The Repair Shop (2017–…): Season 8, Episode 4 - Episode #8.4 - full transcript

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

There's an awful lot
of work to do here.

Things are definitely
going to have to get worse

before they get better. ..are
restored to their former glory.

Look at that!

Furniture restorer Jay Blades...

Bringing history back to life is
what makes The Repair Shop

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

Solid as a rock. It's actually
quite miraculous, to be honest!

..come together to
work their magic.

Look at that! Tailor made!
Just got to keep calm and carry on.



OK, here we go!
It's going to look great.

Employing heritage craft skills
passed down the generations...

This is how it was,
so this is how it will be again.

..preserving
irreplaceable heirlooms...

Some objects can have
so much emotional attachment to the

family and that's what pushes
me to want to get it right.

..the team will restore the items...
Ooh! ..the memories...

That's the link between you,
your grandad... And now my son.

..and unlock the stories that
they hold. I'm just blown away!

I'm flying!

Morning, Dom. Morning.

In The Repair Shop today,
the most delicate of touches...

So it's actually watercolour,

so I've got to be very
careful not to go too far.



..as Louise battles to preserve
history. It's just very, very slow.

But I'll just sit
here and keep going.

A very forlorn horn...

STRUGGLES TO PLAY NOTE

..finds its voice again.

Cork is a traditional,
natural material that's been

used for generations
by instrument makers.

And a tired old donkey
is nursed back to health.

When we start putting everything
back together, you start

putting their character back and
they're sort of coming back to life.

But first, Tom Wenham from Ilkley
in West Yorkshire has arrived

with an extraordinary
piece of sporting history.

Hello. Hello.
What have we got in the box?

These are my gran's running spikes.

Oh, wow! Dean, you don't
mind joining us? Not at all.

For expert cobbler
Dean Westmoreland,

this job is the perfect fit.

So these are your
gran's running spikes?

She ran for Great Britain
in the 1936 Olympics.

Really? In Berlin. And won a silver
medal in the 4X100 relay squad.

Wow! That's amazing!
So your gran... What was her name?

Audrey. Audrey. Audrey Brown.

Those Olympics that she ran in was
quite important with social history.

Hitler was on the rise
and it was like...

A lot of people wouldn't
turn up to those Games.

Did she ever explain
what it was like?

She did and I know that she
certainly felt deeply

uncomfortable about some
elements of participating,

that it was Nazi Germany's
way of legitimising

themselves on the world stage,

it was obviously of huge significant
profile to Hitler personally.

Yeah, because was Hitler there?
Hitler was there, wasn't he?

Yeah, absolutely. Watched Gran run.

The German team were
nailed on favourites for the gold

and then dropped
the baton in front of Hitler.

Whoa! So Gran's medal was not
presented to her by Hitler.

I think something, in hindsight,
she was quite happy with.

But she was certainly aware of
the enormous significance of the

event, but obviously very proud and
wanting to represent her country.

Did you ever get to meet your gran?
Yeah. OK.

Growing up, she was very
much Gran at the time.

She perhaps didn't look like your
typical Olympic sprinter. Right.

But my mum certainly tells
the stories of running for the bus

and being sort of dragged
along at a million miles an hour!

She was a big part of my life.

I played lacrosse and was lucky
enough to play for England

myself and have now coached
the England team. Yeah.

Sport's been an enormous part of my
life. Absolutely driven by my gran.

And the shoes represent
her igniting that fire.

So, correct me if I'm wrong,

I've never seen running
shoes from the 1930s.

Are they supposed to be that flat?

No, they're such incredibly thin
leather, we've always been

really wary of touching and even
trying to make them look like shoes.

Have you ever worked on running
shoes like this before?

I've worked on running shoes,
but nothing of this age.

But I like a challenge.
You do like a challenge. Yeah, yeah.

I believe they used kangaroo
leather because it was very thin

and very strong and it moulded
to your foot nicely. Wow!

If Dean's able to restore these,
what are you going to do with them?

We'd love to have them on display.

Gran came from an era where women's
sport just wasn't necessarily

taken particularly seriously

and that idea of her being able to
support and inspire and maybe just

be a little bit of a catalyst
for other young girls to get

involved in athletics in particular,

I know that would be huge special to
her. I hope I can do them justice.

Thank you very much. Thank you for
bringing these in. My pleasure.

I'm really grateful to you as well.
Thank you very much. You take care.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

They're enormously important to us

because they are a tangible
and physical reminder

and an opportunity for us
to visualise what it must have

been like for Gran to literally be
in those shoes at the Olympic Games.

I think she would think it was
fabulous that the shoes would be

preserved and then hopefully
enjoyed by a whole new generation.

Now that is some history right
there. It is. Some heritage.

