family that I've
got at the moment

and it's going to be somewhere that
we sit, we reflect, we celebrate.

To know that that's been restored
to its former glory is just amazing.

Join us next time,
as more dedicated craftsmanship...

Oh, my hands are aching! ..brings
beloved heirlooms back to life...

Well done! Thank you so much!
..in The Repair Shop.