02x07 - Unique Village Sign

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Welcome to The Repair Shop,

where cherished family heirlooms
are brought back to life.

This is the workshop of dreams!

Home to furniture restorer
Jay Blades.

Nowadays, everybody spends a fortune
on stuff that, once it's broken,

they just bin it. But everybody has
something that means too much to be

thrown away,
and that's where we come in.

Working alongside Jay

will be some of the country's
leading craftspeople.

Every piece has its own story.

It's amazing to think that some of
my work becomes part of that story.

I've always played with things,

I've always repaired things.
And I just love it.

There is a real pleasure
in bringing people's pieces

back to life again.

Each with their own
unique set of skills...

Right tool for the right job.

..they will resurrect,

revive... On water, man!

..and rejuvenate

treasured possessions

and irreplaceable pieces
of family history.

Wow! She's fantastic.

Bringing both the objects...

Oh! This is what I remember.

...and the memories
that they hold...

Wow! ..back to life.

Oh, my God!

In the repair shop today,

Steve gets to grips with
a favourite childhood toy.

ALARM BELL

There we go.
Sounds a bit like a fire engine!

Or a doorbell.

It's quite a magical peace, really.

And Kirstin takes on an Oriental
artefact with an unusual history.

It can be used for blood-letting,

as a sort of medical practice

for treating all sorts
of various illnesses.

First to arrive at the repair shop,
a very special delivery,

all the way from deepest Dorset.

How we doing, sir? John Felsted and
Kevin Oakley have brought a little

piece of local history
that's seen better days.

This looks heavy. That's it, boys,
that's it, boys, come on!

Here, I've got it, I've got it.

OK?

Phew!

So, now I've got my breath back,
what is it we've got here?

You've got the village sign,

from a little village in Dorset
called Winterborne Stickland.

This was crafted
by the whole village.

Reg, who was a baker...

A baker? He was a baker.

Right. So he designed
it in Plasticine

and then they decided amongst
themselves who would carve what.

We have a local engineering works
that made the ironwork.

We've got a man that makes ceramics.

Yeah. So he made that.

Loads of people have come together
to make this sign?

Yeah. And it depicts various parts
of the village. Yeah,

I was about to say, it's quite
interesting

how you got different
things going on there.

With the gloves and the clock.

That's the mill house.

And there's a church.
This is the church, yeah.

Now, this side looks in
a lot better condition.

One faces north,
one faces south. OK.

I think you'll find
this faces south.

And you've got a date down here,
what's this?

1988, that's the date
it was unveiled.

Oh, this is quality. Oh, I get it.
That's why we've got the post.

So, this would sit
right on top of that,

so it needs a good support
because this is very heavy.

It is heavy. Yeah.

The main problem with the post

is the crack
all down through the middle.

Yeah. It would be very nice

to see it put back to
its original condition. Yeah.

Simple!

We can do that, can't we?

I think this is going to be
much like how it was

put together in the beginning, a big
team effort by the repair shop.

Yeah. Gentlemen,
it's been a pleasure.

It's a pleasure. Absolute pleasure.
Thank you very much. Thank you.

You guys take care now.

First port of call
is metal worker Don.

Cor, this is heavy! OK, be careful
because that's ceramic.

OK.

What is this?
It is the top of a village sign

but I need your help
to take this apart.

It's so much easier

for me to clean all the individual
panels separately,

rather than having this humongous
sign on my bench.

I can take the metal part out
and leave you with just the wood.

Fantastic, top man. Thanks, Don.

Many of the items that arrive in
the repair shop are faded old toys

that stir happy memories.

Mervyn Granshaw is hoping

that the team can rescue
his favourite boyhood possession.

How we doing?
Very well indeed, thank you.

Nice to meet you.
What is it we've got here?

This is a Dennis fire engine.

They made most of the world's fire
engines for, probably, 100 years.

Right. And during
the Second World w*r, my father,

who was a cabinet maker,

he knew this gentleman
who worked in a factory,

who was a skilled metal worker.

He made this model
during his spare time, as a hobby.

He gave it to my father.
My father's name was Dennis.