How are you going to get them
back into like a shoe shape?

Well, I think we're going to have to
get a shoemaker's last,

which is a wooden form...

OK. ..which will go in and that
will help reshape the upper...

Right. ..before we begin
work on the bottom.

You'd best get these
over to your bench,

so you can get them
over the finish line.

It's a beautiful construction.

It's all hand-sewn, which
you don't really see any more,

only in the highest end shoes.

The most important thing
is to stabilise the leather

and get some moisture back into it.
We use could a heavy solvent,

so that's going to
strip all the muck

and it will also open
the pores of the leather,

so that when I apply the creams
and stuff, it's going to absorb in.

It's 90-year-old leather.
It's thirsty.

So I've been repairing
shoes about 15 years now.

In this job, you never
know what's coming next

and every pair of
shoes is different.

And that's kind
of the beauty of the craft

and you're always learning,
so even though I'm 15 years in,

I'll be learning for the
rest of my days, hopefully.

As Dean begins his
meticulous restoration,

the next item to arrive also holds
immense historical significance.

Lorna has brought a very precious
reminder of her South African

childhood for the attention of
paper conservator Louise Drover.

Hello. Hi there. Hello. How are you
doing? I'm all right, thank you.

So what have we got in the box,
then? A very broken picture...

We like broken things!

A picture of my dad. Wow!
Stephen Tobias.

That is... That's impressive!
It's broken.

It's broken,
but look at the picture!

This picture always
hung in our front room

in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. OK.

So do you know what year this
picture was taken?

It would have been in the 1940s.

1940s? Yeah.
Looks like a very proud man there.

He was a very proud man.

My dad was a member of the
African National Congress, the ANC.

It was a banned organisation
because they were against apartheid.

They wanted to free South Africa.
Yeah.

The apartheid system
racially segregated

South Africans between
the years of 1948 and 1994,

dividing people by the
colour of their skin.

In response, the country's
oldest black political party,

the ANC, launched boycotts,
strikes and protests,

led by Nelson Mandela, who was
jailed for his role for 27 years.

Didn't they come across a lot
of opposition, then? Yes, they did.

He'd attend sort of
like secret meetings

and he was imprisoned several times
and one of the last times that he

was actually interrogated, I think
it was the fifth floor of the police

station and they sort of sat him
next to an open window and literally

that was the idea, that he would
jump and he wasn't going to do that.

He had a family. Yeah,
he wasn't going to do that.

No. So, he actually...

..decided then
we really needed to go. Yeah.

Go into exile,
which meant we could never go back

to South Africa ever again.
My mum died the January...

So she passed away in the January...
The January of '67. OK.

And we came to the UK...

..in September '67.

Sorry. It's OK. It was quite...
You know, we didn't...

I didn't really want to leave

because my grandmother
just lost her daughter.

Gosh!

So that was a really difficult time

to just leave South Africa.
Yeah. Yeah.

It was, you know... It was probably
the toughest thing to do.

So how old was you
when you cane over in '67?

I shouldn't be asking a
lady her age! No, no, 13.

My brother's the eldest, Peter.
OK. And then my sister, Bernice.

OK. And then it's me. Right.

So when your dad came over in '67,

did he still continue to be
part of the ANC? Oh, yeah.

Every Saturday, there was
an ANC demonstration

at South Africa House and it wasn't
until 1990 we actually got freedom.

So how did your dad feel when
that was it, the end of apartheid?

Ecstatic. I mean, literally,
there were parties everywhere

because that was their fight. Yeah.

You must be well proud. Extremely.

I can see you smiling there cos...

Yeah, cos... That was a good time!

That was a good time, yeah? Aw!
Yeah. So, '67 came over... Yeah.

..this photograph came
over with you guys.

Yeah, this is the only picture
I remember ever bringing.

I can't remember
when my dad gave me this,

but this was in our conservatory.
OK. Hence the water damage.

What would you like
Louise to do to this?

It would be nice to see
it how it was. Yeah.

I don't know if that's possible,
but the best it can be. Wow!

It's a big job, sorry.
It is a big job. It's all right.

It's a challenge. We love big jobs.

So if we're able to get
it all back as one piece,

where's it going to go?
I wanted to sort of really just...

My brother Peter to have it. OK.

Cos he's got three sons and it'd
be nice for him to hand it over

to his sons, you know, sort of as
part of a family heirloom. Yeah.

If it can be restored,
I want him to have it as it was.

This will be an honour for us
to work on this. Thank you.

You take care now. Thank you very
much. Thank you. Nice to meet you.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

The photo of my dad is
really important to us.

If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't
really be here today because I don't

know how things would have turned
out if we hadn't come to England.

He was very brave, a very smart man.

So now you're having a look at it,
what do you think about the damage?

Cos that looks really bad.
It's got several things going on.

Water damage,
moisture lines all up here. OK.

There's some sort of varnish
that's all run...

And we want this picture
looking...tip-top.

As tiptop as we can.

So you're going to get it over
to your bench and have a butcher's?

Yeah, go and do some tests
and just make a plan, really.

OK, well, if you could do that,
what I'm going to do is get

the frame over to Will
so he can hopefully put it together.

Fantastic. That'd be nice,
wouldn't it? Cool. OK.

So this photograph's
been produced on card,

probably what's kept
it from falling apart really.

There's watercolour tones
on his shirt and his face is just

so lovely, so the end goal is
really to make that more visible.

So I'm going to start with the
latex sponge, just very gently,

before moving on to a
moistened cotton swab.

I'm just working out how
this goes together.

There we are.
A lovely oval shape again.

Wonderful! Right, well, now I
know it all goes back together

and I'm not missing any pieces,

if I lightly clean out
any of the old glue

that's inside the joints,
I should be able to get some new

glue in there, get it back into
position and then leave it to dry.

Cobbler Dean will also be working
with wood, now that the newly

conditioned leather of the running
shoes is supple enough to handle.

So now what we're going to do
is get these wooden lasts,

which are a representation
of the foot,

get that inside the shoe
to give it some shape.

And then we can start
deconstructing the shoe.

I can get it in the last stand,
so now I'll be separating

the sole from the uppers
by breaking the stitches.

I'm pretty nervous about it.

So there is a danger of
if we pull too hard,

or not careful enough,
we could slice into the upper.

So we need to be very careful here

cos it's the upper that
we're going to save.

So I'm just going to use some
pincers now to try

and peel that bit back
that we've cut

and just see...

..if we can break that.

Becoming a cobbler
kind of happened by chance.

I saw an ad in a newspaper
for a tea boy

and I thought, "I make
good tea, so I will apply,"

and it turned out it was a cobbler's
and that started the journey really.

I was lucky,
I got put with an older gentleman.

I spent about four years with him
and got really good training.

We really got on.

And that kind of sparked my love
for the craft really.

That's fantastic!

We've managed to get
that off without damaging the upper.

And these spikes, we can re-use
in the new sole, all being well.

Here's the last stitch
coming off now.

And we're ready to start rebuilding,
I think, now.

Hey, Dean. How are you getting on?
All right, Dom, yeah.

I wonder if you could help me
actually.

I've got these steel spikes. They're
looking a bit old now.

Oh, yeah, I can see on this one,

look, the rust has started to set
in. Yeah. What a shame!

I guess these would have been just
bare metal, so it's inevitable.

Of course, yeah.
I'll get rid of that rust for you

and I'll bring them back over.

Lovely. Thank you, mate. Cool.
Nice one.

Just getting my first proper look at
these lovely little running spikes.

Quite a lot of them are showing
signs that the rust is really

starting to set in.

The process I've chosen to go with
is a rust removing solution.

I'll leave them in there for a good
few hours and when I come back, this

water will have gone a murky colour
and all that rust will be removed.

So now we can remove the shoe
from the last and start getting

a new insole on, which will hold
the whole shoe together.

So we've got some pre-soaked
leather,

which makes it malleable and easier
to work with and stitch through.

So the next stage,

because we haven't got much lasting
allowance, which is how much

you have to pull over the last
and secure it to the insole,

we're going to take some...

This is kid leather,
which is goat, which is

very close in thickness
and strength to kangaroo leather,

and we're going to add a little
rib on the inside, glue that in,

and that will give us
something to pull over the last.

I'm going to delicately put some
glue around the inside of here.

Just pin this down on the inside,

make sure we've got a good bond.

So what we're doing here is getting
the upper around the last.

Previously added this leather rib,
which gives us some lasting

allowance to pull over without
disturbing the original upper.

A little bit fiddly,
but we'll get there.

Once that's glued down and cured,
I can do the same to the other

shoe and hopefully, we can get
the soles on and begin sewing.

Dean, how's it going?
All right, mate, yeah.

Nothing ground-breaking, but...
Let's have a gander.

They're OK, have a look.

Oh, they look great, mate. It's all
right? Yeah, spot on. Thank you.

Good luck with the rest.
All right. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Now we've got the spikes back,
we can get them into the outsole.

Let that go off a bit

and then we can start hand-sewing
the whole thing together.

So the type of stitch we're using
is a saddle stitch, which is

one of the strongest
stitches you can do.

It's one piece of
thread, two needles,

goes through the same
hole in opposite directions.

We are going through with
the insole as well maybe

three-quarters of
an inch of leather.

Although it's wet, we've got
to be very careful not to slip

and go straight through the upper,
which is easily done.