You look on the side of the bonnet,
either side you'll see,

it's not only a Dennis fire engine

from the Dennis fire engine
factory,

but it's... Made for Dennis.
Made for Dennis, my father.

So, he came home with it one day
and gave it to me as a toy.

And you used to play with this?
Oh, yeah. It was my favourite toy.

So what did it used to do, then?
Like, you say you played with it,

you just pushed it up and down,
or does it do stuff?

No, no, no, how it works is this.

If you operate this one on the side,
they can go up, as far as you want.

A-ha!

And then this one, here, will rotate
it anywhere you want it to go.

Yeah. When it's working
and all the strings are functional,

there's another little lever here
and when you rotate it,

the ladders will extend
all the way up,

so you have a triple length ladder.

It also had its headlights at the
front, operated by this switch,

a little interior light
for the driver.

And also underneath there is a bell.

So this is a one-off, isn't it?

There's no other vehicle like this
anywhere in the world, is there?

No, not at all.
This is the only one.

I think this is all going
to clean up beautifully, actually,

and look absolutely cracking

when we've got it all
up together, working,

lights on, ladder working
and everything as it should be.

Steve, you should be able
to fix this.

You used to be a fireman,
didn't you?

I did, yeah, I was a fireman
for 30 years, retained fireman.

Just waiting for a call,
when I was working on clocks.

And, yeah, I'd learned to drive
fire engines on a Dennis.

So you know how to work this, then?

Yeah!

I've now got a granddaughter
and it would just be lovely

if it was as it was
when I was little.

Well, thank you for bringing it in.

Not at all. And we'll let you know
as soon as we're done.

Thank you very much.
Nice to meet you.

Thank you. You take care.
Bye-bye, now.

There's quite a lot to be done
on this, actually,

apart from cleaning it up.

I've got to work out how the ladders
extended with all the ropes

and everything.

And, also, the electrics inside
I need to sort out, as well,

because the two lights,

there's the one there
that I've got to re-fix in there,

I'd like all that to work as well.

The bell is in quite a state and
I'm not sure yet how that rings.

At the back of the workshop,

Will's getting to grips
with the Dorset village sign,

built by the residents themselves
30 years ago.

I am beginning to clean off
the old varnish,

so I'm using this dental tool.

It's really fine and really small.

There's something actually
really satisfying about this.

Peeling back the years,

you can actually see some areas
where whoever had carved this before

had left tiny imperfections
and scratches and things.

If I went over this with sandpaper
I might have lost that,

so it's quite nice to see
a bit of the maker's mark.

Kirsten is running her eye
over the once colourful

ceramic country landscape,

which has been growing greener
with every passing season.

This side has obviously borne
the brunt of the weather

and it's got quite a lot of algae
and stuff growing on it,

so I'm just going to give it
a little bit of a clean,

and I'm just going to try some
water on a cotton wool swab

and see how that does.

Actually, that's coming off
really, really well.

The team in the workshop
is accustomed to working with

prized pieces from all over
the globe and, this morning,

Jane Martin has arrived
with precious cargo...

Hello, what a beautiful place
this is.

There we go, thank you.

..an ancient artefact
from the Far East.

So, what do we have here?

Here we are. Well, we've got
a ceramic plate

and it felt off a shelf

and now it's in these pieces,
and I feel shattered.

Did I hear ceramic?

Yes, I was about to call you over.

Hello, I'm Kirsten.

I hope you can help because

it was bought by my grandfather
in the 1880s.

He was a very cultivated man.

It was already broken
at the bottom here.

You will perhaps find the ancient
glue and the tragedy,

it fell off a shelf to the ground
and I was shattered.

And I want to hand it on
to the next generation.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's
why it means a lot, you know,

to have it made good again.

I would love to know if you,
you know,

what was it for
and is it Japanese or Chinese?

Actually, I think it is Japanese.

Why would you say more Japanese
than Chinese?

Well, just the Imari ware
is quite typically Japanese.

Do you happen to know
if all the pieces are here?

I was about to ask the same
question. Yes, that's all I have.

Do you know, it is really...
Aesthetics mean a lot to me,

and I just love things
that are beautiful

and as William Morris said,

and I'm sure you all know,

"Keep only those things
in your house

"which are either beautiful
or useful."