So I'm going to take my time
and be really careful now.

The next visitor is Victoria Finn
from the West Midlands,

accompanied by her sign language
interpreter Heather.

She's brought along an antique
instrument for the attention

of maestro Pete Woods.

Hello. Hello. Hello. Hi.

I'm Jay. I'm Victoria
and this is Heather. All right?

How are you doing? And I'm Pete.

Hello.
So what have we got in the box?

I've got a clarinet. It belonged
to my daughter Isobella's grandpa.

His name is Marcus.

He's been playing the clarinet
since he was 14 years old.

So he's had it all his life. Yeah.

When Marcus discovered that
Isobella really wanted to play

the clarinet, it was something
that I didn't know about. OK.

But it was right for Isobella to
have this. She was so excited.

"A clarinet, for me!"

How old is Isobella now?
How old is she?

She's now 11.

Yeah. Wow! But she got this
when she was about five.

Did they ever play
the clarinet together?

No. He passed away about 2018.

But she misses him quite a lot.

She's often spoke about him.

They had this bond
when it came to music.

It was just lovely to see that. It's
what music does to people. It is.

Ever since she was five,
she kept saying,

"Have you got it repaired yet?
When can I play?"

But I couldn't find anyone
to repair it for her.

So Isobella has never played this?
She's never played with it.

She's profoundly deaf. Hearing
aid is not powerful enough. Right.

So she has a cochlear implant
and she hears and she loves music.

Isobella has waited over half
her life to play this clarinet.

How would you like it to look?

Immaculate.

OK. A lot of work needs
doing to it, I think.

It needs a good service,
I think, yes. Do your magic!

I'm hopeful for the case as well.

Did it have a handle on it before?

Yes. I visualise Isobella carrying
it to school to practise.

So I think to have this repaired,
it will mean so much to her. Yeah.

It's the only thing
that she's got of Marcus.

And so I think it will be really
special to get this working...

And also keep that connection...

Keep that connection between
the two. Definitely. Definitely.

Did Marcus have a favourite tune
that he played on the clarinet?

Yes, Strangers On The Shore, in
the '60s. Strangers On The Shore.

You can play that, can't you? Ooh!

I've got high expectations
from you. Ooh, don't!

Thank you for bringing it in.

All the best. OK. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
Bye. Bye. Take care now. Bye-bye.

I think the clarinet will bring
together the memory of Grandpa

and for Isobella to have,
it will mean so much to her.

I look forward to see her blossoming
with playing the clarinet.

For a first clarinet, Isobella's a
lucky girl, she's getting a nice,

good quality clarinet.

We got stuck keys,
there's pads missing.

They're all going to get replaced.

We've got to treat the
metalwork, clean it up.

We've also got to
treat the woodwork,

otherwise it will crack.

And also, we've got the
cork tenon joints there.

We need to just replace them.

That key there,

it's starting to
come off quite nicely.

Got a few rusted ones
still to deal with.

Once they're off, then we can
get on with really working on it.

With the surface dirt removed
from the water damaged photo,

Louise is investigating the best way
to deal with the streaks and stains.

So I'm discovering
that this isn't a varnish.

This is more of a glaze,
which is a water soluble coating,

and it's that that you see
washed through his face.

So I'm going to try and even
up this area and it can be done

with a barely moistened cotton swab.

So it's easier to remove
the glaze in part

and even it up
because it's water based.

But of course, underneath it,
is a hand coloured photograph.

So it's actually watercolour.

You know, there's a sort of pink
on his lips and blue on the helmet.

So I've got to be very careful
not to go too far.

So it's just very, very slow.

But I'll just sit
here and keep going.

I'm really happy with
how Stephen's face looks now.

These really damaged
and mottled areas,

there's actually surface
loss here and I think

it could be from silverfish grazing.

Silverfish is a small
prehistoric looking thing.

Actually, it does look like
the long beetle and it's flat,

tends to hang around in
bathrooms, damp areas.

It loves damp paper,
so it grazes on the top,

just takes off the upper layer.

So that leaves a very
fibrous layer on the top.

And we need to consolidate that.

This consolidation
is methylcellulose,

it acts as an isolating layer.

For conservation, we never
retouch onto the object.

We always place down
some of this gel

and that makes it reversible.

So I let that dry and then
I return to it with my pigment.

Well, the glue has completely dried
and the frame is really sturdy.

Sturdy enough for me to start
filling all those gaps.

I'm using a two part filler here,
mixed in with a bit

of brown pigment.

And the idea here is to try to match
the colour of the rest of the frame.

That means that when it comes
to painting the frame,

half the work is already done.

So here we go.

I re-touch just as watercolours,
just delicately

in sort of small dots and
slightly just tone the areas

which are particularly damaged,

just so your eye's not drawn
to them, but it's drawn more

to Stephen's face.

When I first saw this, I thought,
like, this is a solid walnut frame.

However, it's not, it's a pine
frame and it's been painted

to look like walnut.

I'm starting off with some shellac
polish, which is used in French

polishing and some pigments here.

And I'm going to slowly
start building up the colour.

Once I've done that round the entire
frame, then I can start working on

the detail, then I'll
seal the whole thing in

with a final coat of polish.

It's been a marathon repair,
but Dean has finished hand sewing

the tiny running shoes that helped
to win an Olympic medal.

Now their structure is stable,

he can focus on making them
look their best.

I just want to get that nice shape.

And as you say, it's a very defined
line which gives a nice, clean look

to the shoe.

I'm just going to add a
little bit more wax now.

And what I'm trying to do is
match this dark tan colour.

So I'm going to take my polishing
cloth and just give that

a little bit of a buff.

I think for a shoe of 90 years
old to be re-lasted,

pulled under, sewn together again
and still be in one piece

is kind of testament to how well
they were made.

So we'll just finish this other
shoe and I hope Tom's

really happy with it.

Athlete Audrey Brown travelled
to Berlin in 1936 and, wearing

these shoes, clinched the silver
medal in front of Adolf Hitler.

But to Tom, she was the beloved
grandmother who encouraged

his own passion for sport.

There's a lot of grand stories
and our memories tied up

and linked to them.

So what I'm really hoping
is that they'll now be preserved

in a way that we can
have them on display.

Tom, hi. Hi there. I'm Dom.

Hi, Dom, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.

How are you, Tom, are you all right?

Hi, Dean, great to see you again.

How are you feeling? Excited.

Incredibly excited.

Just really looking
forward to seeing the shoes.

Oh, my goodness!

That is amazing!

I'm sorry, I'm speechless.

That's... That's beyond anything
I could have expected, Dean.

That's just unbelievable.
Thank you.

Unbelievable, amazing.

Cannot thank you enough.

Hope we did Audrey proud.

You certainly did.

Oh, it's, it's everything
we could have hoped for and more.

Can't thank you enough for that.

Thank you, it was an
honour to work on them.

They look amazing, don't they?
They really do.

You can picture her wearing those,

pulling those on
for an Olympic final.

That's something truly special.

What's the plan for them now?

Plan for them now is
to show them off,

to take pride in trying to
talk through Gran's legacy,

particularly with her
great grandchildren.

So they're ready to take away.

I'll get them in this box for you.

Keep them safe, that's it.
Yeah, definitely.

So although we had
to replace the soles,

I thought it was important
to keep the originals,

as these were the soles that
touched the track in 1936.

Gosh. Well, they're all yours.

Enjoy them. Thank you very much.

Thanks so much. Nice to meet you.
See you. Bye-bye.

Nice one. Cheers, man.

Gran would be enormously proud.

I cannot think of much
that would be more personal

to an Olympic sprinter
than their spikes

and to bring all of that emotion
they felt at the time to life now

is incredibly powerful and they'll
be pride of place in the house.

Arriving next at the
barn is Sharon Rawlinson

from Staffordshire, accompanied
by a four-legged friend.

She's here to see toy
restorers Julie Tatchell

and Amanda Middleditch.

Hello. Hello. How are you doing?

I'm good, thank you.

Oh, that's cute, isn't it?
Oh, look at him.

I'm Jay. And you are?
Hi, Jay. I'm Sharon.

And who have we got here
on the table? Who's that?

This is Neddy. Neddy.
So who does Neddy belong to?

Whose is it? So Neddy's mine.

And when did you get Neddy?

I got Neddy when I was...

For my first Christmas.

Wow.

When I was six weeks old,

my dad was diagnosed
with a terminal brain tumour.

So, by my first Christmas,
my dad was very poorly

and his work friends knew that
he was not going to survive.

So they all clubbed together to make
sure that I got a Christmas present

and the Christmas
present was Neddy.

Within six months of
the diagnosis, he died.

So, yeah.

How old was your dad
when he passed away?

He was 28 when he died. 28? Yeah.

What was your dad's name?
John. John.

I haven't got any photographs of me
with my dad, which is a big deal.

I wish... I wish I had,
but I haven't.

So this is my everything.
It's all I've got.

It must have been very hard
for your mother as well

to have such a young baby...
Yeah.

..and then go through all
that with her own husband.

She struggled, just
after he died, for a bit

and my nan and grandad
looked after me.

She moved back in with my nan
and grandad, her mum and dad.

But she met and remarried
my adoptive father, Fred,

who is amazing.

What did you do, playing
with Neddy? How did it work?