Well, I know Kirsten
will do a fantastic job.

Yes, thank you very much indeed.

Lovely, thank you. Bye-bye. Bye.

Imari porcelain was first produced
in Japan in the 17th century.

The hand-painted depictions of flora
and fauna in blues, reds and golds

are highly sought-after -

when they're in one piece.

I've just realised that I think I've
got a whole corner missing here.

So I think I'm going to have
to make up this piece here.

So that's going to be interesting.

OK, that's a shame actually.

I was really hoping that most of it
was there but, anyway,

I'm sure I'll tackle it.

Outside, the village sign's
metalwork

is getting some special attention
from Don.

But one piece of the sign
is beyond rescue,

the old oak post,

leaving Will with the task
of carving a new one from scratch.

Although the huge lump of new timber
is putting up some stiff resistance.

This oak is so solid and the
grain is going in so many

different directions that carving
down the edge here,

it's been really hard not to
split up the wood.

When you're chiselling
there's always a chance

that the blade finds the grain
of the wood and it follows it,

so you have bits of wood
splitting off.

Once you've split it,
you can't really go back.

So I've had to sort of carve it
from different directions.

After overcoming his carving issues
with the village sign,

Will's discovered
another problem with the new wood

that's left him a little stumped.

So the post is made out of oak,
which is naturally quite light,

but everything else has been carved
in mahogany, which is quite dark.

So I'm going to use this stain here

to give it an overall colour
to match the original mahogany.

The only problem with that is
there's so much wood here

that needs staining and polishing,

and I could really do with another
pair of hands.

Luckily Don's on hand
to help save the day.

So I was thinking
I need an apprentice.

Right, OK. Yeah. Happy to help.

Yeah? Bring it on. Yeah, no worries.

So what I'm doing is
I'm applying it to the surface,

then using the tissue to,
sort of, blend it in,

because if you go on too heavy

then it almost looks like
it's just been painted.

Yeah, you don't want to lose
all this nice grain.

Then if you rub it in,

you can still see that
it's the mahogany

and you can still see the grain.

I think I can do that.
Shall I start on this bit?

You sure can.

Can I stipple this,
or what do you want to do?

Just... See?

Natural. How am I doing?

Yeah, good. You've got the job.

I don't know what all the fuss
is about.

Across the workshop,

Steve is rebooting
a one-of-a-kind fire engine.

It was made during the Second World
w*r and was a fully functioning

replica of the real thing.

I've got the turntable
ladder device there.

That's obviously coming from

some device from the Dennis factory.

I've got this switch unit there
that goes on top.

That looks a lot, lot better now.

And I've got to paint the railings
of this ladder section

before I polish it up,

because I don't want any polish
to get onto the railings

before I polish it,
because the paint won't take.

The three extending ladders
have been out of action for decades.

All Steve's technical expertise
is required here.

I'm repairing the ladder
at the moment

and there is an issue with it,

because this hole here
where the string goes through

has actually cut a little slot
just in the hole,

and that is actually making the
string that goes through it bind.

So it was no wonder
that the ladder wouldn't raise.

So I've actually made a bush
that I'm going to put in there,

and I've rounded either end

so that the string
will slide through it nicely,

and that should rectify
the problem forever.

Although there's been
a slight hitch.

I wanted to put
the original bell back on,

so I put a screw in there
and the screw came through

and actually broke a coil,
one of the wires on the coil, there.

So what I've had to do is take
a lot of the coil off...

..solder it up and then put it
back again and it should...

BELL RINGS

There we go,
sounds a bit like a fire engine.

Or a doorbell.

Kirsten is preparing to put together
all of the broken pieces

of the antique Japanese porcelain.

I just want to...

..see if I can get this animal glue
off, this old adhesive.

Yeah, that's coming off
quite nicely, actually.

It's quite satisfying.

It's really important to make sure
that all the exposed break edges,

erm, are really, really clean.

Any old adhesive is removed

and, if you just have one of them
that's out of alignment,

it actually can put the whole piece
out of alignment.

So one join's wrong,

it then, sort of, goes on
to the next join

and actually you just don't get
a very good bond.