So here, there was a handle,
a red handle that came up... OK.

..and I took my first
steps with Neddy,

given that my dad had passed away.

Yeah.

I almost feel my dad was holding
my hand when I learned to walk,

holding on to the bar.

So he was... He was there
when I took my first steps.

Yeah. In spirit. That's lovely.

My brother, Craig, took
his first steps with Neddy

and John and Sam, my children,
took their first steps with Neddy.

So Neddy's got quite
a few people walking!

OK.

What would you like us to do to
Neddy, or these young ladies to do?

You can see the metalwork
on him is a real problem.

Here and here... Yeah.
..there was a handle.

He's dirty, he's matted
and he used to have a saddle.

I remember the saddle and the reins.

And then the paintwork that's on
there now, how would you want that?

I'd like it to be red and...

Shiny? Shiny, yeah.
Red and shiny. Yeah. OK.

It would be incredible
if the next generation

take their first steps with Neddy.

Yeah. That's going to happen.

It's going to happen. Definitely.

I nearly didn't come because
I didn't want to leave him.

Bless you. Seriously?
We will look after him, honestly.

Thank you.

Can I just give him a kiss before
I go? Of course you can. OK.

OK. Thank you.
You take care now.

Thanks. Bye. Bye. Bye.

I feel a little bit empty,
leaving him here.

When people come into to the home
and see Neddy, they ask about him,

so that brings my dad
back to life almost.

He's back in the room and
it keeps his memory alive.

Dom. Yeah. Do you want
to join us, please?

Bring an adjustable spanner.
Got one. Nice one.

It's windy out there, isn't it?

You all right, Jay? Meet Neddy.

Bless him.

We'd like you to take him apart...

Well, take apart the
frame underneath him.

Take the frame off? Yes, please.

So, ladies, what are you
going to do to Neddy?

Well, I think the first
thing is to get him clean.

We'll give him a saddle and a
bridle. What about the metalwork?

Sharon wants her grandchildren
to use this again.

So basically, all red again and
hopefully a nice handle on the top.

A handle up and over here from these
broken points and a full paint job.

So it's going to look shiny and new.
Yes. Yeah. Yes.

Oh, look at that!

All done. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
See you in a bit. Cheers, Dom.

Poor old Neddy looks
like he has had a life.

This is the chassis,
the bit that he sits on.

We're going to get this shining.
Bright, shiny red again.

Make a nice handle
to go up and over.

To do that, I'm going to have
to take it completely apart.

As instrument restorer Pete
has his hands full

with the dilapidated clarinet,

he's asked leather expert
Suzie Fletcher

to help him with the equally
distressed case.

I've got Victoria's
clarinet case here.

And Victoria would like there
to be a handle on this.

So I've got to remove these rusty
bits and replace with new fixings.

I've now measured up the width
of the cork for the tenon join

so it can be airtight.

Now, all I've got to
do is apply the glue.

Cork is a traditional
natural material.

It's been used for generations
by instrument makers.

We use it on all woodwind for
the keys to stop them going clunk.

It's a great material.
You can mould it and shape it,

and it's easy to work.

The glue's now gone off.

You can just put it on there.

Wrap it around nice and tight.

I've got those rivets out at last

and I can now move on
to making a handle.

There we go. So that's our base cut.

So that'll go on like that.

I've got another piece
that will go on the back

and then all of that can be covered.

Now I've put the tenon corks on,

so now I'm going to have
a look down the bore of it.

Surprisingly,
it's in very good nick,

but it just needs bore oiling
every so often to stop it cracking.

If it's not nice and smooth inside,
the sound isn't quite as good.

That's in now. That will get into
the wood and it will protect it.

Put it aside.

Get on with another job
like polishing keys.

That's all glued nicely together

and the shape is looking
really very nice.

What I need to do now
is cover this shape

with a piece of light pigskin.

Just lay that on...

..like so.

So that's that done.

I now start to hand-sew it together.

Right, I've cleaned
the clarinet up now.

We can start assembling it.

These are little
what they call skin pads.

These are the bits that stop the
air getting out the little holes.

I'll heat up the key.

Then we can put a bit
of shellac in there

once the key's hot enough.

As we heat it up, it becomes fluid.

Then as it cools down,
obviously it becomes solid again.

So it's the glue.

We've got to make sure these
pads are nice and airtight.

Once it's cooled down,
it'll be solid on there.

Now all I've got
is about 17 more to go.

Having worked her magic on the
picture of a much-loved father

and anti-apartheid activist,
conservator Louise

is reinstating the restored frame
using specialist techniques

to preserve the picture
for many years to come.

Conservation framing, it's very
important to prepare the frame

and line all these rebates
using this white paper tape,

it's a sort of acid free gum tape,

and it seals the glass so no dust
or insects can get in the frame.

Being that it's an oval frame,

I've just got to ease
the paper tape into place

and just carry on like that
all the way around.

And then I think we can
assemble it then.

This picture accompanied a family
fleeing the apartheid regime

of 1960s South Africa and bore
the scars of all it had endured.

For Lorna, the image of her brave
father and all he represented

needed to be restored.

Since the photograph has been here,

I've been looking back on how
things were for us in South Africa

and the picture itself just reflects
my dad and how strong he is.

Here she is. Hello.
Hello. Hi, Lorna.

How are you doing? I'm all
right, thank you. You good?

A bit nervous and emotional.

Well, it's a very important
painting to the family. Yeah.

Are you ready to see it?
Yeah. Please. OK.

It's beautiful.
It really is beautiful.

Thank you very much.
You're very welcome.

Oh, it's incredible.

How did you do that?

Oh, I can't believe it.

It's just a beautiful picture.

All the features in there

that I haven't seen, really,
for quite some time,

you can really see it in there.

Nice to see his face again,
isn't it?

And it's so much brighter as well.

And the frame is incredible.

That's not the same frame
though, is it? It is.

It is the same frame. We just had
Will work on it. Seriously? Yeah.

My goodness.

Yeah.

Oh, thank you so much.

My poor brother Peter's
going to be in bits too.

It means a lot to the family.

And you don't realise how much
things like that mean to you.

This has taken me back
to my 13-year-old self.

It's just amazing.

Well, it means a lot to us,
everybody in the barn,

because basically what your dad did,
all the efforts with the ANC,

brought worldwide attention
to the injustice

that was going on in South Africa.

So we're just honoured to have it
here. I can't thank you all enough.

Thank you for bringing it in.

Thank you very much. Thank you
for everything. It's a pleasure.

Let me get the door. Thank you.
Bye. Bye-bye. Thank you.

I can't believe what they've done.

It's beautiful.

It's absolutely beautiful.

My brother Peter, who I'm going
to give the photograph to,

will pass it on to his children.

So my father's legacy
will definitely carry on.

While Dom's outside sandblasting
Neddy's metalwork...

..inside, the bear ladies are doing
the donkey work on Neddy himself.

I've finished giving Neddy a really
good brushing. He really needed it.

I've got loads of dust out of him.

So I'm going to start
with a surface clean.

Basically, we just lay the bubbles
onto him very, very gently.

And then we're going to put some
fabric softener on a flannel

and wipe him over, put some
moisture back into that fur,

and hopefully he'll look and feel

like the Neddy
she remembers as a child.

Originally, Neddy's ears
would have been quite perky

and pointing forward.

I don't think there's any
child who would ever sit

on one of these things
and not use the ears as handlebars.

So consequently,
the wires get twisted.

But basically, that was the piece
that held it into his head

and that was the shape of the ear.

So I'm going to replicate that
with wire.

We start off by putting
the lining into the...

..ear.

And then we push the wire...

..into the sleeve.

And then I can just
tease it into shape.

And then that will be
how it goes into the head.

And I think they're just
going to look adorable.

The simple job of making
a new handle for Neddy

is slightly more involved.

Luckily, I've managed to find

a picture of what Neddy
used to look like.

The problem is, Neddy's original
handle was made of tubing,

which is hollow.
So this piece of steel tubing

is the same diameter
as the original.

But the problem is,

if you clamp that down
and try to put a bend in that...

..the tube deforms
and sort of crushes itself in,

which is not how
Neddy's handle looked.

I'm trying something
that I've not tried before.

I've welded up the end and
I'm packing it full of sand.

So it almost becomes
like a solid rod.

So in theory, I'll be able
to bend it over and roll it round

and that sand that's
packed inside so tight

won't allow the tube to collapse.

Right, that is it.
I'm full to the brim.

Now I need to close that end off

and just weld it up
so that sand can't escape.

OK.

OK. I should probably stick some
goggles on. Better to be safe.

I'm just going to have to give it
a go and keep everything crossed.

Ha-ha! Yes! Look at that!

Any job that we do, when we start
putting everything back together,

it gets really exciting because
you're putting their character back

and they're coming back to life.

Where he's been played with,

his head has actually gone
to one side like this.

So I want to make sure
that the ears look balanced

and sort of go with that lovely sort
of quirk that he's got to his head.

I'm so pleased with this handle.

I was kind of debating
which way round to put it,

but it's so symmetrical,
it doesn't actually matter.

It's time for the exciting bit.
Let's get these wheels on.

They just slide on there.

The last thing to go on
are these little hubcaps.

Perfect.

With a new handle
and fresh baize interior,

Suzie has transformed
the tired clarinet case

into something befitting
Pete's deft handiwork.