With the Victorian glue removed,

this porcelain jigsaw puzzle

can begin to be
pieced back together.

So I think I'm going to try
and make it into, sort of,

two large sections, and then join
the two pieces together.

So it needs really, really thorough
mixing, this adhesive.

You basically have to mix it

for as long as you can bear to
mix it and then mix it a bit more.

I'm just going to put
the tape on now. There we go.

And, hopefully, that way I'll get
a really good, tight stick.

I'm quite pleased with the way
that's gone together, actually.

But this puzzle is missing a piece,

which Kirsten is going to have
to rebuild using a ceramic resin.

As it's such a large area,

I'm going to support the area
with some dental wax

and then actually fill
on top of that.

Kirsten must draw on
all her years of experience

to replicate
the centuries-old porcelain.

I'm just hoping that I can actually
get the translucency

and the colour right.

It's always quite difficult
with something like this.

I start off with
some white pigment...

..a cerulean blue, and just take
a few tiny grains of pigment.

Pop them to the side there.

So hopefully
that's the sort of blue colour.

So I'm going to add in
some yellow ochre,

and immediately you can see

that that gives it the sort of,
the warmth.

Try it out on a small area.

It's quite difficult when you do a
fill that's this big and this deep,

but it's just a case of trial
and error, actually.

Now Kirsten has got the Japanese
porcelain bowl

back in one piece again,

including the missing part
that she's lovingly recreated.

The prominent cut-out section
on the rim is a clue

to the bowl's original purpose.

Now, what is that anyway?

It's actually primarily,
I think, probably a barber's bowl.

But, equally, it can be used
for blood-letting.

Which is what?
What's a blood-letting bowl?

In ancient times,
they would basically bleed you.

It's actually used as a sort
of medical practice

for treating all sorts of
various illnesses.

Yeah. But you offer it
up to the neck

and presumably do
whatever you're going to do.

Sounds a bit Sweeney Todd to me.

Yeah. I was going to demonstrate,
but I don't know if it's bad luck.

I don't want to put a curse
on myself. But...

Can you hold it with two hands?

I'm going to hold it with two hands.
Yeah. If you're having a shave...

Yeah? Right.

And then if you're letting, then
it's more like something like that.

Yeah.

Back outside, all that remains
is to carefully piece

the jigsaw back together

before the sign can be to pride
of place on the village green.

Done. Are we there?

We're almost there, yeah. We just
need to attach this last piece

which is the ceramic bit,
which is very fragile.

Really fragile. Then just pop it
on the post and then it's done.

OK, cool. So you don't need my help.
I should go.

Well... Well, do you know what?

You're such a strapping, strong,
young man... Well...

We thought we could do with
some of that strength.

Got the supervision we need.

That's it. You sure this is the
right way round? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Brilliant. Next thing...

Pop it on that now. This post?

Yeah, if you just bring it
over for us.

He's sweating, look at his face!

Trying to pretend it's not heavy!
It's easy, mate.

Go on, go on. Twist it.
There we are.

Whack it in. You want a hammer?

Yeah? Yeah.

Done. Oh, look. Look at that.

Right, boys... One, two, three.

Go on. What are you doing?

Come on! I'm lifting!

Put your back into it, man!

All right.

Oh! Look at it. It looks amazing.

What do you think, Jay, you happy?

You've done a brilliant job.
Thank you. Well done.

Thank you very much. Well done.

Now all that's left to do
is return the sign to Dorset,

and the two villagers who brought it
to the repair shop, John and Kevin.

It was in a bit of a sorry state.

All green and mildew on the top.

I don't think they'll ever get it
back as good as the original sign.

I don't think that's possible.

So I'm anxious to see it now,
to see really what they have done.

John, Kevin,
and some of the other locals

are gathering for the sign's
grand unveiling,

back on the village green where
it was first erected 30 years ago.

Without further ado,

I'd like to invite Kevin and John
to unveil the sign.

Five, four, three, two, one...

THEY CHEER

This is actually wonderful
because, you know,

the sign is part of the history
of the village,

and you can see the results
of what's been going on.

They've done a top job.
It's almost like it was new.

But aged beautifully.

I thought the bottom post
was the original post,

but I understand
that it's been replaced.