There we have the case finished.

I'm quite pleased with the way
this has come up.

It's looking nice and shiny.

I'm sure Isobella will be
quite pleased to have it back

and to play it now.

So now all we've got to do
is give it a bit of a blow

and make sure it works.

Few squeaks, a little
bit of adjustment,

and we should be on the way.

This clarinet was presented
to a musical five-year-old

by her late grandfather.

Now 11, Isobella's arrived with mum,
Victoria, and her interpreter,

to see if it's finally ready
for her to learn to play.

You've been pestering me.

When will the clarinet be ready?

When can I play it?

I'm really excited, but also
really nervous about seeing

if it's going to be fixed
or what's going to happen.

So I'm really excited and nervous.

Hello. Hello.

This is my daughter, Isobella,
that I've been telling you about.

How are you doing, Isobella? You
all right? Yes, I'm OK thank you.

I'm Jay. And I'm Pete.
Lovely to meet you.

So from what I understand, Isobella,

you've been wanting to play it
for quite a long time. Yes.

The team have worked on this and I
cannot wait for you to see it.

OK. OK. Do you want to see it?

Yes, please. OK. Pete... We're away.
..do us the honours, please.

Oh! Gosh!

Wow! Isn't that lovely?
I love the velvet, it's all clean.

Oh! And that handle.

It's proper leather.
Isn't that lovely?

And Suzie worked on the case.

All the rust has gone.
Yeah. That's nice.

You've got new pads there as well.

Can I try piecing it together?

Oh, gosh! Wow, that's amazing.

How does that feel, holding it now?

Knowing that my grandpa played this
and now I'll be playing it, it's...

..magical.

It brings me a lot closer
to my grandpa. OK.

It makes me feel like
he's standing right here.

Isobella, would you like
to hear it play?

I'd love to hear it play.
Pete, can you do us the honours?

Maybe one day you could
play that tune. Maybe.

Maybe. You'll be able
to play it easy.

It took me about a
week of practising

and I don't play the clarinet,

so I expect you to do it
in about three days.

That's lovely. Thank you.
Pleasure.

Thank you for bringing it in.
Thank you. Take care. Goodbye.

I'm feeling overjoyed because
when I'm going to play this,

it's going to feel like grandpa's
still there watching over me.

Grandpa will always
be in your heart. Yeah.

So when you play,
always remember he's there.

Yeah. Very special.

Here he comes.

It's finishing touches time
for Neddy, the push along donkey.

I hope this fits.

I don't think I want
to give Neddy back.

I know.

Wow, Neddy is looking awesome.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you.

Really, really good.

I've got some bad news, though.
I need to take him into my shed.

Oh, no. But I promise you
I'll look after him.

I know you will. Thank you.

I think I'm best doing this on its
side. I'll try and lay him down.

Neddy can have a little bit
of a lie down.

Lovely.

That's all looking really good.
I'm happy with that.

Now, I better get him back inside.

I bet the bear ladies
are worried about him.

For nearly 50 years,
Neddy has been the connection

between Sharon and the father
who died when she was just a baby.

Today, she's back,
hoping he's sturdy enough

to teach a new generation
of children to walk.

I'm nervous. I've missed him.

He's always been there.

It's having that reconnection
with my birth dad, isn't it?

So it's a big deal for me.

He's not just a teddy bear.

Hi. How are you doing?
I'm all right. Are you?

I'm very good, actually.

Have you missed Neddy? Yes, a lot.

Straight in there,
"Yes, I've missed him."

You want him back, don't you?
Yes, definitely.

And hopefully, you're going
to like what you see.

Yeah. OK. Are you ready?
I'm ready.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you ever so much. Thank you.
You're welcome.

Oh, he's beautiful.

Oh, look how shiny he is.

Oh, and he's so solid.

Oh, Neddy!

Oh, thank you.

You're welcome.
Dom worked wonders on this frame.

He feels fluffy.

He is fluffy! It took a lot of work!

He's beautiful
and he's how I remember him.

The grandchildren
are going to love him.

Yeah. He's really good at teaching
children to walk is Neddy.

And obviously that's amazing
because that's...

We get to talk about my dad again
when they're doing that.

So he's very much here
and with us still.

So Neddy is yours to take now.

Welcome back, Ned.

Thank you. Thank you.
And thank Dom for me too. Will do.

Bye, Neddy.

So I can't wait to get him home

and the grandchildren
can start playing with him.

And of course, he's the biggest
connection I've got with my dad,

so he keeps his memory
alive for all of us.

Join us next time as the crew
pulls together there...

There we are.
All rigged and ready to go.

..to make more dreams come true...

I'm flying!

..in The Repair Shop.