It's just wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.

I'm really, really pleased
that it's turned out great.

So, thank you.

Back at the repair shop,

Kirsten has been slowly
but surely piecing together

the much-loved Japanese bowl.

This, for me,
is the most enjoyable part.

I've done all the coloured fills

and it's now just putting
on this decoration.

It's quite nerve-racking.

I do have to keep
a very, very steady hand,

and I generally don't breathe
when I do it, so...

Now owner Jane is back to see
if the bowl

that holds so many memories

can be returned to pride of place
at home.

It does mean a lot, this plate,
cos I've lived with it all my life.

So this is the moment
of great excitement,

and I can't wait to see it.

Hello, Jane. Hello there.

How are you doing? Are you
all right? OK, thank you, yes.

Come on. Let's go and meet Kirsten.

Hi, Jane. Hello.

Lovely to see you again.

Hi. You too.
The moment I've been waiting for!

So, the last time you saw it, it was
in about 12 pieces, wasn't it?

It was. It was awful and ghastly
and a tale of woe as ever there was.

There you are.

I am blown over, completely.

I'm so delighted.

I can't... I'm not normally lost
for words but I am!

Do you know what, Kirsten?
I tried to mend an egg cup,

and I made a complete mess of it,
so I am just amazed at this!

It's better than it was before!

Oh, I can't believe that.
It sparkles, it really does.

A ruin has been made good again
to enjoy, a much treasured,

lovely plate...

Oh, bless. Look at that.
You're very, very kind.

She's good, isn't she?
She's brilliant.

She's just the very best.

Kirsten, I'm so pleased
in every way.

So, thank you every ever so much.

You're welcome.
It's been an absolute pleasure.

Steve is giving a treasured
toy fire engine a complete overhaul

to bring it back into service.

I'm really pleased with it all.

So, I've just got to put
the turntable on...

That's working well, I think.

Yep. And it's just a matter
of putting the ladder on there.

Final bits. It's all strung.

I think I'll...

tie the rope on once it's in situ.

I think that might be easier.

It's at this stage I'm really hoping
that the ladder extends all right.

If it doesn't,
then back to the drawing board.

This is great.

I'm relieved, absolutely relieved.

Good. All done.

The engine's very proud owner,
Mervyn,

is back to collect
his favourite old toy.

I am feeling a little bit
anxious today,

because I remember just
how fine it was when I was young.

It's been like a little bit
of conscience on the shelf

for about 30 years,

you know, slowly getting dustier.

And I hope he's been able to wind
the clock back.

Hello, Mervyn.

Hello, Steve. How are you?

Like going to the doctor, isn't it?

I'm a bit anxious, Doctor.

I hope you're going
to treat me well.

What are you expecting?

It needed a lot of love and care
and attention.

And my fingers...
Everything's crossed.

OK. Well...

..let me unveil it.

Oh, my gosh!

Oh, my... Gosh!

I don't even... Wow!

Steve, that is amazing.
I think it's better than it was.

Amazing. Amazing.

That fire extinguisher
was never that brassy, either.

Can I play with it?

Yeah! We'll do the lights first,

cos I think you should put
the lights on first.

Astonishing. They haven't glowed...

Oh, there's one... Do you know,
I don't even remember...

We didn't talk about that one!

I don't remember that one at all!

Yup, it was there.

Amazing. Can I go for the bell now?

Yes, you can.

BELL RINGS

Yes, perfect.

That's so nice.

Can I do the ladder?
Of course you can.

Now, what we have to do here...

Well, you will know this now,
I knew it...

And you've done all of the wires
as well!

Oh, just amazing.

Isn't it amazing?
Oh, God, I've got to do this.

See?

This is winding the clock back
considerably.

It's lovely to have memories
like that. Yeah.

Yeah. And you've brought them
back to life.

It's beautiful. Steven, thank you.

That is amazing.

You're very, very welcome.

It's quite interesting, memory,
isn't it?

You have these things tucked away,
some things you can remember,

words of a song, or something,

and suddenly somebody
shows you something

and it just seems to unlock
a room of memories.

So it's fantastic, it's great.

Join us next time, as more treasured
items are brought back to life.

Wow!